William Ding Lei, founder of China’s second-largest video gaming company NetEase, has relinquished his roles as legal representative and executive chairman of one of the firm’s gaming affiliates, according to information from business registration tracking platform Tianyancha, reports the South China Morning Post.
Ding’s retreat from Shanghai NetEase Network Technology Development Limited comes days after it emerged that Lei Jun, founder of smartphone giant Xiaomi, was no longer the chief executive of the company’s gaming unit, Beijing Wali Internet Technologies Co.
NetEase and Xiaomi did not immediately respond to the requests for comment on Tuesday. The moves come as China’s video gaming industry faces the growing scrutiny of Beijing, as well as increasingly fierce competition.