MiHoYo

Corporate brand

A Shanghai-based Chinese game developer and entertainment company known for globally distributed anime-styled games including Genshin Impact and the Honkai series.

Last updated November 4, 2026

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Overview

miHoYo is a Shanghai-based Chinese technology and entertainment company established in 2012 by Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao. The company grew out of a university-linked development team whose interests centered on anime, comics, games, and related Japanese popular culture. Its early work included the mobile title FlyMe2theMoon, followed by games that established the Honkai brand and gave the studio experience in character-driven live service design, mobile distribution, monetization, and continuous content updates. The company’s early commercial identity was built around anime-inspired games rather than licensed properties. Honkai Gakuen 2, also known as Gun GirlZ in some markets, became an important source of revenue and user experience, while Honkai Impact 3rd expanded the studio’s technical and creative ambitions. The latter combined real-time action combat, stylized 3D presentation, cinematic storytelling, music, and frequent updates. It also helped miHoYo develop a worldwide operating model based on simultaneous or near-simultaneous releases, localization, community management, and direct digital distribution. miHoYo’s defining breakthrough came with Genshin Impact, an open-world action role-playing game released in 2020 for mobile devices, personal computers, and PlayStation platforms. Its free-to-play structure, cross-platform account system, large explorable environments, character-collection mechanics, orchestral music, and extensive localization allowed it to reach audiences well beyond the established anime-game niche. The title was widely discussed internationally, including because of comparisons made between some of its visual and structural features and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Regardless of those comparisons, Genshin Impact established miHoYo as one of the most visible Chinese game companies in the global consumer market and demonstrated that a Chinese-developed original intellectual property could support a large international live-service ecosystem. The company has subsequently broadened its portfolio. Tears of Themis applies the studio’s character and narrative expertise to an interactive romance and courtroom setting. Honkai: Star Rail uses the Honkai universe in a turn-based role-playing format designed for mobile, PC, and console audiences. The company has also announced or promoted additional projects, including Zenless Zone Zero and other titles associated with its broader HoYoverse publishing and brand strategy. Outside game software, miHoYo states that it develops original intellectual property across games, animation, comics, music, novels, and merchandise. HOYO-MiX, the company’s music organization, has become an important part of its games’ identity through recordings, concerts, videos, and soundtrack releases. miHoYo’s market positioning combines premium presentation with free access and recurring digital content. Its games generally rely on a live-service model in which new characters, areas, stories, events, and systems are added after launch. Marketing mixes trailers, social platforms, creator and fan activity, localized advertising, offline promotions, brand collaborations, and music or cultural events. Partnerships and campaigns have included food-service collaborations and platform-specific social-media activations. The approach encourages a large community to participate in discussion, fan creation, streaming, and user-generated content while giving the company multiple channels for maintaining attention between major updates. The company has remained privately held. It filed an IPO application in China in 2017, but the application was withdrawn in 2020; no completed public listing or ticker is established in the supplied sources. The company continues to operate internationally, with its games marketed under the miHoYo name in China and, in many overseas contexts, through the HoYoverse identity. Its central business remains original, anime-influenced interactive entertainment supported by proprietary technology, global publishing, live operations, and a growing cross-media intellectual-property ecosystem.

