Riding the Waves of Entrepreneurship: Issue 5

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在过去几年间，大众及资本市场对于二次元品类游戏的态度发生了悄然转变，由最初的“小众品类”，逐步发展成为游戏行业里瞩目的新赛道，诸多公司在此赛道竞争中获得了长足的发展及出色的商业成绩。
In the past few years, both the general public and the capital markets have quietly changed their attitudes towards the second-dimensional gaming category, evolving from an initially niche category to a highly anticipated new track in the gaming industry. Many companies have achieved significant development and outstanding business performance through competition in this field.

在2020年第三季度发布的《原神》，凭借优秀的游戏品质和强劲的市场表现，不仅斩获包括苹果App Store 2020 iPhone年度游戏及谷歌Google Play 2020 年度最佳游戏等多项国际大奖，更让米哈游成为了行业瞩目的焦点。
With the release of *Genshin Impact* in the third quarter of 2020, it not only won multiple international awards, including the 2020 iPhone Game of the Year on Apple App Store and the 2020 Best Game on Google Play, but also made miHoYo the focus of the industry.

在第五期上海交通大学硅谷校友会组织的“乘风破浪--交大人职场/创业故事”系列对话中，米哈游联合创始人兼CEO – 蔡浩宇受邀分享了自创业以来的经历及故事，游戏创作的背后逻辑，对于公司发展及未来的计划和思考，给大家带来了满满的干货。
During the "Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves - Jiao Tong University Alumni Career/Entrepreneurship Stories" series dialogue organized by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Silicon Valley Alumni Association, miHoYo's co-founder and CEO, Cai Haoyu, was invited to share his entrepreneurial experiences and stories since founding the company. He discussed the underlying logic of game creation, the company's development plans, and future considerations, providing valuable insights for everyone.

## Combining Idealism and Reality, Persevering on the ACG Path

2011年，由于看准了移动游戏这一新市场，三位就读于上海交通大学计算机科学与技术(Computer Science and Engineering)和通信与信息系统（Communication and Information Systems）的研究生组成了初创团队，以独立开发者的身份在iOS上推出了Fly me 2 the Moon 这款独立游戏，并在次年正式成立了米哈游。公司成立后，经过一整年的研发，《崩坏学园》这款产品正式在中国区App Store上线。而在《崩坏学园》的制作过程当中，米哈游也拿到了第一笔也是唯一一笔100万元的天使投资。
In 2011, three graduate students studying Computer Science and Engineering and Communication and Information Systems at Shanghai Jiao Tong University formed a startup team, recognizing the potential of the mobile gaming market. They released their first independent game, *FlyMe2theMoon*, on iOS as independent developers and officially founded miHoYo the following year. After a year of development, their product *Houkai Gakuen* was launched on the Chinese App Store. During the production of *Houkai Gakuen*, miHoYo secured their first and only angel investment of 1 million RMB.

“其实在12、13年我们出去拉投资的时候，大多数的投资机构都并不是特别看好我们，因为他们当时觉得我们在做的ACG产品太过小众化，不太具备投资价值。但当时因为我们创始团队对于ACG文化的热爱，而我们也恰恰也代表了这部分用户，因此我们还是决定将ACG 这条路走下去。”
In the early days, most investment firms were not very optimistic about miHoYo's ACG products, considering them too niche and lacking investment value. However, the founding team's passion for ACG culture, representing a specific user base, led them to continue their path in the ACG field.

不过由于前期两款产品推出后均没有达到团队的商业预期，米哈游迎来了创业以来“最艰难的时期”。
Initially, both of their first two game products did not meet the team's commercial expectations, leading miHoYo to face its "most difficult period" since starting the business.

“我们创立米哈游是带有理想主义成分在的，以及至今我们都是秉持这个精神在做这件事。通过前面两款游戏我们也意识到，付费下载游戏在当时的移动平台很难获得商业上特别高的成功。在2013年我们想明白一件事情就是，要将现实这件事情落地。做一款好的ACG游戏必须具备两个条件：第一个就是一定要好玩，你要明白你的目标用户是谁，他们需要什么，你能不能满足他们的需求；第二个就是有合理的商业模式。之后我们就决定要做‘服务游戏’，也就是大家说的Free-to-Play (F2P)的游戏。”
Despite this, they remained idealistic and committed to their vision, understanding the challenges of monetizing paid downloadable games on mobile platforms. In 2013, they decided to embrace the reality and focus on creating a "service game," commonly known as Free-to-Play (F2P) games.

