Lin Qi, president and CEO of Chinese game developer Yoozoo and executive producer of Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of The three body problem, died after allegedly being poisoned by a colleague.
The 39-year-old man’s death was reported by local media and confirmed by Yoozoo in a statement posted on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange saying he was informed of Lin’s death by his family on December 25. It did not provide a specific cause for death.
Earlier this week, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government said that Lin had probably been poisoned and that a colleague had been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation. The suspect’s full name was not released, but Yoozoo said the man, surnamed Xu, works in his film and TV business.
Lin was admitted to the hospital on December 16 and authorities were notified of the suspected poisoning on December 17.
The three body problem is the hugely popular science fiction book trilogy written by author Liu Cixin, who also wrote the source material for the 2019 Chinese blockbuster The wandering land. In September of this year, War of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss defined the project on Netflix, which acquired the rights to the Yoozoo Group (also known as Yuzou Interactive). Yoozoo is also an online video game developer Game of Thrones: winter is coming.
Lin founded Yoozoo in 2009 and the company acquired the rights to Liu’s film Three-Body Problem book trilogy in 2014, when he set up his film division. His own film adaptations have been delayed over the years.
Lin was the controlling shareholder of Yoozoo with about 24% of the company whose board of directors paid “the greatest respect to Mr. Lin Qi for his contribution,” said the statement (translated from Chinese). Yoozoo will select “suitable candidates for president and general manager as soon as possible,” he added.