History

miHoYo’s origins lie in a university-connected group of developers interested in anime, comics, games, and Japanese-influenced visual culture. Before the company was formally registered, the team worked on FlyMe2theMoon, an iOS game that helped demonstrate its ability to create an original, stylized product with limited resources. The company was officially established in Shanghai on 13 February 2012. Its founders were Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao; Jin Zhicheng, who had been associated with the early development team, later left for employment at Cisco and transferred his equity interests to other members of the group. The first stage of miHoYo’s business was defined by experimentation with mobile games and the construction of an original intellectual-property base. Honkai Gakuen 2 became an important commercial and operational foundation. It allowed the studio to learn how to maintain a persistent game, release new content, manage a character-centered community, and build revenue around a free-to-play structure. The Honkai concept was then developed more ambitiously in Honkai Impact 3rd. Released internationally in 2017, that title presented a more technically advanced action game with 3D characters, cinematic sequences, extensive narrative material, and a substantial soundtrack. It was a major step in moving the company from a small mobile developer toward a globally recognized creator of premium-looking live-service games. As the business expanded, miHoYo also established or invested in entities connected with development, publishing, voice production, and other parts of the entertainment pipeline. The company’s stated long-term ambition has been broader than game production alone: it describes an ecosystem spanning animation, comics, games, music, novels, and merchandise built around original IP. This direction encouraged the development of HOYO-MiX and the use of concerts, music videos, recordings, and soundtrack releases as part of the relationship between a game and its audience. In 2017, miHoYo filed an application for an IPO in China. Materials associated with the application reportedly highlighted risks related to concentration in the Honkai series and the possibility that the company might struggle if a major new product failed to attract or retain users. The application was ultimately withdrawn in 2020. The supplied material does not establish a definitive explanation, and the company remained private rather than becoming a publicly traded game publisher. The decisive turning point arrived with Genshin Impact. The first promotional teaser was published in 2019, presenting an open-world action role-playing game with a large fantasy setting, real-time combat, collectible characters, extensive music, and cross-platform ambitions. The title launched in 2020 on mobile, PC, and PlayStation. Its free distribution model and simultaneous global orientation lowered barriers to entry, while localization and regionally adapted promotion helped it reach players outside the company’s established ACG audience. The game’s visual presentation prompted comparisons with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but its combination of open-world exploration, character collection, frequent updates, and a large original narrative universe gave it a distinct ongoing service model. Genshin Impact changed miHoYo’s scale and international visibility. The company increasingly operated as a global entertainment brand, using localized social accounts, digital advertising, creator activity, outdoor advertising, platform partnerships, fan-art programs, and commercial collaborations. Its music and world-building supported a particularly active fandom, while in-game updates created regular promotional moments. Campaigns such as the first-anniversary Twitter activation showed how the company used characters and community rituals to turn a product milestone into a social-media event. The studio continued to diversify with Tears of Themis, a narrative romance and courtroom game, and Honkai: Star Rail, a turn-based role-playing game set in the Honkai universe. Star Rail extended the company’s cross-platform and international strategy, using extensive preregistration advertising, frequent social content, fan-creation initiatives, and discussions with other game-industry figures. miHoYo also promoted Zenless Zone Zero and further Honkai-related projects, demonstrating a portfolio strategy intended to reduce dependence on any single game while reusing production capabilities and a recognizable creative identity. In overseas markets, the company increasingly used the HoYoverse label to present its games and related entertainment as a connected global portfolio, while miHoYo remained the corporate identity associated with the Chinese business. The company’s present model combines proprietary technology, original anime-influenced IP, live operations, direct publishing, localization, audiovisual production, and community marketing. Its history illustrates the transition of a small Shanghai game team into a major international developer whose products are designed from the outset for cross-platform distribution and worldwide fandom.

2023
Honkai: Star Rail global release campaign
[5]Honkai: Star Rail global advertising analysislinkedin.com
The company supported the title with preregistration advertising, social content, community activities, and creator-oriented promotion.
2021
Genshin Impact first-anniversary social campaign
[4]Genshin Impact first-anniversary Twitter case studymarketing.x.com
A Twitter campaign used character-branded creative and sharing mechanics to extend the anniversary beyond the game.
2020
Genshin Impact launches globally
[8]Genshin Impact launches globallykr-asia.com
The cross-platform open-world role-playing game became miHoYo’s international breakthrough and a major global live-service property.
2020
IPO application withdrawn
[2]MiHoYo — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The previously submitted IPO application was withdrawn; the supplied references do not state a confirmed reason.
2019
First Genshin Impact promotional teaser
[3]Genshin Impact marketing strategy analysislinkedin.com
The company publicly promoted Genshin Impact ahead of its 2020 release.
2017
Honkai Impact 3rd expands the studio’s international profile
[2]MiHoYo — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The 3D action role-playing game helped establish miHoYo’s reputation for technically ambitious, character-driven live-service games.
2017
IPO application submitted
[2]MiHoYo — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
miHoYo filed an application for a Chinese public offering, with the filing drawing attention to its concentration in the Honkai series.
2012
Company formally established
[2]MiHoYo — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Shanghai miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd. was formally established in February in Shanghai by Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao.

