5 Women Leaders of the Gaming Industry in China to Keep an Eye on

Johnson Ge

While China’s gaming industry is booming, a new generation of women are playing leading roles in different aspects of the industry: Creating innovative indie games, hosting training camps and conventions, and providing data analysis.

Here are five leading women in China’s gaming industry that we believe will play a more influential role in the future, to become a driving force in the industry, and take it to the next level.

Wang Miaoyi (王妙一)

Wang is the founder of WMY studio and the designer of the visual novel WILL: A Wonderful World.  In which players become a god and help change the fate of people and even the world. The game has excellent music, decent art design, and creative gameplay. The overall review impression on Steam is Very Positive, some players even stating it is “One of the best VN they've ever played”.

The development of WILL: A Wonderful World was full of obstacles and difficulties. Wang Miaoyi and her team had a difficult time, but they managed to get through it. According to Wang Miaoyi, rather than focusing on making a profitable game, she prefers more to make a game loved by people. Which she believes she has done with WILL: A Wonderful World. The reviews are outstanding; players are sending grateful messages on social media, some said the game had even changed their life in some ways. Wang Miaoyi said she enjoyed developing games and was planning on the next project soon after WILL: A Wonderful World was released.

Lyu Munan (钻咖)

Lyu is an indie author, journalist, and the owner of the Crossingstar Studio. The studio has around 200 employees and 4-5 ongoing projects. It has been invested in by Tencent for over 100 million CNY in 2021 and has been expanding since then. Storytelling and world design are the major strengths of Crossingstar’s games. Helix Walt, the otome-game created by Crossingstar Studio, has been rated 7.6/10 on Taptap. Among the reviews, over 1.3K mention they are satisfied with the game’s storytelling.

[b]Xia Lin (夏琳)

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Xia is Vice President of Tencent Games and Dean of the Institute of Tencent Games. She joined Tencent in 2002 and co-created the QQ show, the value-added service of QQ, with her team. In 2010, she led the Morefun Studios, developed and released successful games like Roco Kingdom, Naruto Online, etc. Xia Lin assumed the role of Dean for the Institute of Tencent Games in 2016. The institute aims to become the prime platform for sharing gaming knowledge and promoting communication within the industry. Over 660 lectures and online courses were held, and the Institute of Tencent Games supported over 147 games.

Zeta

Zeta is now probably the most recognizable musician in the indie scene. Her childhood was filled with games and music, which could explain her devotion to making music for games. Her reputation comes not only from her passion for indie games but also from the success had by many of the games she collaborated with. Zeta has her own explanation for this; she thinks game developers with strict requirements on game quality will also demand high-quality music design. It is the insistence of game providers that help themselves to achieve their goals.

[b]Xu Huan (徐欢)

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Xu is CEO of Qimai.cn, one of the leading organizations analyzing mobile games in China. Founded in 2013, Qimai.com has covered 155 regions and provided service for over 800k users, including game developers, investors, and press release writers. Xu Huan was honored in The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List 2018.