“There may simply be elements of the development environment that Japanese teams cannot reproduce,” Yoshida continued. He pointed to one major advantage Chinese studios may have: the ability to recruit many staffers who are available to work long hours. While he acknowledged the future could change, he said that, as things stand, that factor seems to explain much of the difference in output.
Assessing that claim is complicated because detailed, English-language reporting on working conditions inside studios like miHoYo is limited. In the West, developers have pushed back against the overtime culture that was once widespread across the industry, and as a result some publishers have shifted routine or labor-intensive tasks to partners in regions with lower costs and different labor norms — a trend that has occasionally led to serious allegations of mistreatment.
At the same time, public perceptions of miHoYo have varied since Genshin Impact’s breakout success: there have been reports of the company giving away PS5 consoles and high-end graphics cards during celebrations, painting a more positive picture for some employees. How representative those anecdotes are of everyday conditions is difficult to determine, but one point Yoshida emphasizes is clear: miHoYo has outpaced many rivals on a global scale.
“Other Chinese companies — and even some Korean studios — are producing ‘miHoYo-like’ games,” Yoshida observed, “but miHoYo still seems intent on staying a step ahead.”
Source: gamesradar.com