Products and positioning

A premium, globally distributed anime and ACG entertainment company focused on original intellectual property, cross-platform live-service games, strong audiovisual production, and community-led fandom.

Mobile game · 2011
FlyMe2theMoon
An early iOS title associated with miHoYo’s founding development team. It reflected the studio’s initial focus on original, anime-influenced mobile entertainment and provided an early demonstration of the group’s ability to make a distinctive game with limited resources.
Mobile role-playing game
Honkai Gakuen 2
An important early Honkai title and commercial foundation for the company. It helped miHoYo develop the character-led, update-driven and free-to-play operating model that later supported its larger global releases.
Action role-playing game · 2017
Honkai Impact 3rd
A 3D action role-playing game built around the Honkai universe. It combines real-time combat, cinematic presentation, character collection, ongoing events, and a large narrative setting. The title was a major bridge between miHoYo’s early mobile work and its later cross-platform global strategy.
Open-world action role-playing game · 2020
Genshin Impact
A free-to-play open-world action role-playing game released across mobile, PC, and PlayStation platforms. Its interconnected regions, real-time combat, collectible characters, extensive music, localization, and continuing story updates made it miHoYo’s defining international breakthrough.
Narrative romance and adventure game · 2021
Tears of Themis
A character-driven interactive title that combines romance, investigation, courtroom scenarios, and episodic storytelling. It extends miHoYo’s original-IP strategy beyond action games and targets audiences interested in narrative and relationship-focused play.
Turn-based role-playing game · 2023
Honkai: Star Rail
A cross-platform turn-based role-playing game using the Honkai universe in a space-fantasy setting. It emphasizes party construction, character collection, story episodes, exploration, and regular live-service updates, while applying miHoYo’s established global publishing and community model.
Action role-playing game · 2024
Zenless Zone Zero
A later miHoYo action role-playing project promoted as part of the company’s expanding global portfolio. The title continues the studio’s interest in stylized original worlds, character-focused presentation, and ongoing digital content.
Game music and audiovisual content
HOYO-MiX music
miHoYo’s music and sound-production identity, associated with original scores, soundtrack releases, music videos, concerts, and other audiovisual material supporting the company’s game worlds and characters.

Controversies

2020
Debate over Genshin Impact’s similarities to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Before and around release, commentators compared aspects of Genshin Impact’s visual presentation and open-world design with Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The supplied sources document the comparison and public discussion but do not establish a legal finding of infringement.
Source

2023Honkai: Star Rail preregistration and launch campaign
Global
The campaign combined high-volume advertising with frequent official social posts, character and world-building content, fan-creation activities, interactive reward events, and conversations involving figures from other game studios.
Outcome. The title was reported to have exceeded ten million global preregistrations before launch and entered the market with substantial awareness.
Source
2021Genshin Impact first-anniversary Twitter campaign
Global
The #GenshinAndMeHBD activation used a Twitter Timeline Takeover, character-branded emojis, wallpapers, a new-character tease, and sharing tools to encourage fans to discuss personal memories and favorite characters.
Outcome. Twitter reported 2.8 million engagements, 250,000 new followers, and a 22 percent increase in conversation volume.
Source
2021Genshin Impact offline and cross-industry collaborations
China · Global
miHoYo used food-service partnerships, outdoor advertising, social content, and fan activity to connect the game’s fictional world with physical consumer experiences. References specifically discuss collaborations involving KFC and Pizza Hut, although campaign scope varied by market.
Outcome. The collaborations increased the visibility of the IP outside conventional game media and strengthened the connection between online fandom and offline consumption.
Source
2020Genshin Impact launch marketing
China · North America · Europe · Asia-Pacific
The launch combined platform distribution, social advertising, localized visual creative, narrative trailers, and a free-to-play proposition. Reported examples describe different character emphases in Western and Asian advertising, reflecting an effort to adapt presentation to regional audiences.
Outcome. Genshin Impact achieved broad international reach and became the company’s signature global property.
Source
2019Genshin Impact pre-release promotion
Global
miHoYo introduced Genshin Impact through a cinematic teaser and a sustained pre-release program centered on its fantasy world, visual quality, music, characters, and cross-platform availability. Digital advertising and registration-focused creative were used to build awareness before launch.
Outcome. The campaign helped position the game beyond the existing mobile anime-game audience and supported a highly visible global launch.
Source

