Xinmin Evening News 2020

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“技术宅拯救世界”，一走进上海米哈游网络科技股份有限公司，就看到这样一句话写在了公司的标识之下。技术，是米哈游的生命线。在疫情期间，米哈游的业绩不降反升。游戏、视频等在线数字文化内容产业为民众的精神需求是提供了足够的内容支撑，凸显出了数字文化内容产业的经济效益，社会效益。上海市委宣传部出台了上海文化企业“20条”（《全力支持服务本市文化企业疫情防控平稳健康发展的若干政策措施》），第16条明确提到了“培育壮大电子竞技、数字动漫、在线旅游、智慧传媒、数字文博等新业态”。米哈游代表同行们说出感谢心声：“对游戏行业从业者来说，信心比黄金更重要。”作为上海土生土长的大学生创业典型个案，米哈游一路走来可谓传奇。去年收入超过20亿元的米哈游，玩转二次元的世界。
"Tech Otakus Save the World" - As soon as you step into Shanghai miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd., you see this phrase written beneath the company's logo. Technology is miHoYo's lifeline. During the pandemic, miHoYo's performance soared instead of declining. The online digital cultural content industry, including games and videos, provided sufficient content support for people's spiritual needs, highlighting the economic and social benefits of the digital cultural content industry.

The Shanghai Municipal Party Committee's Propaganda Department introduced the "20 Measures" to fully support and serve the stable and healthy development of local cultural enterprises during the epidemic. The 16th measure specifically mentioned "nurturing and developing new formats such as esports, digital animation, online tourism, smart media, and digital cultural exhibitions."

miHoYo and fellow industry representatives expressed their gratitude, saying, "For practitioners in the gaming industry, confidence is more valuable than gold." As a typical case of college students' entrepreneurship in Shanghai, miHoYo's journey has been nothing short of legendary. With revenue exceeding 2 billion RMB last year, miHoYo is dominating the world of two-dimensional culture.

## Origin of Living in Shanghai Jiao Tong University Dormitory

米哈游成立的故事，要从上海交大的某个男生宿舍说起。刘伟的微信签名写着“不断微笑”，微笑确实是他充满感染力的“武器”。刘伟2005年本科考入上海交大电子信息和电气工程学院，直到2012年硕士毕业，大学期间他遇到了蔡浩宇、罗宇皓两位志同道合的小伙伴。2009年，他们以宿舍为基地，开始了前米哈游时期的创业。建动漫网站，做Flash引擎，从早上8点到晚上11点，吃喝都在宿舍里，就这样埋头苦干了好多个月。刘伟咧开嘴笑了，“一点都不苦，你看我长的样子就是典型的理工宅男。做自己热爱的事，很开心。”刘伟和小伙伴当年最着迷的，是中文翻译为《天鹰战士》的日本动漫，“记得还是由鞠萍姐姐配音的。”
The story of miHoYo began in a male dormitory at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Liu Wei's WeChat signature read "Keep Smiling," and indeed, his infectious smile was his greatest weapon. In 2005, Liu Wei entered the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University for his undergraduate studies and graduated with a master's degree in 2012. During his university years, he met like-minded companions Cai Haoyu and Luo Yuhao. In 2009, they started their entrepreneurial journey based in their dormitory, beginning the pre-miHoYo era. They built anime websites, developed Flash engines, and worked diligently from 8 in the morning until 11 at night, eating and drinking in their dorm. Liu Wei grinned and said, "It wasn't tough at all. Just look at me; I'm a typical science and engineering otaku. Doing what you love is very fulfilling." Back then, Liu Wei and his friends were particularly fascinated with [the] Japanese anime [*Neon Genesis Evangelion*], translated into Chinese as *Tian Ying Zhanshi*, which was dubbed by Ju Ping.

