China has executed a man who murdered his billionaire boss after a disagreement over the management of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem series.
Xu Yao was sentenced to death after poisoning Lin Qi, the founder of Chinese video game firm Yoozoo Games, using fake probiotic pills he’d filled with an extremely toxic form of mercury.
The two men had previously been colleagues, and worked together at Yoozoo during the launch of its Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming video game spinoff.
In addition to games, Yoozoo also manages the film and TV rights for the Chinese sci-fi series Remembrance of Earth’s Past — better known to international audiences as 3 Body Problem. Indeed, Lin is posthumously credited as an executive producer on the first season of Netflix’s big budget 3 Body Problem adaption, led by former Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, released back in 2024.
Lin initially placed Xu in charge of managing the 3 Body Problem franchise rights, before a disagreement led to him being replaced in the role. It was after this that Xu began supplying Lin with toxic probiotic pills — which both Lin and his wife ingested.
While Lin’s wife survived, Lin died in hospital in December 2020, with doctors aware he had been poisoned. Xu was eventually arrested and sentenced to death after a 2024 trial. Last week, that sentence was carried out.
“We deeply mourn Mr. Lin and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family,” Yoozoo said in a statement, as reported by BBC News. “As colleagues who fought alongside him, all members of the company are grateful for the impartiality of the judicial process… Justice has ultimately been served.”
Netflix’s 3 Body Problem series is set to stream its second season later this year, with a third and final run also greenlit.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