即使明确了方向，因为还没有得到市场及用户的反馈，2013年的米哈游团队依然在焦灼这条路到底“行不行得通”。直到2014年《崩坏学园2》的横空出世并成为了第一款受到用户及市场认可的国产二次元游戏，蔡浩宇及团队才完全认定了接下来的产品及公司发展方向。
Even with a clear direction, the lack of market and user feedback left the miHoYo team uncertain about the viability of their path in 2013. It wasn't until the release of *Houkai Gakuen 2* in 2014, becoming the first domestically produced second-dimensional game acknowledged and embraced by users and the market, that Cai Haoyu and the team fully confirmed their future product and company development direction.

“在14年之后我们是保证了每三到四年都会有一款核心产品面世，而我们的目标也越来越明确，就是要做出超出用户预期的产品，我们公司有句话叫做‘something new, something exciting, something out of imagination’，在核心产品的开发上，我们需求的是一款产品的开发难度是‘足够难’的，因为只有在‘足够难’的情况下，才有可能超出用户预期。”
Since 2014, they have committed to launching a core product every three to four years, with a clear goal of creating products that exceed users' expectations. Their company motto, "Something New, Something Exciting, Something Out of Imagination," drives them to develop products that are "sufficiently challenging" because it's only under such conditions that they can exceed user expectations.

这句话在米哈游接下来的产品上得到了印证，从2016年推出的3D 动作手游《崩坏3》到挑战开放世界品类的《原神》，都一次次超出了用户的预期，并让米哈游产品的市场表现登上新的台阶。
This philosophy has been validated in miHoYo's subsequent products, from the 2016 3D action mobile game *Honkai Impact 3rd* to the open-world masterpiece *Genshin Impact*, each time surpassing user expectations and taking miHoYo's product market performance to new heights.

## Creating a Virtual World for One Billion People

“技术宅拯救世界” – 这个作为米哈游的口号在诸多科技企业中显得独树一帜。
由于公司创始人的专业出身， “技术”这个词早已烙印在米哈游的产品基因里，而蔡浩宇更表示公司会将产品的营收投入到更多科技研究和相应课题上，比如AI研究。“做一家科技公司是团队的一个情结，是一件很酷的事情。”
"Tech Otakus Save the World" - This slogan of miHoYo stands out uniquely among various tech companies. Due to the founders' technical background, the word "Technology" has been imprinted in miHoYo's product DNA. Cai Haoyu further expressed that the company will reinvest its product revenue into more technological research and related projects, such as AI research. "Being a tech company is a team aspiration, and it's a cool thing to do."

而 “宅”这件事情上，则与米哈游创作的内容有关。除了对科技保持高度兴趣之外，米哈游的初创团队以及大部分员工对ACG文化抱有很高的热诚，而在技术追赶的路上，米哈游将自己热爱的事情与这部分结合起来，用最好的技术，做出符合用户需求的内容。
The involvement of "otaku" is related to miHoYo's content creation. Besides their strong interest in technology, the founding team and most employees of miHoYo are deeply passionate about ACG culture. While striving to catch up with technology, miHoYo combines its love for ACG with its work and uses the best technology to create content that meets users' needs.

而聊到关于“拯救世界”，蔡浩宇说到，米哈游愿景是打造一个像《黑客帝国》或者《头号玩家》等作品描绘出的有着海量内容，有大量细节，同时又是实时更新的虚拟世界，让用户获得现实世界中无法获得的体验。
As for the aspect of "Save the World," Cai Haoyu mentioned that miHoYo's vision is to create a virtual world depicted in works like *The Matrix* or *Ready Player One*, with massive content, abundant details, and real-time updates, offering users experiences not available in the real world.

