Games

Perfect World CEO and co-CEO resign following mass layoffs

BBG News

As a long-time gamer and follower of the gaming industry, I’ve seen my fair share of ups and downs, but the recent news about Perfect World has left me both intrigued and concerned. Having closely watched their games like Persona 5: The Phantom X and One Punch Man: World, I was taken aback by the sudden departure of CEO Xiao Hong and co-CEO Lu Xiaoyin, following the mass layoffs that affected over a thousand employees.

After a string of large-scale terminations at Chinese corporation Perfect World, the CEO and co-CEO have stepped down. Renowned for producing games such as “Persona 5: The Phantom X” and “One Punch Man: World,” the company is gearing up for a new chapter under new management.

On July 22, I attended a pivotal board meeting hosted by Perfect World. During this gathering, some significant shifts in our senior management team were announced. According to recent reports circulating on the Chinese WeChat forum, Xiao Hong, who had been serving as CEO, tendered her resignation. However, she won’t be leaving us entirely; instead, she’ll remain an essential part of the company, continuing her role as a director. Similarly, Lu Xiaoyin, our former co-CEO, also resigned but will continue to contribute as a director within our organization.

With the recent shift in management, Gu Liming, who previously held the position of Senior Vice President at Perfect World, has been named as the new CEO. Born in Canada in 1968, Gu joined Perfect World back in 2013 and has since then advanced through various leadership positions.

Perfect World had cut off over a thousand jobs last month in June

Prior to these adjustments, Perfect World went through significant downsizing in June 2024, affecting over a thousand employees according to my earlier report, which I detailed in my article about layoffs. Notably, hundreds of positions were eliminated from the Research and Development department, and the middle office experienced substantial reductions as well.

Through this transformation, the business is streamlining operations, zeroing in on essential initiatives, shuffling staff, and pooling assets to bolster its prime industries. A new undertaking unveiled is “Neverness to Everness” – an immersive open-world RPG with an urban setting.

The article mentioned that for the initial six months of the year, the corporation projects a net loss between $22 million and $28 million, or roughly 160 million to 200 million yuan. This is in contrast to the profit of $52 million, equivalent to about 379 million yuan, that was reported for the same period last year. More precisely, the gaming sector is forecasted to result in a net loss ranging from $19 million to $25 million, or around 140 million to 180 million yuan.

The company explained that the decrease in profits was caused by a normal drop in income from previously successful games, expenses related to staff adjustments, and poor sales of newly launched games. I was taken aback to learn that One Punch Man: World fell short during overseas beta tests, which significantly impacted the disappointing results for this reporting period.

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2024-07-23 21:11

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