2011年即将毕业之际，三个人打定了主意决定一起创业。他们申请了帮助大学生创业的无息贷款总额10万元，以及钦州路100号大学生创业孵化器50平方米免费半年的办公场地。到了2011年年底，他们获得了100万元的天使投资。这也是米哈游从初创到现在唯一收到的投资，其他的壮大都是由自己一点点积攒、堆砌。创业，哪有不艰难的。刘伟自己说，第一代产品不太成功。整整三年时间，除去交社保和个税，每月到手大约3600元。他们租了一间70平方米的小房子，隔成三间。租金3900元，分摊到每人头上1300元。楼下的沙县小吃、兰州拉面、菜饭骨头汤，就这样吃了三年。其实也并不久远，往事真的历历在目。刘伟说起那段日子，依旧是释然地笑：“我们就这样活着，活在大上海。”即便如此，他们一刻也没想过放弃。“不过，如果第四年还是这样，我们该撑不下去了。”
In 2011, as they were about to graduate, the three of them made up their minds to start a business together. They applied for interest-free loans totaling 100,000 yuan for college student entrepreneurship and got a 50-square-meter free office space at No.100 Qinzhou Road College Student Entrepreneurship Incubator for six months. By the end of 2011, they secured 1 million yuan in angel investment. This is also the only investment miHoYo has received from its inception until now; all other growth has been achieved through their own efforts, bit by bit. Entrepreneurship is never easy. Liu Wei admitted that their first-generation product wasn't very successful. For three whole years, after deducting social security and income tax, they took home around 3,600 yuan per month. They rented a small 70-square-meter house and divided it into three rooms. The rent was 3,900 yuan, which meant 1,300 yuan per person. They ate local snacks, Lanzhou noodles, and simple meals for three years. Although not too distant, those memories were still vivid. When Liu Wei talked about those days, he smiled with acceptance, "That's how we lived, in the heart of Shanghai." Even so, they never once thought of giving up. "But if the fourth year is still the same, we might not be able to hold on."

2014年，国产动画市场迎来了爆发期。刘伟提了好几遍米哈游很幸运。“真的很幸运，我们还没撒手，时代的机会就来了。而这个时候，因为此前三年的积累，我们恰好是国产动漫游戏最好的代表。”米哈游苦哈哈的三年，其实是产品研发、商业模式探索的摸索期、蛰伏期。幸运，眷顾的从来都是有准备的人。2014年，米哈游年营业收入超过1亿元。
In 2014, the domestic animation market experienced a boom. Liu Wei mentioned several times that miHoYo was very fortunate. "Truly fortunate. We haven't given up, and the opportunity of the era came. At this time, because of the accumulation of the previous three years, we happened to be the best representative of domestic anime games." miHoYo's hard three years were actually a period of product development, business model exploration, and incubation. Luck always favors the prepared. In 2014, miHoYo's annual revenue exceeded 100 million yuan.

## Dreaming of a Distant World

米哈游不忘初心。举一个小小例子，就能看出米哈游的性格属性。初创三人在钦州路安营扎寨，如今米哈游已经扩大到近1500人的团队，他们搬到了宜山路上的普天信息产业园。刘伟说：“离最开始创业的地方很近很近。我们一开始就在徐汇，现在还在徐汇，这里是米哈游的根。”如今，三个85后的年轻人早已不再蜗居，各自安家，只不过仍旧在公司的周边。流行的996到了刘伟这里可不够用，“早上9点到晚上10点，干满6天，你看我现在的样子不久跟以前一样充满激情吗？”他还是笑。
miHoYo never forgets its original intention. A small example reveals the character of miHoYo. Initially, the startup team of three settled in Qinzhou Road, and now miHoYo has grown to a team of nearly 1500 people, relocating to Putian Information Industry Park on Yishan Road. Liu Wei said, "We are still very close to where we started our business. We began in Xuhui, and we are still in Xuhui. This is the root of miHoYo." Today, these three young people born in the 1980s are no longer living together but have each found their own homes, though still close to the company. The popular 996 work schedule is not enough for Liu Wei, who says, "From 9 in the morning until 10 at night, working 6 days a week – just look at me, don't I still look passionate as before?" And he smiles.

《崩坏3》2016年公测后，以出色的画风、美术品质、地图、动作、人物手感，加上优秀的战斗机制、庞大的世界观剧情，受到玩家的追捧。甚至许多玩家将《崩坏3》称为近年来最出色的手游作品，其品质完全不像是一家新公司的呈现。作为一家深耕二次元的企业，米哈游在成为一家出色游戏公司的基础上，还有着更多愿景。迄今为止，米哈游自主创作的“崩坏”系列动画作品在网络上的播放量累计超过5000万次。同时米哈游还推出《崩坏学园2》《崩坏3》《原神》等一系列IP的原创漫画和视觉小说，网络总阅读量超过3亿次。在IP运营方面，米哈游开发了大量《崩坏》系列的动漫周边产品。官方店铺的成交量在天猫、淘宝动漫类店铺的排行榜中多次位居第一。
After the public beta of *Honkai Impact 3rd* in 2016, it received praise from players for its excellent art style, quality, maps, animations, character controls, outstanding combat mechanics, and a vast world and story. Many players even consider *Honkai Impact 3rd* as one of the best mobile games in recent years, and its quality is not at all indicative of a new company. As a company deeply rooted in the world of two-dimensional culture, miHoYo has more visions beyond being an excellent game company. To date, the independently created *Honkai* series animations by miHoYo have accumulated over 50 million views on the internet. At the same time, miHoYo has also launched a series of original comics and visual novels for IPs like *Houkai Gakuen 2*, *Honkai Impact 3rd*, and *Genshin Impact*, with a total online reading count of over 300 million. In terms of IP operations, miHoYo has developed a large number of anime peripheral products for the *Honkai* series, with their official store often topping the charts in the Tmall and Taobao anime category.

