MiHoYo
MiHoYo Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 米哈游; pinyin: Mǐhāyóu), officially Shanghai miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd., is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Shanghai, China.[1] Founded in 2011 by Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao—three engineering postgraduates from Shanghai Jiao Tong University who shared an affinity for anime, comics, and games (ACG) culture—the company focuses on creating immersive, anime-style action role-playing games (RPGs) powered by advanced technologies like self-developed rendering engines.[2][3] MiHoYo's flagship titles include the Honkai series, starting with Honkai Impact 3rd in 2016, and the open-world RPG Genshin Impact released in 2020, which features gacha monetization and has amassed over 60 million monthly active users globally while generating tens of billions in lifetime revenue through in-game purchases.[1][4] In 2022, MiHoYo introduced the HoYoverse brand for its international operations to better deliver a unified "virtual world" experience encompassing games, animations, comics, and community platforms like HoYoLAB, while maintaining its core operations under the MiHoYo name in mainland China.[5] The company's success has elevated its founders to China's richest lists, with Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao collectively controlling major stakes and achieving billionaire fortunes tied directly to Genshin Impact's commercial dominance.[4]Founding and Early Development
Etymology and Name Origins
The name miHoYo stylizes the initials of two of its three founders, incorporating capital "H" from Cai Haoyu's given name (rendered in Pinyin as Hàoyǔ) and "Y" from Luo Yuhao's (Yǔhào).[6] The third founder, Liu Wei, contributed to the company's establishment but is not represented in these letters.[6] The double "O" in miHoYo draws stylistic inspiration from prominent technology firms like Google and Microsoft, whose logos emphasize paired or rounded "O" forms to evoke approachability and globality; this choice aimed to position the nascent studio alongside such giants despite its early, resource-constrained origins in 2012.[7] Because "HoYo" was already registered, the prefix "mi"—derived from the VOCALOID software Hatsune Miku, selected for her popularity among otaku—was prepended to the name.[8] The Chinese name 米哈游 (Mǐhāyóu) functions as a near-phonetic rendering of "miHoYo," with no independent semantic intent—米 denotes "rice," 哈 an interjection akin to "ha," and 游 "to roam" or "play"—prioritizing auditory equivalence over literal meaning in Mandarin.[7] Prior to formalizing miHoYo, the founders operated informally under aliases like "Flying Meteor Studio," reflecting their initial experimental phase as university students developing browser games.[9]Establishment and Initial Studio Operations
MiHoYo originated from the collaboration of three computer science students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University—Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao—who shared a passion for anime, manga, and video games, often referred to as ACG culture.[10][11] In 2011, while still in a student dormitory, they formed the initial studio to develop games, beginning with the release of their first title, FlyMe2theMoon, an iOS action game launched on September 28, 2011.[12] This early phase operated informally as MiHoYo Studio, with the founders handling programming amid limited resources and no dedicated artistic staff, leading them to recruit Qinghua Zhang (known as CiCi), an undergraduate artist they contacted via Tencent social media.[13] The company was formally incorporated as Shanghai miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd. on February 13, 2012, with an initial capital investment of approximately 100,000 yuan (equivalent to about US$14,750 at the time).[13][14] Initial studio operations remained lean, centered in modest rented spaces in Shanghai, where the small team focused on prototyping games inspired by Japanese anime aesthetics and mechanics, emphasizing self-reliance in technology development under the motto "Tech Otakus Save the World."[15] Revenue from early releases was minimal, prompting reinvestment into engine development and team expansion, with the founders prioritizing in-house tools over external dependencies to maintain creative control.[16]Early Games: Houkai Gakuen Series
