Chinese Game Publisher CEO Dies in Suspected Poisoning
Yoozoo is a video game publisher based out of China that was founded by 39-year-old billionaire CEO Lin Qi in 2009, who passed away on Christmas after a suspected poisoning from an unknown source. Lin is also credited as the executive producer of The Three-Body Problem, an upcoming Netflix series headed by “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
The Three-Body Problem is based on a trilogy of bestselling Chinese novels that has been translated into dozens of languages, and Yoozoo acquired the rights to its screen adaptation in 2015 with plans to create a series of six films. The company had already begun working on Chinese-language adaptations of the books through an affiliate company called The Three-Body Problem Universe, led by CEO Xu Yao, when Yoozoo agreed to create the Netflix series.
On December 16, Lin became ill and checked himself into the hospitals, and by December 17 the CEO was already exhibiting signs of brain death, according to Variety. Doctors notified police that they suspected he had been poisoned. An investigation ensued and police zeroed in on Xu, who is believed to have poisoned Lin due to a work dispute among company executives. Xu has since been arrested, although the investigation has not been closed.
While the general consensus as to Lin’s cause of death on Christmas Day remains poisoning, the precise source of the poison is now disputed. Initially, the CEO was believed to have been poisoned with aged pu’er tea, according to local Chinese media outlets. Other outlets claimed that Lin passed away from a cocktail of poisons.
Dr. Zhou, who attended to Lin before his death, pointed out that he ate blueberries the day that he fell ill, although it’s unclear if the doctor considers that a potential source of the poison. The CEO’s symptoms, speculated Zhou, were consistent with those experienced from ingesting tetrodotoxin, a deadly neurotoxin found in pufferfish.
Yoozoo Games confirmed on Christmas Day that it had received news of Lin's passing from his family. “The board of directors gives its highest respects to the chairman for his contributions to the firm,” the statement read, and it continues to say employees at Yoozoo were in “deep grief and mourning.” Another farewell was later shared on the company’s social media, and bouquets of white flowers and candles in the shape of a heart were placed outside of Yoozoo headquarters in Shanghai.
Yoozoo Games started out publishing online PC games and has more recently made the transition to mobile games. According to the company’s 2020 semi-annual report from September, it consistently ranked among the six highest grossing mobile game publishers in China, and reported record profits this year.
Source: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Yoozoo Games
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