Death of young ‘genius’ Tencent programmer shocks China’s gaming industry
- Mao Xingyun, a video game programmer and avid writer who enjoyed a following on the Chinese internet, died at age 30
- Mao represented a new generation of tech talent in China who aspire to make the country a global front runner in their respective fields
The sudden death of a young programmer at Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings, regarded as a “genius” and one of the country’s best hopes in making world-class video games, has sent shock waves across the industry.
Shenzhen-based Tencent confirmed on Wednesday the passing of 30-year-old Mao Xingyun, a lead engine programmer at Tencent Games, after news of his death spread across the internet.
“It is with deepest sorrow that we confirm that Mao Xingyun, a member of TiMi F1 Studio, died unexpectedly on the morning of December 11, 2021,” Tencent said in a statement, without specifying the cause of Mao’s death. “Xingyun had been an integral part of the team with his strong expertise and dedication to work. He will be immensely missed.”
An internal letter addressed to Mao’s colleagues said the programmer was hospitalised in August and September for unspecified health issues, according to Yinshi Finance, an online media outlet backed by the state-run Zhejiang Daily. He was said to have returned to work after his condition stabilised.
“Xingyun showed outstanding professional skills and performance during his time with the team for more than five years, and had always had high expectations for himself,” Winco Qin, general manager of TiMi F1 Studio reportedly wrote. Tencent declined to comment on the letter.
Mao was one of the most well-known young talents in China’s gaming industry, representing a new generation of tech experts aspiring to turn the country into a video gaming powerhouse. His death became a trending topic on China’s social media, topping the hot search list on microblogging platform Weibo at one point on Wednesday.
Mao’s earlier essays and posts outlining his ambitions were widely shared by internet users.
One of Mao’s most popular posts was a short essay he wrote in 2013 when he was studying in Ukraine. “I have a dream that one day we will play a sandbox game made in Shanghai rather than living the American dream in Grand Theft Auto,” he wrote, referring to the blockbuster game franchise that let players drive around locales modelled after US cities.
“I have a dream that one day, Chinese games, as with other industries in China, can stand as front runners in the world,” Mao wrote.
Tencent said it has set up a special task force to assist Mao’s family, but declined to disclose more information “as per his family’s request”.
Known also by his handle “Qianmo”, Mao wrote more than 160 posts about video game programming in the past 10 years in his blog on the Chinese Software Developer Network (CSDN). He also shared his study notes on GitHub, a global open-source software development community.
Mao published two books: A Journey of Chasing Dreams: Windows Game Programming from Scratch in 2013 and Introduction to OpenCV3 Programming in 2015. He was also active on Zhihu, a Quora-like Chinese platform where he shared knowledge on game development with his more than 58,900 followers.
Mao revealed on Zhihu in October that Tencent had established TiMi F1 Studio, a new cross-continent unit that is developing a massive open-world game, which aims to replicate the virtual world Oasis, depicted in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 hit film Ready Player One and widely referenced as a fictional example of the metaverse.
What is the metaverse, how will it work and why does Facebook want in?
Mao’s last Zhihu post was published on November 4, when he deflected compliments from Chinese media with a matter-of-fact explanation of his role at Tencent Games. Mao said he had just turned 30 and still had much to learn.
Mao rose to fame in China’s tech world while he was still a student at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, one of the top technology institutes in China. As a graduate student, he published his first book and was named Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in 2014 – an award given by the US tech firm to distinguished experts.
After news of Mao’s death broke, netizens flocked to his Zhihu and CSDN pages to mourn his passing.
“His contribution outside his profession is immeasurable,” Zhihu user Chengjuan wrote in a comment that was upvoted over 8,000 times. “His collection of research papers on real-time rendering alone was an invaluable treasure … I have benefited immensely from his efforts, and he was one of the few people on the internet that I’m grateful to.”