“我们经常讲米哈游并不是一个游戏公司，因为我们的最终愿景是能给用户打造一个巨大的虚拟世界，而现阶段来讲，开放世界碰巧是最接近虚拟世界的一个原型，我们希望在这个原型上每三到四年有一个迭代，让它逐步变成我们想要完成的一个虚拟世界的样子。”
"We often say that miHoYi is not just a gaming company because our ultimate goal is to create a vast virtual world for users. At this stage, an open-world concept happens to be the closest prototype to a virtual world. We aim to have iterations on this prototype every three to four years, gradually shaping it into the virtual world we want to achieve."

## Global Footprint, Delving Deep into Technological Exploration and Development

“打造一个10亿人的虚拟世界” 是米哈游的长期愿景，而对应这个愿景的则是米哈游对技术的深挖探索及全球型策略。三年前，米哈游成立“逆熵”研究部门，主要集中在做两件事情，一是追赶3A级别厂商工业化水平，另外一个就是对新的技术的探索及研究。
"Creating a Virtual World for One Billion People" is miHoYo's long-term vision, and to achieve this vision, miHoYo has been deeply exploring technology and adopting a global strategy. Three years ago, miHoYo established the "Anti-Entropy" research department, primarily focused on two main tasks: catching up with 3A-level industrial standards and exploring and researching new technologies.

“比如我们现在在做的虚拟角色 – 鹿鸣，我们最终的目标是可以实现在Unreal引擎上进行实时渲染，而她的动作及声音都可以用AI来生成，这样让这个虚拟角色在未来可以进行实时live 直播的形式出现；另外一个就是渲染技术上的突破，我们追求的一个方向就是stylized realism（真实世界风格化），因为卡通渲染是偏概括化的表现形式，要追求真实世界中的复杂材质是比较困难的，我们希望最终呈现的是，在风格化内容基础上加入真实世界的细节。”
"For example, the virtual character we are working on, Lumi (*N0va Desktop*), our ultimate goal is to achieve real-time rendering on the Unreal Engine, with her movements and voice generated using AI. This way, the virtual character can appear in real-time live broadcasts in the future. Another aspect is the breakthrough in rendering technology, where we are pursuing 'stylized realism,' because cartoon rendering is a more generalized representation, and it is challenging to achieve the complexity of real-world materials. Our vision is to combine stylized content with real-world details."

经过十年的时间，随着在技术层面上探索的不断深入，米哈游也已经由当年那个 3人的初创团队，逐步发展为超过2400名员工的“技术为导向的一家公司”。与传统大作开发模式不一样的是，米哈游外包形式非常的少。蔡浩宇谈到，采用集中in-house 的生产方式，虽然可能产生效率和档期的问题，但能做到最好的质量把控和沟通效率，一切都是源自于 “对质量的不妥协”。
Over the course of ten years, as their technological explorations deepened, miHoYo has evolved from a 3-person startup team to a "technology-oriented company" with over 2,400 employees. Unlike traditional AAA game development models, miHoYo uses very little outsourcing. Cai Haoyu mentioned that while using a centralized in-house production approach may lead to efficiency and scheduling issues, it allows them to maintain the best quality control and communication efficiency, all driven by their "uncompromising commitment to quality."

下一步，米哈游更是要立足全球，计划在多个国家和地区建立研发中心，吸引全球的科研人才。
Next, miHoYo plans to establish research and development centers in multiple countries and regions, aiming to attract global research talent.

“讲到我们的最终愿景是建立一个10亿人的虚拟世界，与这个目标相对应的就是米哈游全球化策略。之前我们的研发团队都在中国大陆地区，而在去年我们已经在加拿大蒙特利尔建立了研发工作室，美国洛杉矶研发中心也在建立当中。我们希望顺着《原神》的出海，能汲取更多海外的研发能力，吸纳全球的优秀科研人才， 一起来完成‘创造虚拟世界’ 这一愿景。”
"In line with our ultimate vision of creating a virtual world for one billion people, miHoYo is implementing a global strategy. Previously, our R&D teams were all based in mainland China, but last year, we established a development studio in Montreal, Canada, and we are currently setting up an R&D center in Los Angeles, USA. We hope to expand our overseas research capabilities through *Genshin Impact*'s international success and attract outstanding research talent from around the world to achieve our vision of 'creating a virtual world' together."

