Perfect World Appoints New CEO Amidst Workforce Changes

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 underwhelming financial results, CEO Xiao Hong and co-CEO Lu Xiaoyin have resigned, according to a report by Game Gyroscope 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 assumed the role of CEO. This transition signals a strategic shift for the company as it seeks to revitalize its operations and chart a new course. The new CEO's strategies will be closely watched.

Perfect World's Recent Challenges

The company's recent layoffs represent a considerable setback. Revenue from existing games has declined, and even the highly anticipated One Punch Man: World underperformed in international beta testing. The game has remained strangely inactive, with no updates on the App Store or Google Play since April.

Perfect World anticipates substantial financial losses in the first half of 2024, projecting a net loss of 160-200 million yuan compared to a profit of 379 million yuan the previous year. The gaming division will bear the brunt of this, 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. Despite these difficulties, the upcoming update for Tower of Fantasy offers a glimmer of hope. Tower of Fantasy, Hotta Studio's ambitious open-world gacha RPG, has experienced financial volatility; however, Version 4.2, launching August 6, 2024, is expected to boost excitement and potentially alleviate financial pressures.

Perfect World's newly announced game, Neverness to Everness, has generated considerable pre-registration interest. While revenue generation won't begin until its launch (not expected before 2025), the nearly three million pre-registrations worldwide within a week demonstrate significant player anticipation for this urban-themed open-world RPG.

The success of Perfect World's turnaround under new leadership remains to be seen. The coming months will be crucial as the company focuses on key initiatives, streamlines operations, and works towards financial recovery.

For more gaming news, see our other article: Wang Yue, The Open World ARPG Is Stepping Out Of The Shadows As Testing Phase Nears.