miHoYo strikes again with an absolutely legendary PR blunder — giving away a free 5-star character in Honkai: Star Rail should have been a slam dunk, but the company managed to turn goodwill into nuclear-level cringe with one simple move on Weibo.
Someone spotted a Weibo trending topic where miHoYo was literally being called players' '义父' (yì fù) — an ancient Chinese term for 'honorary father' or 'benefactor.' The NGA forum erupted instantly. Imagine being a gacha player who just wanted some free pulls, and now the company is out here demanding you call them daddy.
One commenter nailed it perfectly: 'Giving away one character just means we curse you less — now you actually think you can squat on players' heads and call yourself our daddy? Pathetic.' This captures the collective sentiment: free stuff is nice, but buying a hot search topic to essentially demand filial piety from your consumer base is peak audacity.
What made it even more sus was the suspiciously uniform nature of the hashtag. One user asked the real question: 'This many people calling the company 'daddy' in perfect sync — this has to be a PR operation, right?' Most people agreed this wasn't organic player gratitude but a paid marketing stunt that spectacularly backfired.
Another commenter delivered the most savage burn of all: 'First came the Yes-Man (应声虫) incident, now this 'Cyber Daddy' thing — are they speedrunning their own funeral?' Someone else posed a rhetorical question that hit different: 'Name one game company that literally calls itself the players' father.' The implication is crystal clear — giving away a free gacha character and then demanding paternal recognition is the kind of move that gets you ratio'd into oblivion.
This isn't the first time miHoYo's Weibo marketing has gone sideways either — there was that previous 'digital criminal record' (赛博案底) hashtag debacle. But this 'Cyber Daddy' incident might just take the crown for the most tone-deaf gacha marketing move of the year. The lesson is simple: players will happily take free stuff, but the moment you try to weaponize generosity into a 'call me daddy' campaign, don't be surprised when the internet claps back with maximum force.
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