“Thank you to the outstanding team at miHoYo, who have created an immersive fantasy world for every player on the App Store using digital technology!”
In recent visits to young tech company miHoYo in Shanghai, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his admiration in a Weibo post. In the immensely popular game “Genshin Impact,” miHoYo has used digital technology to build a world with Eastern charm called Liyue, featuring exquisite Eastern attire, lingering Chinese opera, and misty green landscapes, captivating players worldwide.
The recently released “Digital China Construction Overall Layout Plan” emphasizes building a confident and prosperous digital culture. Led by Chinese IP enterprises like miHoYo, through games as a medium, they have created a virtual universe brimming with Eastern and traditional connotations. Leveraging innovative digital technology, they are promoting Chinese excellent traditional culture to the world.
A screenshot of miHoYo’s latest original Chinese opera style singing segment for the character “Yunjin” in “Genshin Impact.”
Digital technology blows “traditional style” across the world
Upon entering miHoYo’s Shanghai office, one sees young faces focused on optimizing virtual characters on their computers using professional tools. Young vitality is one of miHoYo’s most distinctive features. In December 2011, three graduate students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, including Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuho, developed the company’s first game, “Fly Me to the Moon,” initiating their entrepreneurial journey. After a period of preparation, the company’s game “Genshin Impact” was launched in September 2020 and quickly became a global hit, achieving a monthly revenue of $245 million in the first month and remaining the top-grossing mobile game in China for several months thereafter. Currently, “Genshin Impact” has been translated into over a dozen languages, gaining popularity in more than 200 countries and regions, and winning the Apple “Best iPhone Game” award in 2020.
Third-party data estimates that miHoYo generated approximately 10 billion RMB in global revenue on Apple’s iPhone and iPad in 2022, ranking third in the iOS platform, with “Genshin Impact” accounting for nearly 90% of the revenue.
“Currently, overseas market revenues have already accounted for half of our total income,” said Liu Wei, founder of miHoYo. “Over the past decade, the company’s rapid development is largely due to the deep exploration of the cultural attributes of our products, and the creation of an integrated anime, games, music, and merchandise ecosystem around our core IP, allowing us to present a fully immersive fantasy world to global players.”
The story setting of “Genshin Impact” takes place in the fantastical world of “Teyvat,” where seven countries each have their own unique beauty and coexist harmoniously. Liyue, inspired by China, undoubtedly exudes the most Eastern charm and is the most beloved by global players. The game development team has meticulously integrated rich cultural details into the world, narrating its “backstory” through traditional storytelling, and a single promotional video has garnered over 20 million views overseas.
Culture and science and technology go hand in hand. “Using high-tech methods to develop games, we insist on investing the maximum resources to achieve the highest quality in every detail,” Liu Wei said.
Data can reveal miHoYo’s investment in “hard technology.” Currently, over 70% of the company’s employees are involved in research and development, with the proportion of self-developed patents in cloud gaming technology exceeding 99%. miHoYo has established multiple computing centers across the country, holding hundreds of patents in areas such as cartoon rendering and digital motion capture technology.
Hard technology brings hard power, and Apple has deemed “Genshin Impact” a benchmark for its hardware quality. Previously, to showcase the powerful performance of the new iPad Air’s M1 chip, Apple demonstrated its stunning game visuals and smooth gameplay scenes in the game.
A screenshot of miHoYo’s latest original Chinese opera style singing segment for the character “Yunjin” in “Genshin Impact.”
Focusing on “modern expression of traditional stories”
“The ancient style is enchanting, lingering with its lingering melody,” this graceful and lingering Chinese opera segment from the “God of the Water Curtain” scene in “Genshin Impact
Tim Cook Praises miHoYo for Genshin Impact’s Blend of Digital Innovation and Chinese Cultural Heritage
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