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 significant leadership change. Following substantial layoffs affecting over a thousand employees and disappointing 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, aiming for a fresh start and a renewed direction. The new CEO's strategies will be closely watched.

Perfect World's Recent Challenges

The company's recent performance has been marked by significant setbacks. Widespread layoffs represent a major blow, coupled with declining revenue from existing games. Even One Punch Man: World, initially projected as a major success, underperformed in international beta testing and has remained stagnant since April, with no updates on the App Store or Google Play.

Perfect World anticipates substantial financial losses 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 these losses, 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 a mere dozen. While the outlook is challenging, the upcoming update for Tower of Fantasy offers a glimmer of hope. Tower of Fantasy, Hotta Studio's ambitious open-world gacha RPG, is scheduled to release Version 4.2 on August 6, 2024, potentially boosting revenue.

Perfect World's newly announced game, Neverness to Everness, has generated considerable pre-registration interest. While revenue generation is still some time away (launch is not expected until 2025 at the earliest), the nearly three million pre-registrations worldwide in just one week indicate strong player anticipation for this urban-themed open-world RPG.

The success of Perfect World's turnaround hinges on its new leadership. The coming months will be crucial as the company focuses on key initiatives, streamlines operations, and aims to restore its financial stability.

For more gaming news, see our other article on Wang Yue, the open-world ARPG nearing its testing phase.