Tencent Loses Supercell Exec to Tiny ‘Genshin Impact’ Rival

Supercell Oy’s former China chief Jim Yang has joined Genshin Impact studio MiHoYo, a coup for the up-and-coming rival to Chinese gaming giants like Tencent Holdings Ltd.

The former Shanghai-based head of global studio for Supercell has taken on a new role as president of MiHoYo and its international division HoYoverse, Yang said in a LinkedIn post. That marks one of the highest-profile hires for the Chinese studio that burst onto the scene two years ago with an action-adventure title that upstaged better-funded mobile titles like Pokémon Go.

The hiring highlights an intensifying competition with Tencent, ...