Recently, the Summer Internship Cohort of the Financial Youth Association successfully launched its first phase of “two-session” cross-sector corporate visits. To further broaden young students’ cross-industry perspectives, this event focused on the emerging economies of entertainment/gaming and original IP in recent years. Through on-site corporate visits and in-depth sharing with founders, it helped Hong Kong financial youths step outside traditional financial viewpoints, gain an up-close appreciation of the innovative vitality and global expansion strategies of mainland China’s cultural and creative industries, and accumulate cross-sector knowledge that promotes the integration and agglomeration of industries between Beijing and Hong Kong.
Exploring Game Globalization: From Local R&D to Global Publishing
The first stop was Hero Games, where students gained a systematic understanding of domestic game companies’ R&D systems and global development strategies. Company representatives shared multiple benchmark cases, including Art of War (Red Tides) receiving attention from Apple CEO Tim Cook, the company’s early-stage investment in the R&D team behind Black Myth: Wukong, and the reverse export of the Japanese IP New Sangokushi as a classic globalization example. At the same time, the team provided an accessible analysis of how domestic games combine self-developed products with ongoing project pipelines. Students gained a complete grasp of the full-industry-chain logic—from art self-development, compliance, and project incubation to global publishing—and also delved into the company’s dual-track talent system in content technology and management, acquiring a brand-new understanding of the innovation ecosystem in cultural-tech enterprises.
Focusing on IP Operations: Telling China’s Stories with a Long-Term Approach
The second session featured a special sharing by Mr. Zou, founder of AHAVERSE, who used the nationally beloved IP Scissor Seven as the core case to deconstruct the global operation methodology of a top-tier Chinese IP. As Netflix’s first original Chinese animated series, Scissor Seven now reaches 190 countries and regions worldwide, making it a benchmark for Chinese cultural exports. Mr. Zou shared the company’s unique IP governance system, which includes establishing a CIPO (Chief IP Officer) office to standardize IP open-source management and creative guardrails, adhering to the core principles of “creator first” and “content is king,” and ensuring long-term quality through full-platform distribution and self-developed derivative IP. He emphasized that only IP with compelling stories and emotional resonance possesses the power to endure across the entire lifecycle, and pointed out that the cultural and creative industries need financial talent with cross-disciplinary backgrounds to empower them—using capital thinking to help Chinese IP go global and tell China’s stories well. He also previewed new IP upgrade plans, including feature films and life-content projects, giving students a glimpse into the long-term potential of China’s cultural creativity.
Youth Resonance: Sparking Industrial Change Through Cross-Sector Thinking
It was noted that with the rapid iteration of AI technology, consumer demand in the new era is continuously upgrading toward emotional and spiritual value, creating new opportunities for the cultural and creative industries. The speakers encouraged Hong Kong youths to break down financial industry silos, understand the long-term commitment and deep-cultivation spirit of the cultural-creative sector, and leverage their financial expertise to connect with new-economy resources—thereby forging cross-disciplinary synergies in the new era and promoting integrated development between Beijing and Hong Kong’s financial, cultural, and entertainment sectors.
Company Profile – Hero Games
Hero Games was established in June 2015 and is a leading Chinese game developer and publisher with globally competitive revenues. Its main businesses include mobile game development, operations, publishing, and mobile esports event organization. Representative works include Black Myth: Wukong, Counter-Strike, Warframe (and related titles), and the Blade series. Its spin-off, Hero Esports, is a globally leading esports event operator, dedicated to creating content and products beloved by esports enthusiasts worldwide and driving esports to become one of the most influential forces in next-generation sports and entertainment.
Company Profile – AHAVERSE
AHAVERSE was established in November 2014 and is a comprehensive entertainment company headquartered in Shanghai, with subsidiaries in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. It is committed to creating moments of “epiphany architecture”—building complete worldviews from stories, transforming those worldviews into immersive experiences, and sustaining long-term fan connections through experiential layering. The company supports its self-developed creative platform AHABOOKS and a rich portfolio of original IP spanning animation, films, games, music, merchandise, and offline immersive experiences, inviting audiences to revisit and rediscover their favorite story worlds.