A billion-dollar gaming empire, a Netflix hit, and a deadly betrayal — what began as a business fallout has now ended with an execution in China.
Chinese authorities have executed Xu Yao for the 2020 poisoning of his associate, billionaire gaming executive Lin Qi, the founder of Yoozoo Games.
State-linked reports confirmed the execution was carried out on 21 May, with the company later stating that “justice has ultimately been served.”
So what happened behind the scenes? Lin Qi was a major figure in China’s gaming industry.
His company held adaptation rights to Liu Cixin’s sci-fi epic The Three-Body Problem, which later became the Netflix series 3 Body Problem.
Authorities say Xu, a disgruntled executive, poisoned Lin after being sidelined in company decisions.
The method was chillingly calculated — toxic substances allegedly disguised as health supplements.
Corporate Murder Case Concludes
Lin fell ill in December 2020 and died nine days later at just 39.
A court later described the crime as “extremely despicable,” and Xu was convicted in 2024.
One colleague summed up the sentiment after the execution: “Justice comes in the end, even if it’s late.”
It’s a story that reads like fiction — corporate power struggles, ambition, betrayal — except every chapter was real.
And perhaps the most unsettling question is this: in a world driven by billion-dollar ideas, how far can personal rivalry go before it turns deadly?
