On Saturday, a Chinese man carrying two knives was taken away by police from game developer MiHoYo's Shanghai corporate headquarters, Chinese outlet Red Star News confirmed with local police. Chinese media has reported the man was a gamer who tried to kill the company's founders.
The reported motive, though not verified by the police or the company, is that the person is a fan of MiHoYo's 2016 hit game Honkai Impact 3rd and was enraged by the way a March update to the game depicted a female fictitious character. The character was dancing in a Playboy Bunny costume for the game's international version, which some Chinese fans deemed inappropriate. MiHoYo has since apologized for and retracted the costume.
MiHoYo, the company behind global blockbuster mobile game Genshin Impact, has been one of the most successful Chinese independent game developers. It made more than $774 million in revenue last year, according to Bloomberg. Cai Haoyu and Liu Wei, co-founders and current executives of MiHoYo, were the rumored targets, according to Red Star News. The police have said a public announcement is forthcoming.