Perfect World Taps New Leader Amidst Management Shakeup

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 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 revised 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. Extensive layoffs represent a considerable blow. Revenue from existing games has declined, with even the highly anticipated One Punch Man: World underperforming in international beta testing. The game has remained inexplicably stagnant, lacking updates on the App Store and 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, a stark contrast to the 379 million yuan profit recorded last year. 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, shrinking from 150 employees to a mere dozen. Despite these difficulties, the upcoming update for Tower of Fantasy offers a glimmer of hope for a turnaround. Tower of Fantasy, Hotta Studio's ambitious open-world gacha RPG, has experienced fluctuating financial performance, with Version 4.2 slated for release on August 6, 2024, aiming to reinvigorate interest and potentially improve financial standing.

Perfect World's newly announced game, Neverness to Everness, has generated considerable pre-registration interest. While revenue generation is still some time away (a 2025 launch is the earliest expectation), the nearly three million pre-registrations worldwide within a week indicate strong player anticipation.

The success of Perfect World's new management team in navigating these challenges remains to be seen. The coming months will be crucial as they implement key initiatives, streamline operations, and strive to restore financial stability.

For more gaming news, see our coverage of Wang Yue, the open-world ARPG nearing its testing phase.