According to sources, Guangmang, General Manager of Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group’s Content Development Department (CDD), has recently joined Game Science.
Industry insiders confirmed this information. The move was based on a mutual agreement between the two parties, with Tencent’s support. Internally, Tencent has also completed a thorough transition process. Guangmang will continue to serve as an advisor to the virtual idol Xing Tong and the game VirtuaLoop, supporting their ongoing development.
Guangmang’s real name is Liu Zhipeng. He graduated in 2005 with a degree in Vehicle Engineering. Two years later, he joined an advertising agency specializing in gaming, where he led the planning department. There, he created a training course called "The Chronicle of Online Games" and delivered numerous lectures at various companies. This experience later led him to join Tencent Interactive Entertainment in 2009—his interviewer at the time was Steven Ma Xiaoyi, Senior Vice President of Tencent Group.
At Tencent, he witnessed the rise of Tencent Games’ “Four Classics” era. He led the branding and marketing for dozens of products, including Asura (Dou Zhan Shen), Monster Hunter Online, Contra: Return, and King of Chaos. During the age of “pan-entertainment,” he built a reputation for creating emotional resonance and brand reputation based on player insights and IP storytelling.
During the promotion of Asura, the static movie posters he designed broke the industry’s traditional marketing conventions and became an early prototype of content-driven marketing. Many Tencent Interactive Entertainment employees also recall his legendary 3.5-hour onboarding lecture, "The Unpoetic Era of Online Games."
Since Asura was his first project at Tencent, Guangmang built strong ties with that team, which later became the core of Game Science. They’ve remained close ever since. In the 2023 Lunar New Year skit for Black Myth: Wukong, he even made a cameo as an “animation technology expert” (though the name and role were fictional for comedic effect).
Later, when Black Myth: Wukong hosted its exhibition, Guangmang appeared under the same pseudonym, introducing himself as a “Game Science staff member” and serving as a tour guide. This lighthearted Easter egg reflected their long-standing friendship.
The Guangmang department, later headed by the Content Development Department (CDD), was established at the end of 2020 under Tencent IEG. CDD manages several business lines, including virtual humans and virtual production, providing content technology support to IEG and other Tencent divisions. Its mission is to explore the use of game engines in non-gaming fields — effectively serving as a content production middle platform.
Among its most well-known projects is Xing Tong, a virtual idol originating from the QQ Dance series. Xing Tong is one of the most popular and influential virtual streamers in China’s “Vtuber” scene. Thanks to CDD’s technical strength, the project stands at the forefront of production quality and expressive performance. CDD also supported multiple collaborations within the Vtuber community, and Xing Tong has even appeared in several national television programs.
Behind Xing Tong’s success, Guangmang played a pivotal role. He frequently appeared in livestreams, explained the production process, and even had his own avatar, engaging in many memorable interactions.
Another key project is VirtuaLoop — often referred to as a “god-tier second game” by fans in the Vtuber community. The concept originated from Guangmang himself, who proposed and helped plan the project. The game revolves around virtual streamers in the real world, envisioning a “Vtuber all-star lineup.” VirtuaLoop has released two promotional videos, the latest of which has garnered over 17 million views, with a closed beta planned for next year.
Given that CDD is not a development studio and VirtuaLoop’s concept was highly experimental, obtaining project approval was challenging. During livestreams, Guangmang mentioned that the NDA he signed for this project had “no upper limit.” He also shared that convincing Tencent’s leadership was difficult — “even explaining the idea took much effort.”
Even within the team, many initially found the concept hard to believe. Guangmang countered with one question: “If we actually make it, would you want to play it?” That question changed minds. He added, “Just think of us as going on a journey to the West. There will be 81 trials, and we’ll find a way through them all.”
Both Xing Tong and VirtuaLoop have since earned strong internal and external support from Tencent and are now progressing smoothly. In a previous livestream, Guangmang mentioned that the company had already allocated resources for VirtuaLoop’s next stage even before the release of its second PV.
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