[News Figures] Ryu Wei, Developer of the Game 'Genshin' Noticed by Kim Taek-jin and Tim Cook

Japanese Anime Otaku Devoted to Developing Bishoujo Games
Genshin Impact Released in 2020 Surpasses 5 Trillion Won in Cumulative Sales Last Year

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the developer of the Chinese mobile game 'Genshin Impact' to express his gratitude, drawing attention to the game's developers. Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft who developed 'Lineage,' also showed interest in Genshin Impact, while Samsung Electronics conducted a promotion for the 'Galaxy Fold Genshin Impact Edition.'

Tim Cook, who visited China to attend the China Development Forum held in Beijing, visited the developer of the game 'Genshin Impact,' HoYoverse (miHoYo), on the 30th (local time) and said, "I would like to thank the amazing team at HoYoverse for showing a fantasy world that everyone can enjoy through the App Store."

Genshin Impact, a Chinese mobile game released globally on September 28, 2020, has succeeded in becoming one of the top-grossing titles in major app markets worldwide. According to mobile app market research firm Sensor Tower, Genshin Impact ranked 2nd in global mobile game revenue as of last month, demonstrating its immense popularity. In December last year, Samsung Electronics partnered with HoYoverse to launch the 'Galaxy Genshin Impact Special Edition,' and all 200 units of the 'Galaxy Z Fold4 Genshin Impact Edition' sold out completely.

Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft, also expressed interest in Genshin Impact. At the regular shareholders' meeting held on the 29th at NCSoft's R&D Center, in response to a shareholder's question, "Have you played Genshin Impact, which recently ranked first in app market sales?" Kim replied, "I also like Genshin Impact," and evaluated it as "a good game that gave us something to think about."

'Genshin Impact' developer HoYoverse (miHoYo) CEO Liu Wei. Photo by HoYoverse

The company that developed Genshin Impact, 'miHoYo,' was founded in 2011 by CEO Liu Wei, born in 1987, along with classmates from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Liu Wei was reportedly a Japanese animation otaku. The term 'otaku' in Japanese refers to a person with a deep interest in a particular subject, mainly fans of Japanese manga and animation. The Korean term 'deokhu' is a shortened form of 'otaku' pronounced in Korean as 'odeokhu.'

Liu Wei was a game developer who created indie games during his school days, including fan games based on the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. As a result, he mainly developed games featuring 2D images of bishoujo (female protagonists commonly appearing in Japanese manga). People around him advised him to develop games themed on martial arts or the Three Kingdoms to attract more gamers, but Liu Wei continued to focus solely on developing games featuring bishoujo characters.

Photo by Hoyoverse

Even after founding miHoYo, Liu Wei continued to develop various games with a focus on bishoujo games. After playing fantasy RPGs such as 'The Witcher' and 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,' he developed Genshin Impact, a similar genre game featuring bishoujo characters, which was released in 2020.

Now marking its third year since release, Genshin Impact ranked first in revenue on the Korean Google Play Store as of February. This result surpassed domestic game companies such as NCSoft's 'Lineage M' series and Kakao's 'Odin: Valhalla Rising.' Additionally, in the same month, it ranked 2nd on Google Play in Japan and Taiwan, 7th in the United States, and reached 2nd place in App Store revenue, boasting worldwide popularity. Sensor Tower announced that Genshin Impact's cumulative revenue exceeded $3.7 billion (approximately 5.3 trillion KRW) as of last year. This record was achieved in about two years since its official release on September 28, 2020.