Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Subsidiary
"Is this really a character we created? The sense of oppression is overwhelming—even stronger than Fu Xuan's. You can feel it even through the screen."
As the CEO of miHoYo, Qingque was also shocked after watching this animated short.
She had a strong feeling that if she worked under this man, she wouldn't dare to slack off—the oppressive aura of this game character was just that terrifying.
Thankfully, he was just a game character and didn't exist in real life.
"Finished playing the game? Good, it's time for the meeting."
A delicate hand took the phone from Qingque's grasp. It was Fu Xuan.
Qingque looked up and saw that all the core employees and board members of miHoYo had arrived.
She quickly coughed twice and put on her CEO demeanor.
"Let's begin the meeting."
Of course, no one paid her any attention.
Fu Xuan stood up and spoke seriously: "With the conclusion of the Liyue Archon Quest, the traffic on the standard banner has surged, and Genshin Impact's revenue has hit a new high. New registrations have increased by 30%, and the global daily active users have surpassed 60 million. In just over two months since launch, Genshin Impact's revenue has exceeded 30 billion... It looks incredibly impressive, far exceeding expectations—but it could have been even higher."
As she spoke, Fu Xuan turned to Jingliu.
"Jingliu, present the data."
Jingliu, too lazy to stand, twirled her pen and began: "Out of the 60 million daily active users, only 20 million are from China, while the other 40 million are from other countries. Of the over 30 billion revenue, Chinese players have contributed only 10%, while the other 90% comes from players in other countries."
Kiana blinked, confused. "Isn't that good? What's the problem?"
"Idiot." Bronya teased. "Don't you even know which country your game's main audience is supposed to be from?"
"There's definitely a problem."
Mei frowned as she looked at the data analysis in her hands.
"According to the revenue statistics by country, Japanese players contribute the most, accounting for about 40% of total revenue. Japan also has 10 million daily active players... I always knew this anime-style game would be popular in Japan, given that Japan has the highest concentration of anime fans, especially since Japan doesn't have a game that can compete with Genshin Impact. But I didn't expect it to surpass China by this much—and we haven't even released Inazuma yet."
"I have a question!" Kiana raised her hand. "Chinese players are twice as many as Japanese players, so why is the revenue so much lower? Is there something wrong with the data?"
Her question made Fu Xuan roll her eyes. "Can the proportion of paying Chinese players compare to Japan? Are Chinese players as wealthy as Japanese players?"
"That's exactly the issue."
Tingyun tapped the table.
"Japan has a population of just over 100 million, yet Genshin Impact has over 10 million daily active players there—almost 10% of the total population."
"The U.S. has a population of over 300 million, with nearly 10 million daily active players."
"South Korea, with a population of just over 50 million, has over 5 million daily active players."
"Russia, despite cultural differences making it hard to penetrate the market, has over 3 million daily active players thanks to Bronya's influence and the lack of competition from local games. And this number is still growing."
"But China? With a population of 1.4 billion, daily active players are only 20 million. Why is that?"
"Keep in mind, our marketing in China far exceeds that in other countries. Genshin Impact is even branded as a Chinese-made game—even though Kiana is the producer, 90% of the development team is Chinese."
"While we're a global game, and it's certainly something to celebrate that we've achieved such success worldwide, this doesn't align with our initial projections."
"In our initial projections, Chinese daily active users should have accounted for at least 40% of the global total, if not 50%. Revenue from the Chinese market should also have surpassed that of other countries."
"But that's not the case now. Why?"
As Tingyun spoke, many in the room fell into deep thought.
Then, Xueyi spoke calmly: "The reason lies in the mobile platform."
Everyone turned to her.
"If we're talking purely about mobile games, Genshin Impact is a game that heavily strains phone performance. Do you know the current state of the Chinese mobile market and the performance and prices of phones from global brands?"
Xueyi continued calmly:
"Due to Kiana's perfectionist attitude—such as demanding that in-game characters match the quality of their illustrations—phones that can run Genshin Impact smoothly are priced at a minimum of 7,000 yuan... Not everyone in China is willing to spend that much on a phone."
"Our initial projections were actually met. Our target for the Chinese market was 10 million daily active users, primarily focusing on the PC platform. For Japan, our target was only 2 million daily active users."
"The current situation is that Genshin Impact has become far more popular than expected, which is why the proportion of Chinese players in the global market is lower than projected—not because of anything else, but simply because the average income in China is lower than in Japan and the U.S."
This was an unavoidable reality. China's massive population was both a strength and a weakness.
The strength was China's immense potential—its huge population was its greatest asset.
The weakness was that, even as the world's second-largest economy, China was still a developing country, and its per capita income was far below that of developed nations.
To play Genshin Impact, many Chinese players would need to spend one or even two months' salary to buy a phone capable of running the game smoothly. Not everyone was willing to do that.
Most people without a capable phone would rather go to an internet café to play on a PC or simply buy a computer instead.
So, Xueyi concluded: "To increase the number of Chinese players, daily active users, and revenue, we must lower the price of high-performance phones."
"Exactly."
Fu Xuan clapped in agreement.
"So, our next development goal has been set—Clara."
"Here."
Clara stood up and said softly:
"The phone I developed has the performance to run Genshin Impact smoothly, and the cost is controlled at 500 yuan."
"The subsidiary company, MiKe, is officially established. Clara will hold 40% of the shares, while the remaining shares will be evenly distributed. MiKe's first phone will be priced at 1,088 yuan, targeting the low-end market. The main selling point will be its ability to run Genshin Impact smoothly without lag. Clara, keep up the good work. To grow the company and build the brand, the high-end market is also essential. And as Genshin Impact continues to update, the demands on phone performance will only increase, so regular upgrades will be necessary."
After saying this, Fu Xuan continued:
"At the same time, aside from phones, other subsidiaries can also start developing. Right now, the company has hundreds of billions in funds, and more will keep coming in. So, feel free to use the funds as needed. Just remember one thing—we must ensure that all of miHoYo's subsidiaries flourish before the Genshin Impact story collapses."
Kiana looked displeased. "Hey!!"
While Kiana was unhappy, Qingque simply stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
So, what exactly is my role in this meeting?
If I have no role at all, then why not let me go play mahjong instead?!!