所有的这些成绩，在刘伟眼里，还很不够。米哈游的梦想在远方的世界。去年，米哈游营业收入超过20亿元，其中三分之一的收入来自海外市场。刘伟毫不含糊地表示：“我们就是要做世界一流的动漫公司。”米哈游有两个目标，其一是将国际化做得更好。“第二，虽然我们手游，IP的周边都做得很出色，但每年的高品质动画产量最多就是20-30分钟。中国现在不缺创意，但我们缺少动漫产业的工业化产能，这与海外最优秀的公司，比如迪士尼还有很大差距。靠别人去帮助自己不现实，也不是解决问题的根本，我们也一定要自己强大起来。”（新民晚报记者 华心怡）
However, in Liu Wei's eyes, all these achievements are still far from enough. miHoYo's dream lies in a distant world. Last year, miHoYo's revenue exceeded 2 billion yuan, with one-third coming from the overseas market. Liu Wei emphatically stated, "We want to become a world-class anime company." miHoYo has two goals: one is to enhance internationalization. "The second goal is that, although our mobile games and IP peripherals are doing well, the annual output of high-quality animation is limited to about 20-30 minutes. China is not lacking in creativity, but we lack the industrial capacity in the animation industry. This is a significant gap compared to the best overseas companies like Disney. It's not realistic or fundamental to rely on others for help; we must also become strong ourselves." (By Hua Xinyi, Xinmin Evening News reporter)

## In a Moment's Evaluation | The Power of Dreams

米哈游是一家极具潜力且持续快速成长的创业公司，从《崩坏学园2》到《崩坏3》，再至《原神》，短短7年时间里，米哈游从最初三四人扩张到了1500人。高调做产品，低调做企业，这是许多圈内人对米哈游的评价。
miHoYo is an incredibly promising and rapidly growing startup company. From *Houkai Gakuen 2* to *Honkai Impact 3rd*, and now *Genshin Impact*, miHoYo has expanded from a small team of three or four people to a workforce of 1500 in just 7 years. They are known for being high-profile in product development while maintaining a low profile as a company — this is how many insiders describe miHoYo.

是什么让米哈游在初期如此艰难的状况下撑过三年？是什么让《崩坏3》每个版本的资料片可以花费数百万元制作，品质丝毫不逊于欧美和日本动漫？刘伟和他的同伴们，一直被梦想的力量驱使。一家企业当然不能只靠情怀去生存，去竞争，但没有内涵，没有坚持的企业，是不可能成为时代的先锋。米哈游的新作《原神》项目的研发成本达数亿元，游戏研发团队人数超过400人。对游戏品质精益求精，成为米哈游的信仰。
What enabled miHoYo to survive the challenging early years? What allowed them to invest hundreds of millions in producing each version of the *Honkai Impact 3rd* expansion, with quality rivaling that of Western and Japanese anime? Liu Wei and his companions have always been driven by the power of dreams. An enterprise cannot solely rely on sentiment to survive and compete, but a company without substance, without perseverance, cannot become a pioneer of the era. The development cost of miHoYo's new project *Genshin Impact* amounted to hundreds of millions, and the game development team consists of over 400 people. They have an unwavering belief in pursuing the utmost quality in their games, which has become miHoYo's faith.

刘伟一直说米哈游是幸运的，生逢其时。他们拥有梦想，他们也拥有梦想的守护者。从大学生扶持资金，到如今各种政策的支持，这座城市，尊重每一个闪光点，点亮你，点亮我。（华心怡）
Liu Wei always says that miHoYo is lucky to have emerged at the right time. They possess dreams and guardians of those dreams. From the support of college student funds to various policy backing nowadays, this city respects every shining point, illuminating you, illuminating me. (By Hua Xinyi)