Chinese Man Executed For Murdering Gaming Billionaire Behind Netflix’s ‘3 Body Problem’

Chinese authorities have executed Xu Yao, the previous govt convicted of murdering billionaire gaming entrepreneur Lin Qi in a poisoning case linked to the hit science-fiction franchise ‘3 Body Problem’. The execution was carried out on May 21, almost 4 years after Lin’s dying shocked China’s gaming and leisure industries, BBC reported. The case stemmed from an inner fallout at Shanghai-based Yoozoo Games, the corporate based by Lin Qi, which held the display screen adaptation rights to Liu Cixin’s acclaimed Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy- the premise for Netflix’s 3 Body Problem collection.

Lin, who based Yoozoo Games and constructed it into certainly one of China’s main gaming firms, had appointed Xu Yao in 2018 to move Three-Body Universe, a subsidiary accountable for managing the franchise’s initiatives and licensing offers. Xu later helped safe a significant adaptation settlement with Netflix.

However, relations between the 2 deteriorated in 2020 after Lin reportedly eliminated Xu from key enterprise operations and handed management to different executives.

According to Chinese media and courtroom findings, Xu deliberate an elaborate revenge assault after feeling sidelined. Investigators stated Xu disguised poisonous substances, together with pufferfish neurotoxin and mercury compounds, as probiotic well being dietary supplements and gave them to Lin. In December 2020, Lin was hospitalised after abruptly falling sick and died 9 days later on the age of 39.

Authorities later revealed that a number of different Yoozoo workers have been additionally poisoned in a wider scheme. Among them have been govt producer Zhao Jilong and his spouse, who survived however reportedly suffered long-term well being issues.

Police arrested Xu days after Lin was admitted to the hospital. In 2024, a Chinese courtroom convicted him of homicide, describing the crime as extraordinarily despicable, and sentenced him to dying. The sentence was later accepted by China’s Supreme People’s Court.

Yoozoo Games confirmed the execution on Tuesday and thanked the courts in a public assertion, saying justice had finally been served. “We deeply mourn Mr Lin and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family. As colleagues who fought alongside him, all members of the company are grateful for the impartiality of the judicial process,” Yoozoo stated in a press release.

At the time of his dying, Lin’s estimated web value stood at round 6.8 billion yuan (about $941 million). He was broadly identified for constructing Yoozoo Games into a world gaming firm behind titles akin to Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming.

Despite his dying, Lin was posthumously credited as an govt producer on Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, which premiered in 2024 and have become one of many platform’s most-watched reveals worldwide.