ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming tries Genshin Impact but wonders if his employees spend too much time on it

  • In a screenshot widely shared online, Zhang Yiming asks if his workers are spending too much time discussing Genshin Impact during working hours
  • The head of TikTok owner ByteDance tried out the hit new video game as the company expands in gaming to take on rivals Tencent and NetEase

Tracy Quin Hong Kong,Josh Yein Hong KongandCoco Fengin Beijing
ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming recently received widespread attention for his comments in a company group chat criticising the amount of time his employees spent talking about the hit new video game Genshin Impact. Photo: Bloomberg

As TikTok owner ByteDance pushes into video games in a bid to compete with industry heavyweights Tencent Holdings and NetEase, company CEO Zhang Yiming has expressed concern that his employees are spending too much time playing the Genshin Impact, the blockbuster new game from rival developer miHoYo.

In a screenshot shared online, and confirmed to the Post by a ByteDance employee, Zhang was seen posting a message in a group chat on the company’s enterprise collaboration tool Feishu, known as Lark overseas. Zhang lamented in the group that his employees were “talking excessively about [Genshin Impact] during work hours”.

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