Tencent's New Year Reform Sparks Heated Debate: Executives Admit Team Management Cap Limits at 200–300 People — Is the Era of Burning Cash Really Over?

Tencent's reform at the start of the year may signal the definitive end of China's cash-burning gaming craze — and an industry insider's own words just blew the lid off the whole thing.

Prominent gaming outlet Youxi Putao published an analysis of the signals behind Tencent's year-opening reform. The core argument: China's gaming industry didn't lack money — it grew too fast and was fundamentally unprepared for mega-projects.

The article cited industry figure Gu Yu, who highlighted two core problems. First, team management: large-scale projects demand large-scale talent, but 'not everyone can be miHoYo.' He admitted, 'miHoYo managing a team of over 1,000 people is a miracle — I genuinely admire that ability… our own ceiling is managing two to three hundred people simultaneously.' Second, market opportunity: the market order of the previous era has already collapsed, and 'nobody truly knows' what will succeed in the next era. Most projects have been cancelled because the cost of this arms race has become unsustainable.

The article also quoted a gaming investor who said they've stopped looking at ambitious projects — especially teams claiming they'll push for premium quality. 'That's essentially fighting a resource war, and miHoYo is already sitting there. Who exactly are you trying to outspend?'

Once the post hit NGA, the comment section erupted. The most ironic moment came when one user confessed: 'I misread the title as Girls' Frontline is finished, and got excited for a second' — clearly harboring deep grudges against certain titles.

One commenter offered a blunt summary: 'Simple translation: the market is bad, money is tight, save where you can. Even ByteDance, the one company that could go toe-to-toe with Tencent, has bailed on gaming.'

Others were genuinely curious: 'The era of burning money is over? Doesn't that mean they were burning money all along? What exactly did Tencent make that looked expensive?' The answer came immediately: 'Girls' Frontline 2. They poured in 1 billion RMB — you tell me if that counts as burning money.' Another user piled on: 'Does investing in Sunborn count?' — pointing directly at Tencent's massive bets on the anime game space.

The most savage moment came when the article praised miHoYo's 'miraculous' thousand-person management, only for commenters to fire back: 'miHoYo hasn't really managed a thousand-person team well either' and 'These gaming companies are so lazy — they can't even manage a thousand-person dev team? They've been trying to copy Genshin Impact for years and still can't get it right.' The praise bubble popped on the spot.

Another user dug up old receipts: 'Someone once claimed Genshin Impact could be made with 1 million RMB — who was that again?' A direct jab at the absurd industry talking point that Genshin was somehow cheap to develop.

Several commenters were openly contemptuous of the 'cost-cutting' narrative: 'Oh, so YOU need to cut costs too?' and 'Every time I see this kind of news from Tencent, all I want to say is: maybe fix your own corruption problem first.'

Overall, this discussion lays bare the collective anxiety of China's gaming industry: major publishers are tightening their belts, investors are growing cautious, and the bubble is deflating at an accelerating pace. But the community's response remains characteristically razor-sharp — whether it's 'cost optimization' or 'strategic restructuring,' players just want good games, not executive excuses.