Liu Wei (Chinese: 刘伟; pinyin: Liú Wěi; born March 8, 1987), also known as Forrest Liu, commonly known as Da Wei within the gaming community, is a Chinese businessman and video game producer. He is best known as the co-founder and president of the video game company miHoYo.
Liu Wei | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 刘伟 | |||||||||||
| Born | March 8, 1987 | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | Shanghai Jiao Tong University (BSc. & MSc.) Georgia Tech (MSc.) | ||||||||||
| Occupation | President & Chairman of miHoYo | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 劉偉 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 刘伟 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Early life
editLiu was born in Ningxiang, Changsha, Hunan in 1987. Liu attended Ningxiang No. 1 High School for his secondary education.[1] He completed his undergraduate studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where he later pursued a master's degree in electronic engineering.[2] Additionally, he obtained a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech.[3] During his university years, Liu was introverted, but his personality changed after he became the student council president. His experience in the student council also helped him in his future entrepreneurial and managerial roles.[3] While in graduate school, Liu and three other students from the same university developed an open-source literary community project focused on free writing, which won an award at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Science and Technology Innovation Competition. The team later developed the game engine "Misato."[2]
Career
editAfter graduation, Liu, together with his college roommates Cai Haoyu and Luo Yuhao, decided to start a game company and founded miHoYo.[4] The team's original goal was to fill the gap in the domestic anime culture and create a doujin game brand.[2] In the early days, the company received almost no external financing until 2014, when it developed thanks to the success of Houkai Gakuen 2.[5] Liu currently owns 22.6 per cent stake of miHoYo, being the second largest shareholder.[6]
In December 2020, Liu was appointed as a non-executive director and a member of the Strategic Development Committee of XD Inc.[7] In July 2022, Liu took on the role of part-time vice president of the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce.[8] In 2023, Liu was awarded the "National May 1st Labor Medal" by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.[9] In September of the same year, Cai Haoyu stepped down as the legal representative and chairman of miHoYo, and Liu took over the positions.[10][11] At the same time, Liu resigned as the chairman and legal representative of several miHoYo subsidiaries.[12] In December 2023, Liu resigned from his positions at XD Inc.[13]
Depictions in media
editIn the early days of entrepreneurship of miHoYo, Liu had to wear many hats and tried all kinds of work except for art designer.[4] Among these roles, his work in customer service allowed him to interact and engage with players in the gaming community, earning him the nickname "Da Wei" (Chinese: 大伟哥; lit. 'Brother Big Wei') from players. Back then, the miHoYo team did not spend much effort on formal marketing but promoted their games through interactions with fans. During community events, the most popular design created by fans for him was a bald character with no distinct features and the character "Wei" written on his face.[3][14] Liu later appeared in various media activities as the character Da Wei and even appeared as a game character in miHoYo's Houkai Gakuen 2. In Genshin Impact, he appeared as a character named "Unusual Hilichurl," which was based on the game's monster class "Hilichurl."[15]
References
edit- ^ Liu, Yuansheng. 喜讯|校友刘伟荣获2023年全国“五一劳动奖章”！. WeChat (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2023-10-04.
- ^ a b c Yang, Yi; Huang, Mingxin (2012-03-07). 09级研究生刘伟专访--“米哈游”游戏开发团队：左手热情右手代码，未来的路在脚下. School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ a b c 外国玩家如何为米哈游树碑立传？. GameLook (in Simplified Chinese). 2022-11-16. Archived from the original on 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ a b Miao, Lu (2021-05-14). 米哈游创始人刘伟：始于热爱才能一路接受挑战. China News Service (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ Chen, Yuxi (2019-02-27). 向上生长的民企｜米哈游总裁：做出好游戏需要耐心和匠心. The Paper (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ Cao, Ann (2023-09-20). "Genshin Impact creator miHoYo switches chairman role to another co-founder". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
- ^ Yisa (2020-12-18). 大伟哥、刘千里获任心动公司董事. Game Grapes (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ 上海市工商联（总商会）选举产生新一届执委会领导班子（附简历）. EastDay (in Simplified Chinese). 2022-07-20. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ 2023年全国五一劳动奖揭晓！上海92个集体和个人获奖 (in Simplified Chinese). 2023-04-27. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ Huixinge (2023-09-19). 蔡浩宇卸任董事长，米哈游回应：将专注研发. Game Grapes (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ^ Astle, Aaron (2023-09-25). "miHoYo co-founder Cai Haoyu steps down as chairman… Liu Wei steps up". PocketGamer.biz. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
- ^ 米哈游高层人员变动！刘伟现已卸任旗下多家公司职务. Ali (in Simplified Chinese). 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ Qiuqiu (2023-12-17). 心动董事变动：米哈游刘伟辞职，前巨人CEO吴萌出任. Game Grapes (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ テクノロジーオタクが世界を救う：App Store ストーリー. App Store (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2022-08-26. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ Liulei Xiao Binggan (2020-10-18). 米哈游总裁“大伟哥”讲述《原神》背后的故事. Nadianshi (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2022-09-21.