## miHoYo's Future Plans and Reflections

《原神》上线至今不到半年，而提到产品的市场表现，蔡浩宇坦言道，上线前有一定的设想，但游戏上线之后，特别是全球范围的市场表现，还是超出了团队的预期。在接下来，团队会坚持“长期运营”的策略，将《原神》的内容进行一个稳定地输出及更新，以满足玩家的期待。
Since its launch less than half a year ago, *Genshin Impact* has exceeded the team's expectations in terms of market performance, especially in the global market. Cai Haoyu admits that while they had certain ideas before the game's release, the post-launch performance surpassed their predictions. Moving forward, the team will adhere to a "long-term operation" strategy, providing stable content updates for *Genshin Impact* to meet players' expectations.

“我们会坚持‘长线运营’这一策略，就比如《崩坏学园2》到现在已经六年的时间，依旧在运营当中。而《原神》来讲，因为我们游戏立项时就设定有七城，而现在我们才释出了两个城邦，接下来我们还有很多的工作要做，同时团队的投入对比上线，只会增加，不会减少。”
"We will stick to the 'long-term operation' strategy. For instance, *Houkai Gakuen 2* has been running for six years, and it's still operational. As for *Genshin Impact*, we planned for seven cities during the game's inception, but we have only released two so far. There's still a lot of work ahead, and the team's investment will only increase, not decrease, compared to the launch phase."

同时，在聊到《原神》之后的产品，蔡浩宇分享到，在《原神》上线前后其实陷入了一段时间的迷茫期，2014年之后团队做到了每三四年就有一款核心产品，并超越前面的产品取得一定的提升。但是在《原神》之后，下一代产品要超越前者的话，那么在技术上投入肯定会更大，而持续堆高的技术表现，硬件的发展速度是否会成为一个瓶颈，而单个产品的上限又在何处。
Regarding their next projects after *Genshin Impact*, Cai Haoyu shared that they faced a period of uncertainty before and after the game's release. Since 2014, the team has been producing a core product every three to four years, continuously surpassing the previous ones. However, to surpass *Genshin Impact* with the next generation of products, they will need even greater technological investment. The continuous advancement in technology and hardware development may become a bottleneck, and they need to identify the limits of individual products.

“我们最终的目标是创造虚拟世界，这是我们的‘第二增长曲线’，也是我们未来的进化方向。其实这跟玩家的支持是分不开的，让我们可以有能力能在技术开发上投入更加多，来逐步实现‘创造虚拟世界’这件事。”
"Our ultimate goal is to create a virtual world. This is our 'second growth curve' and the direction of our future evolution. This is closely related to the support from players, which enables us to have the ability to invest more in technology development and gradually achieve the goal of 'creating a virtual world.'"

在聊到关于米哈游“第二增长曲线” 这个概念的时候，蔡浩宇再次突出了对于“人才”的渴求，立足全球且建立多个研发中心，正是为了能吸纳各国的“技术型人才”，与之共同探索未来和在建立“虚拟世界”的路上，一起发掘更多的可能性。
When discussing the concept of miHoYo's "second growth curve," Cai Haoyu emphasized their desire for "talent," establishing multiple research centers worldwide to attract "technology-oriented talents" from various countries to explore the future and discover more possibilities in the journey of "creating a virtual world."

在最后，蔡浩宇在互动环节就观众的问题提供了解答（以下为摘录）：
In the end, during the interactive session, Cai Haoyu provided answers to the audience's questions (as excerpted below):

出海这件事情，其实像《原神》这样成功的产品其实特别少，如果谈到如何帮助国产游戏走向海外，有哪些经验是可以分享的？
Going global, successful products like *Genshin Impact* are quite rare. If we talk about helping domestic games expand overseas, what experiences can you share?

