By Paul Joseph
Chinese authorities have executed Xu Yao, a former lawyer, for the 2020 murder of billionaire gaming tycoon Lin Qi.
The execution reportedly took place on 21 May and was confirmed on Tuesday by Lin’s company, Yoozoo Games.
According to local media reports, Xu poisoned Lin after a dispute over business matters. Lin had recently sidelined Xu shortly after he helped secure a Netflix adaptation deal for the Chinese science fiction trilogy Remembrance of Earth’s Past, which Netflix produced as the series 3 Body Problem.
In a statement, Yoozoo Games said: “Justice has ultimately 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.”
Lin, 39, was the founder of Yoozoo Games, the Shanghai-based developer best known for Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming. In 2018, he appointed Xu to lead Three-Body Universe, a subsidiary managing projects related to the sci-fi franchise.
Their relationship soured in 2020 when Lin reassigned key business responsibilities to other executives.
Xu reportedly disguised lethal substances as probiotic pills and administered them to Lin. Lin fell seriously ill in December 2020 and died nine days later.
His net worth was estimated at 6.8 billion yuan (£745m; $941m) at the time, according to the Hurun China Rich List. Several others were reportedly affected by Xu’s poisoning plot.
Xu was convicted of murder in 2024, with the court describing his actions as “extremely despicable.”
The Netflix adaptation of 3 Body Problem, released in 2024, became one of the platform’s most-watched shows, with Lin posthumously credited as an executive producer.
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