Brand decisions

2023
Launch Honkai: Star Rail globallyProduct launch
Background
The company sought to extend the Honkai brand into a different role-playing format while preserving cross-platform distribution and global live operations.
Action taken
Honkai: Star Rail was promoted through global preregistration, advertising, community content, and fan-creation programs before release.
Aftermath
The title entered the market with reported preregistrations above ten million and became a major addition to miHoYo’s portfolio.
Source
2020
Withdraw the IPO applicationOther
Background
The company had an active application while preparing Genshin Impact, a much larger cross-platform project. The supplied references do not confirm the reason for the withdrawal.
Action taken
miHoYo withdrew its IPO application.
Aftermath
The company continued as a privately held developer and soon launched Genshin Impact internationally.
Source
2020
Launch Genshin Impact as a cross-platform live serviceProduct launch
Background
miHoYo aimed to reach a worldwide audience with a large original world, premium audiovisual production, and a free-to-play model.
Action taken
The game was released on mobile, PC, and PlayStation platforms with continuing updates and regionally localized operations.
Aftermath
Genshin Impact became the company’s most internationally prominent property and expanded miHoYo’s audience far beyond its earlier Honkai user base.
Source
2017
Submit a Chinese IPO applicationOther
Background
miHoYo sought public-market financing while its business was still heavily associated with the Honkai series. The filing drew attention to concentration and product-continuity risks.
Action taken
The company submitted an IPO application to Chinese securities regulators.
Aftermath
The application was later withdrawn in 2020, and miHoYo remained private.
Source

Recent events

2023
Honkai: Star Rail exceeds ten million preregistrations[5]Honkai: Star Rail global advertising analysislinkedin.com
Product launch · Campaign
The game’s global preregistration campaign combined large volumes of advertising with community and content marketing before release.
2023
Chris Niosi steps down from Honkai: Star Rail voice role[11]Chris Niosi 退出《崩坏：星穹铁道》配音角色siliconera.com
Leadership change · Other
Chris Niosi stepped down from the role of Moze following public controversy surrounding his casting. The supplied source describes the change but does not provide a detailed company statement.
2021
Genshin Impact anniversary campaign records strong Twitter engagement[4]Genshin Impact first-anniversary Twitter case studymarketing.x.com
Campaign
A Twitter partnership used branded emojis, character-themed creative, a Timeline Takeover, wallpapers, and sharing features. The platform reported 2.8 million engagements, 250,000 new followers, and a 22 percent increase in conversation volume.
2020
miHoYo withdraws its IPO application[2]MiHoYo — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Other
The company’s IPO application was withdrawn. The supplied references do not establish a definitive reason for the withdrawal.
2020
Genshin Impact becomes a global breakout release[8]Genshin Impact launches globallykr-asia.com
Product launch · Product generation
Genshin Impact launched internationally as a cross-platform free-to-play open-world role-playing game and rapidly expanded miHoYo’s global profile.
2017
miHoYo files for a Chinese IPO[2]MiHoYo — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Other
The company submitted an IPO application to Chinese securities regulators, reportedly seeking to raise more than one billion yuan. The filing drew attention to the company’s dependence on its Honkai intellectual property.

Sources19 sources

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