miHoYo Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 上海米哈游网络科技股份有限公司, commonly stylized as miHoYo) is a Chinese video game development and publishing company headquartered in Shanghai, China. The studio is best known for creating globally successful anime-inspired role-playing games, including the Honkai series, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero. Beyond video games, miHoYo develops multimedia franchises that encompass animation, comics, novels, music, merchandise, and other forms of entertainment.

The company operates under the slogan:

“Tech Otakus Save the World”
（技术宅拯救世界）

This motto reflects miHoYo’s identity as a technology-driven organisation focused on combining software engineering, animation production, and Japanese-style pop culture (ACG: anime, comics, games) [1].

Foundation and Early Years (2011–2014)

miHoYo was founded by three students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University who shared a passion for technology and Japanese-inspired ACG culture. The founders originally worked on small independent projects before establishing their own game studio.

The company officially began operations in 2011 and was incorporated as Shanghai miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd. in 2012. Its early philosophy centred on creating original intellectual properties rather than relying on licensed franchises [1].

The first notable project associated with miHoYo was FlyMe2theMoon, a small mobile game inspired by anime aesthetics that introduced themes and design ideas influencing the company’s future works.

Houkai Gakuen / Guns Girl Series

miHoYo gained its first major recognition with Houkai Gakuen 2. Released in 2014, the game expanded the company’s experience in mobile action games and introduced many concepts that became central to the Honkai universe, including:

• Anime-inspired characters
• Science-fiction settings
• Long-form storytelling
• Character-focused narratives

The game served as an important foundation for miHoYo’s later global success.

Honkai Impact 3rd

Released in 2016, Honkai Impact 3rd was miHoYo’s breakthrough title. It introduced:

• 3D anime-style graphics
• Real-time action combat
• Cinematic storytelling
• Animated trailers and music productions
• A large interconnected fictional universe

The game expanded the Honkai franchise internationally and established miHoYo as one of China’s most prominent game developers [1]. The success of Honkai Impact 3rd allowed miHoYo to invest heavily in advanced rendering technology, original animation production, music composition, and global publishing infrastructure.

Tears of Themis

Released in 2020, Tears of Themis represented a departure from miHoYo’s action-focused titles. It is a romance mystery adventure game featuring detective investigations, courtroom-style gameplay, character relationships, and narrative-driven storytelling. This release demonstrated the company’s interest in expanding beyond traditional action RPGs.

Genshin Impact

Released on September 28, 2020, Genshin Impact became miHoYo’s most internationally successful project [2]. The game features:

• A large open world called Teyvat
• Element-based combat
• Exploration and puzzle-solving
• Multiplayer features
• A continuously expanding storyline

The game launched simultaneously on Windows, PlayStation, and mobile platforms, later expanding to additional systems [2].

Impact

Genshin Impact became one of the most commercially successful Chinese-developed games worldwide, significantly increasing global awareness of Chinese game development. Its success allowed miHoYo to expand international operations, build larger development teams, create new entertainment projects, and invest in technology research [2].

In 2022, miHoYo introduced the global brand HoYoverse through its overseas publishing company Cognosphere Pte. Ltd.

HoYoverse was created to represent miHoYo’s broader ambition of building an immersive digital entertainment ecosystem beyond individual games. The brand focuses on video games, animation, music, virtual experiences, and digital communities. In mainland China, the company continues to operate primarily under the miHoYo name, while many global services use the HoYoverse branding.

miHoYo describes itself as a technology-oriented entertainment company. Its research interests include cartoon-style rendering, artificial intelligence, cloud gaming technology, game engine development, and large-scale online world construction.

The company’s stated development philosophy is:

Something New | Something Exciting | Something Out of Imagination

miHoYo’s works are strongly influenced by Japanese animation and gaming culture while incorporating Chinese mythology, science fiction, and original worldbuilding.

Visual Design

• Anime-inspired character designs
• Detailed environments
• Cinematic presentation
• High-quality animation

Storytelling

• Large fictional universes
• Emotional character arcs
• Philosophical themes
• Science-fiction concepts

Music

miHoYo invests heavily in original soundtracks, often producing orchestral music, vocal tracks, and animated music videos connected to its games.

miHoYo primarily uses the free-to-play model with optional purchases. Major revenue sources include character and equipment gacha systems, cosmetic items, in-game currency, merchandise, and multimedia products. The company is considered one of the most successful examples of the modern Chinese free-to-play game industry.

miHoYo presents itself as a company built around creativity, technical innovation, passion for ACG culture, and original intellectual property creation. Its slogan reflects the founders’ background as technology enthusiasts who wanted to combine engineering with entertainment.

miHoYo has become one of the most influential Chinese game companies internationally. Its achievements include bringing Chinese-developed games into mainstream global markets, raising expectations for mobile game production quality, popularising anime-style open-world RPGs, and building large-scale multimedia franchises similar to Japanese entertainment companies.

Through franchises such as Honkai and Genshin Impact, miHoYo has established itself as a major global player in interactive entertainment.

miHoYo is a Shanghai-based game developer founded by technology-minded ACG enthusiasts who transformed a small indie studio into one of the world’s most recognised entertainment companies. Starting with small mobile games, the company grew through the Honkai franchise and achieved worldwide fame with Genshin Impact. Today, through miHoYo and HoYoverse, it aims to create interconnected virtual worlds combining games, animation, music, and technology.

1. miHoYo – TECH OTAKUS SAVE THE WORLD
2. Genshin Impact