The Houkai Gakuen series marked miHoYo's entry into the Honkai franchise with 2D action games featuring schoolgirls combating zombie-like Houkai threats in apocalyptic settings.[1] These titles, developed for mobile platforms, emphasized side-scrolling combat, character progression, and anime-inspired aesthetics drawn from influences like Highschool of the Dead.[17] Zombiegal Kawaii, the inaugural game also titled Houkai Gakuen in China, launched on December 14, 2012, in the Chinese market and June 20, 2013, internationally for iOS as a paid beat 'em up shooter.[18][19] Players controlled characters navigating zombie-infested environments, establishing core Honkai lore elements such as Valkyries opposing otherworldly disasters.[20] The game received limited global traction due to its niche appeal and iOS exclusivity, serving primarily as a prototype for miHoYo's mechanics rather than a major commercial hit.[21] Houkai Gakuen 2, localized as Guns Girl Z outside China, followed as miHoYo's first free-to-play live-service title, releasing on January 26, 2014, in China and April 4, 2014, in North America and Europe.[22][23] This 2D side-scrolling shooter inherited assets, code, and designs from Zombiegal Kawaii while introducing gacha monetization, multiplayer co-op, and ongoing updates with new characters and events.[24] Development involved a three-month demo phase followed by two years of full production, enabling miHoYo to refine server-based operations and player retention strategies.[24] Guns Girl Z achieved miHoYo's initial commercial success, attracting a dedicated player base through collaborations and content expansions, though it later faced server shutdowns and reduced support by 2021.[25]Key Game Franchises and Releases
Honkai Impact 3rd Development and Launch
Development of Honkai Impact 3rd commenced in 2014 as miHoYo's effort to scale up from prior titles like Houkai Gakuen 2 (Guns GirlZ), which had generated revenue to self-fund the project without external investment.[10] The studio expanded the production's ambition tenfold compared to Houkai Gakuen 2, emphasizing high-fidelity 3D graphics, real-time combat, and narrative depth using the Unity engine.[26] Over the two-year development period, the core team iterated on hack-and-slash mechanics inspired by anime-style action, with ongoing refinements even post-launch to address early technical and balance issues.[27] The game launched initially in mainland China on October 14, 2016, as a free-to-play mobile title for iOS and Android devices, marking miHoYo's pivot toward premium gacha-based monetization in a 3D action RPG format.[28] Early performance was modest, with player feedback highlighting underdeveloped story elements and optimization problems on lower-end hardware, though miHoYo responded by prioritizing narrative expansions starting around 2018, which catalyzed broader adoption.[29] International rollout followed staggered server openings, beginning with Japan on February 22, 2017, and extending to global English-language servers (North America and Europe) on March 28, 2018, after beta testing to adapt localization and compliance for overseas markets.[30] A PC client arrived later on December 26, 2019, enabling cross-progression and appealing to audiences seeking controller support and higher graphical fidelity.[31] These phased releases reflected miHoYo's cautious approach to global expansion, leveraging domestic success—where Honkai Impact 3rd accounted for nearly all revenue alongside Guns GirlZ by late 2016—to build infrastructure for multilingual support and anti-cheat measures.[26]Genshin Impact Breakthrough
Genshin Impact, developed by miHoYo as an open-world action RPG, marked the company's pivot to expansive, cross-platform gameplay with seamless world exploration, elemental combat systems, and a gacha-based progression model. The project demanded heavy investment, with initial research costs starting at $25 million before surpassing $100 million amid iterative prototyping and asset creation over three years. This scale represented miHoYo's ambition to rival console-quality titles on mobile devices, leveraging self-developed engines for dynamic weather, physics, and multiplayer co-op features that distinguished it from prior Honkai-focused linear action games.[32][6] Launched globally on September 28, 2020, for Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC, the game achieved immediate traction through pre-registration campaigns exceeding 10 million sign-ups and viral marketing via anime-style trailers and beta tests. Initial reception highlighted its technical polish and free-to-play accessibility, though early criticisms noted repetitive resin-gated content and gacha dependency; downloads surged past 20 million within the first week, driven by broad platform support and zero entry barriers. miHoYo's decision to self-publish internationally, bypassing traditional Western partners, facilitated rapid updates and region-specific optimizations, contributing to sustained player retention.