Chinese authorities have executed former gaming executive Xu Yao for the murder of billionaire businessman and Yoozoo Games founder Lin Qi, whose company held rights connected to Netflix’s hit science fiction series 3 Body Problem.
Xu’s execution, reportedly carried out on 21 May, was confirmed on Tuesday in a statement issued by Yoozoo Games, which said “justice has ultimately been served”.
“We deeply mourn Mr. Lin and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family,” the company said.
“As colleagues who fought alongside him, all members of the company are grateful for the impartiality of the judicial process,” the statement added.
Xu was convicted in 2024 after being found guilty of poisoning Lin in 2020 following internal disputes within the company.
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Chinese media reports said tensions between the two escalated after Lin sidelined Xu from key business operations despite previously entrusting him with major responsibilities linked to the Three-Body science fiction franchise.
Lin had appointed Xu in 2018 to head Three-Body Universe, a subsidiary established to manage projects related to the popular trilogy Remembrance of Earth’s Past by Chinese author Liu Cixin.
The books, which gained global popularity and were translated into nearly 30 languages, later inspired Netflix’s adaptation 3 Body Problem, released in 2024.
According to reports, the fallout between the two executives worsened after Lin reassigned aspects of the business to other company officials.
Xu subsequently carried out a poisoning scheme by disguising toxic substances as probiotic pills and giving them to Lin.
Lin was hospitalised in December 2020 after suddenly falling ill and died nine days later at the age of 39.
At the time of his death, he was reported to have a net worth of about 6.8 billion yuan.
Police arrested Xu shortly after Lin was admitted to hospital.
The court that convicted Xu described the murder plot as “extremely despicable”, according to local media reports.
Investigators also found that several other people became ill as a result of Xu’s poisoning scheme.
Chinese newspaper Economic Observer reported that one of the victims reacted to news of the execution by writing on social media: “Justice comes in the end, even if it’s late.”
Lin’s death shocked China’s gaming and entertainment industries, where he was widely known for building Yoozoo Games into a major global gaming company, including the development of the strategy game Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming.
He was also posthumously credited as an executive producer of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem.
