Story of miHoYo co-founder Liu Wei, the man behind Genshin Impact

Published : 2023-01-27

miHoYo's Liu Wei｜An initial start-up salary of only 4,000 RMB

Before founding miHoYo (米哈遊), Liu Wei (劉偉) and the team had already accumulated considerable experience, for example, winning the silver award at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Technology Innovation Competition, and winning the campus group championship at a Flash development competition with an original game, etc.

Liu revealed that they were all typical science and engineering "otakus", and were particularly fond of anime and games.

However, there were almost no related domestic companies in the Chinese market at the time. "So we felt that if we wanted to make ACG (Anime, Cosmics and Games), starting our own business was the only way we would have the chance to do what we are passionate about and want to do."

At the time, around 2011 to 2012, the animation and gaming entrepreneurship scene in China was still underdeveloped, with few developers. It was widely believed that this field was unprofitable and had no future. "Despite that, we were resolute and determined to persevere. At worst, we would take it one step at a time and see how things unfolded."

The salary Liu Wei and the team paid themselves at the time was 4,000 RMB per month. The post-graduation salary of any of their classmates was higher than this.

Faced with low salaries during the initial start-up phase, they did not give up. "But in the end, you still choose to continue doing this, so I say whether or not you love this thing is not just lip service. Your body is very honest. The more you do the work you love, the more you will be moved by yourself, which in turn will better enable you to accept challenges and face those very difficult times."

At the most difficult of times, Liu Wei even had to take on multiple roles, "With the exception of being a concept artist, I have probably done almost every other type of job in the early days." And it was during the process of also working as customer service that Liu found the key to the breakthrough that miHoYo had been unable to achieve.

Indeed, when Liu Wei and his team initially developed the game, their approach was driven more by personal passion rather than a deep understanding of the broader gaming market. The direct consequence of not considering user needs was that no one was willing to pay for it.

miHoYo's Liu Wei｜Hoping to "save the world"

Liu Wei realised that behind every account is not just a set of data, but a living and breathing player who will have needs and problems. Liu used his role as a customer service representative to chat with players, and to genuinely feel the players' joys and sorrows, genuinely empathising with them.

In 2014, miHoYo released its breakout hit, the 2D shooting game Honkai Gakuen 2 (《崩壞學園2》), or Guns Girl Z 2.

After experiencing the failure of Honkai Gakuen (《崩壞學園》), Honkai Gakuen 2 saw significant improvements in its core gameplay and art, and it ranked first in paid downloads on the day of its release.

Afterwards, through the power of the internet, this game effectively reached anime and comic enthusiasts.

The 3D action game Honkai Gakuen 3, launched in October 2016, continued this success. It used 3D character models and scenes to render 2D cartoon-style game graphics, becoming one of the most visually top-tier games in the country at the time.

Both Honkai Gakuen 2 and Honkai Gakuen 3 have tens of millions of registered users, with total top-up revenue exceeding 1 billion RMB. With the release of Genshin Impact, miHoYo soared to new heights, establishing itself as a universally recognised name within the industry from that point onward.

Liu Wei once said that miHoYo is neither purely a gaming company, nor a company that produces anime and comic brands, nor an internet high-tech enterprise.

"We prefer to see ourselves as a company driven by the dual wheels of cultural and creative industries and innovation and technology."

Moreover, "Tech Otakus Save the World" (技術宅拯救世界) has been miHoYo's mission since its inception, because Liu Wei and his team firmly believe that technological change can drive the development of the entire entertainment experience, and they will continue to pursue technological breakthroughs, enhance content productivity, and bring unique experiences to players in the future.