[33][34] Financially, Genshin Impact recouped its development outlay within weeks, generating $393 million in gross revenue during its first two months post-launch, primarily from in-app purchases for character pulls and resources. By mid-2021, mobile earnings alone topped $1 billion, with lifetime mobile spending reaching $3 billion by 2022 and continuing to accumulate toward $3.7 billion. This influx—averaging hundreds of millions monthly in peak periods—eclipsed miHoYo's prior revenues from Honkai Impact 3rd, enabling infrastructure scaling, talent acquisition, and diversification into merchandise and animations. The game's dominance in app stores, including top-grossing rankings across Asia and the West, underscored miHoYo's mastery of live-service economics, where regular content drops like new regions (e.g., Inazuma in 2021) sustained monetization without mandatory spending.[34][35][36] The breakthrough elevated miHoYo from a niche Chinese developer to a global contender, with Genshin's 2021 mobile revenue contributing to the company's overall earnings exceeding $1.3 billion annually by 2022. Its success validated high-risk bets on original IP over licensed anime tie-ins, fostering internal innovation in procedural generation and AI-driven NPC behaviors while attracting scrutiny over addictive mechanics from regulators. Unlike earlier titles confined to domestic markets, Genshin's universal appeal—blending Western fantasy tropes with Eastern aesthetics—propelled miHoYo's valuation into billions, funding subsequent ventures like Star Rail and positioning the firm against giants like Tencent.[37][35]Honkai: Star Rail Expansion
Honkai: Star Rail, developed by miHoYo under its HoYoverse brand, is a free-to-play turn-based role-playing game set in a science fantasy universe where players control interstellar travelers aboard the Astral Express, combating threats across planets and space stations.[38] The game launched globally on April 26, 2023, initially for Android, iOS, and Windows platforms, introducing gacha-based character and equipment acquisition alongside strategic combat emphasizing elemental weaknesses and team synergies.[39] A PlayStation 5 version followed on October 11, 2023, expanding console accessibility and leveraging cross-progression to retain mobile users.[40] Post-launch expansion has centered on bi-monthly major updates, each introducing new story arcs, playable characters, light cone weapons, and endgame content like simulated universes and memory of chaos modes, sustaining player engagement through escalating narrative complexity in the Honkai multiverse.[41] By November 4, 2025, the game reached Version 3.7, "As Tomorrow Became Yesterday," concluding the Amphoreus saga with new 5-star character Cyrene, an Ice element, Remembrance path unit, alongside modes such as Currency Wars and relic sets like "Amphoreus, The Eternal Land."[42] These updates have incorporated player feedback, such as interface improvements in events like "Starlit Homecoming," while adding cosmetic features including Trailblazer hat systems and weapon skins.[41] Financially, the title's expansion is evidenced by robust revenue growth, generating over $32 million in in-app purchases within its first six days and exceeding $100 million on mobile in under a month.[43] [44] It surpassed $1 billion in mobile revenue by January 14, 2024, and reached $2 billion by March 2025, outpacing initial expectations and contributing significantly to HoYoverse's dominance in RPG gacha markets, though estimates exclude PC and console earnings.[45] This performance stems from effective marketing, cross-promotions like the 2025 Crunchyroll collaboration offering premium access incentives, and a focus on high-production-value animations and voice acting in multiple languages.[46] Despite competition, sustained downloads—estimated in hundreds of thousands monthly—and revenue peaks during limited-time banners underscore its expansion beyond launch hype into a core franchise pillar.[47]Zenless Zone Zero and Recent Titles
