Perfect World Announces New CEO Following Layoffs And Resignations

Perfect World, the Chinese gaming giant behind popular titles like Persona 5: The Phantom X and One Punch Man: World, is undergoing a major leadership change. Following significant layoffs affecting over a thousand employees and underwhelming financial results, CEO Xiao Hong and co-CEO Lu Xiaoyin have resigned, according to a Game Gyroscope report on the Chinese WeChat platform. However, reports suggest they will remain on the board as directors.

Gu Liming, a long-serving Perfect World executive and former Senior Vice President, has been appointed as the new CEO. This transition signals a strategic shift for the company as it aims to revitalize its operations and chart a new course. The upcoming strategies under the new leadership will be closely watched.

Perfect World's Recent Challenges

The company's recent performance has been marked by substantial layoffs and declining revenue from existing games. Even the highly anticipated One Punch Man: World underperformed in international beta testing and has remained surprisingly inactive on the App Store and Google Play since April, lacking updates.

Perfect World anticipates a significant financial downturn in the first half of 2024, projecting a net loss of 160-200 million yuan, a stark contrast to last year's 379 million yuan profit. The gaming division is expected to bear the brunt of this loss, with a projected net loss of 140-180 million yuan.

Further compounding the situation, the middle office team has been drastically reduced from 150 employees to just a few dozen. Despite these challenges, the upcoming update for Tower of Fantasy offers a glimmer of hope for a turnaround. Hotta Studio's ambitious open-world gacha RPG, Tower of Fantasy, version 4.2, launching August 6, 2024, is anticipated to reinvigorate player interest and potentially improve financial performance.

The newly announced game, Neverness to Everness, has already generated considerable excitement. While revenue generation is not expected until at least 2025, the game's nearly three million pre-registrations within a week globally demonstrate significant early interest in Perfect World's new project.

The success of Perfect World's new management team in navigating the company's current difficulties remains to be seen. The coming months will be crucial as they focus on key initiatives, streamline operations, and strive to restore financial stability.

For more gaming news, be sure to check out our other article on Wang Yue, the open-world ARPG nearing its testing phase.