答：其实在《原神》之前，在海外取得更好市场表现的游戏是很多的，不管是在日本市场还是美国市场，但这些游戏大多以SLG为主，跟我们的商业模式也不太一样。其实我们这次出海还是基于内容本身。列举几个原因吧，其实之前海外用户对于F2P 游戏都会有一定的刻板印象存在，但《原神》这款产品的内容量是足够的，玩家在不付费的情况下也能获得比较好的游戏体验，这就打破了玩家对于F2P游戏的认知，是超出了玩家的预期；另外从游戏本身来说，我们全球多平台同时上架，内容和玩法都是统一的，这也就验证了只要一款产品是足够好玩的，各平台的用户接纳度会趋同；说到内容和题材上，我们做《原神》的理念就是，创造一个美好的、大家都喜欢的开放世界，你会发现，其实大家对于美好事物的追求是一样的，举个例子来说，有玩家跟我们反馈，因为疫情没办法出门，但《原神》让他可以在游戏内欣赏风景，找到内心平静的感觉，与我们来说是深受感动和鼓舞；最后就是基础服务要做好，《原神》有13种本地化语言和4种语言配音，这能让更多玩家以更加亲近的方式来体验游戏。
Answer: Before *Genshin Impact*, many games achieved better market performance overseas, whether in the Japanese or American markets. However, these games were mostly SLG-focused, and their business models differed from ours. Our success in going global is based on the game's content itself. Several factors contribute to this success. Firstly, prior to *Genshin Impact*, overseas users had certain preconceptions about F2P games. However, *Genshin Impact* offered substantial content, allowing players to enjoy a good gaming experience without paying, thus surpassing players' expectations of F2P games. Secondly, the game was simultaneously launched on multiple global platforms, ensuring consistent content and gameplay, demonstrating that a well-designed and enjoyable product can be embraced by users across various platforms. Regarding content and themes, the concept behind *Genshin Impact* was to create a beautiful and universally loved open world. Pursuing positivity and beauty resonates with players worldwide. For instance, some players shared feedback that due to the pandemic, they couldn't go outside, but *Genshin Impact* allowed them to appreciate the scenery and find inner peace within the game, deeply moving and inspiring them. Lastly, providing excellent basic services is crucial. *Genshin Impact* supports 13 localized languages and features voice acting in four languages, enabling more players to experience the game in a familiar and intimate manner.

有很多国内公司都在海外开设office, 米哈游这部分的主要规划是怎么样的？功能和方向是什么？
Many domestic companies are opening offices overseas. What is miHoYo's main plan for this? What are the functions and directions?

答：我们之前看到很多厉害的游戏公司都在海外开设分部的情况，但因为我们其实缺乏全球公司的管理经验，另外对团队之间的配合、沟通效率上等会有一些顾虑，因此在建立海外office这件事情我们之前一直都比较谨慎；但受到疫情的影响，我们看到很多公司其实都已经习得在家办公的经验，而在我们建立蒙特利尔的研发中心之前，已经有一部分加拿大同事已经跟我们远程工作了一年，效率是不错的，这也让我们有信心再往前走一步。
Answer: We have observed many successful game companies establishing overseas branches. However, due to our lack of experience in managing a global company and concerns about team collaboration and communication efficiency, we were cautious about setting up overseas offices. However, the pandemic has shown us that remote work is feasible, and before establishing the Montreal research center, some of our Canadian colleagues had already been working remotely for a year, which proved to be efficient. This gave us the confidence to take the next step.

在方向上，一种office是偏向发行向，会着重海外当地的市场及运营工作，比如我们的韩国及日本分部；而另外一种是偏向研发中心，我们在蒙特利尔已经在去年建立起来，新加坡和美国洛杉矶的研发中心也在规划当中。在开发模式上我们更偏向一起做一个大的项目，不管是向海外优秀的公司学习专业的管线、理念也好，还是做技术向的研发，海外有非常多好的人才，我们希望能与这些人一起探索未来。
In terms of direction, one type of office will focus on publishing, emphasizing local market and operational efforts, such as our Korean and Japanese branches. The other type will be research and development centers. We have already established the Montreal center, and we are planning for centers in Singapore and Los Angeles. We lean towards working on significant projects together. We learn from excellent overseas companies in terms of professional pipelines, concepts, and technical research. There are many talented individuals abroad, and we hope to explore the future together with them.

米哈游招人的标准及特色是什么？
What are miHoYo's hiring standards and characteristics?

答：首先我们希望招的这个人在对应领域是专业的，这个是核心；另外一个就是如果能理解我们产品想要传达的内容和感觉，能非常快领会我们的产品思路，那更是一个加分项。
Answer: First and foremost, we seek individuals who are professionals in their respective fields. That is the core criterion. Additionally, understanding the content and emotions that our products aim to convey and quickly grasping our product ideas would be a significant plus.