Zenless Zone Zero is an urban fantasy action role-playing game (ARPG) developed by HoYoverse, set in the post-apocalyptic city-state of New Eridu, the last bastion of civilization amid supernatural disasters known as Hollows.[48] Players assume the role of a Proxy, guiding clients through Hollow exploration to combat Ethereal monsters while uncovering conspiracies in a stylish, retro-futuristic world blending urban life with roguelike dungeon crawling. The game's narrative emphasizes episodic chapters focused on faction interactions and personal backstories of Agents, delivered through visual novel-style interludes and TV-like "inter-Knot" interfaces.[49] Announced on May 13, 2022, development emphasized refining combat fluidity and exploration after internal iterations, with closed beta tests including the Equalizing Test from November 2023 and the Amplifying Test from April 2024, which introduced improvements to Hollow navigation and battle pacing.[50][51] The title launched globally on July 4, 2024, across PC, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 5 platforms, marking HoYoverse's continued pivot toward action-oriented gacha titles distinct from the open-world scope of Genshin Impact.[52] Gameplay centers on real-time combat with a squad of three Agents, each wielding attribute-based attacks (e.g., physical, ether, anomaly) and switchable for chain combos, daze mechanics to stagger foes, and ultimate abilities triggered by energy gauges.[49] Exploration occurs in instanced Hollows via a roguelike TV board-game interface for path selection, interspersed with urban hub activities like proxy commissions and minigames, supported by gacha summons for Agent acquisition and upgrades via materials from combat and events.[53] Upon release, Zenless Zone Zero amassed 50 million downloads worldwide within its first week, driven by cross-platform accessibility and marketing tie-ins.[52] Mobile revenue reached approximately $99.8 million in the debut month, trailing predecessors like Genshin Impact's $142 million but exceeding some competitors in initial velocity.[54] By its first anniversary in July 2025, cumulative mobile earnings hit $442.1 million from over 22 million downloads, reflecting steady post-launch updates but slower growth compared to Honkai: Star Rail's trajectory, attributed by analysts to combat repetition and less expansive world-building.[55][56] As of October 2025, no major new titles have launched following Zenless Zone Zero, with HoYoverse focusing on iterative expansions across its portfolio, including version 2.3 updates adding narrative arcs like "Memories of Dreams Bygone."[57] Speculation persists on unannounced projects, such as an open-world reboot and a casual title like Petit Planet, but these remain in development without confirmed releases.[58][59]Other Products and Experimental Ventures
Tears of Themis is a free-to-play mobile otome game developed and published by miHoYo, blending romance, detective investigation, and adventure mechanics. Released initially in mainland China on July 29, 2021, with global availability following shortly after, players assume the role of a novice attorney partnering with male leads to resolve complex cases involving corporate intrigue and supernatural elements. The title incorporates gacha systems for character cards and story progression, amassing over 10 million downloads by mid-2022.[60] HoYoLAB functions as miHoYo's dedicated community platform, encompassing a website and mobile app that aggregates user-generated content, official announcements, interactive tools like daily check-ins, and forums for titles across the HoYoverse portfolio. Established to foster player engagement, it supports features such as fan art sharing, event participation, and social discussions, with millions of active users contributing to its ecosystem since its expansion in the early 2020s.[61][62] In experimental ventures, HoYoverse revealed Petit Planet on September 24, 2025, a free-to-play cross-platform life simulation game emphasizing cozy planetary building, neighbor interactions with anthropomorphic creatures, and customization in a cosmic setting. Diverging from action-oriented gacha titles, it draws comparisons to social simulators like Animal Crossing, with players designing habitats and fostering relationships; a limited closed beta test, termed the Coziness Test, commenced recruitment for a November 7, 2025, start, featuring data wipes and iterative feedback collection.[63][64] Honkai: Nexus Anima, announced on August 28, 2025, marks an entry into creature-collection strategy gameplay within the Honkai multiverse, involving capturing and battling anima entities in adventure-driven scenarios with auto-battler influences. Pre-registration opened alongside teaser footage showcasing multiversal threats and bond-forming mechanics, with ongoing Nexus Bond Tests recruiting participants to refine core loops distinct from turn-based or open-world precedents in HoYoverse's lineup.[65][66]Business Operations and Financials
Monetization Strategies Including Gacha Mechanics
HoYoverse employs a free-to-play model across its major titles, including Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero, where core gameplay is accessible without cost, but revenue derives predominantly from in-app purchases tied to gacha mechanics.[39] These mechanics involve randomized "pulls" or "wishes" for characters, weapons, and other enhancements, using premium currencies that players can earn gradually through gameplay or purchase directly with real money.[67] The system incentivizes spending via limited-time banners featuring exclusive content, creating scarcity that drives impulse purchases from dedicated players.[68] In Genshin Impact, launched September 28, 2020, the gacha operates through "Wishes" on banners like the event-exclusive Character Event Wish, where players spend Primogems—convertible from purchased Genesis Crystals—or Fates to draw items.[67] Base rates stand at 0.6% for 5-star characters and 5.1% for 4-stars, with a "pity" guarantee of one 5-star item after 90 pulls on the same banner and a 50/50 chance for the featured 5-star character, escalating to 100% on loss via "guaranteed" mechanics.[69] Soft pity activates around 75-80 pulls, increasing odds to mitigate prolonged failures, while 160 Primogems equate to one Wish, with daily commissions and events yielding about 60 free Primogems per day for active players.[69] Secondary monetization includes the Gnostic Hymn battle pass at $4.99-9.99, granting additional resources and cosmetics without direct power advantages.[70] Honkai: Star Rail, released April 26, 2023, mirrors this with "Warps" using Stellar Jade, where 160 Jade purchases one pull, and rates include 0.6% for 5-star characters on limited banners with a 90-pull hard pity and 75-pull soft pity threshold.[71] A 50/50 system applies for featured units, with guarantees carrying over losses, and free Jade accrues via dailies (up to 60 per day), quests, and Simulated Universe modes.[72] Light Cone banners for equipment follow similar rules, emphasizing character collection over competitive PvP, which remains absent to focus spending on personal progression.[68] Across titles, gacha revenue stems from "whales"—high-spending players—who fund 80-90% of income despite generous free-to-play progression, as evidenced by Genshin Impact surpassing $3 billion in lifetime mobile revenue by November 2023 through banner-timed releases and cross-promotions.[70] HoYoverse supplements with cosmetic skins and resonance/starter packs for minor boosts, but avoids paywalls on story or events, sustaining long-term engagement.[39] This approach prioritizes PvE content depth, differentiating from PvP-heavy gachas and enabling sustained dominance, with Honkai: Star Rail generating over $500 million in its first year via comparable mechanics.[39]Revenue Growth, Profits, and Market Dominance
MiHoYo's revenue experienced explosive growth following the September 2020 launch of Genshin Impact, which generated approximately $3.7 billion in mobile consumer spending worldwide within its first two years across the App Store and Google Play.[73] By 2022, the game had amassed nearly $3.8 billion in total gross revenue across all platforms in its debut year, establishing MiHoYo as a leading force in the gacha gaming sector. The company's overall revenue for 2020 reached roughly RMB 10.1 billion (about $1.3 billion USD), with net profits of RMB 5.7 billion (around $0.8 billion USD), reflecting high margins from in-app purchases.[74] Subsequent years saw continued expansion, with HoYoverse (MiHoYo's international arm) reporting $3.8 billion in revenue in 2022, driven primarily by Genshin Impact and the April 2023 release of Honkai: Star Rail.[37] Estimates for 2023 placed MiHoYo's net revenue between $4.2 billion and $5.6 billion USD, supported by diversified titles including Zenless Zone Zero launched in July 2024.[75] Profits remained robust, with analyst projections indicating around $2.57 billion USD in 2023 and $2.9 billion USD in 2024, attributable to scalable gacha monetization and minimal marginal costs post-development.[75] However, Genshin Impact's annual mobile revenue declined to $710 million in 2024 from $1.9 billion in 2022, signaling maturation in its player base amid competition, though total lifetime mobile revenue surpassed $6.3 billion by late 2024.[37][76]| Year | Estimated Company Revenue (USD) | Key Driver | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1.3 billion | Genshin Impact launch | [74] |
| 2022 | $3.8 billion | Genshin Impact + Honkai: Star Rail | [37] |
| 2023 | $4.2–5.6 billion | Portfolio diversification | [75] |
| 2024 | ~$1.25 billion (mobile only) | Sustained titles | [77] |