From 2000 to 2008, that was the golden age of PC gaming.
Shanda shot straight to the top with "The Legend of Mir 2," and Chen Qiao briefly became the richest man in China, enjoying unprecedented fame.
NetEase followed closely, with "Fantasy Westward Journey" becoming a phenomenon that stayed popular for over a decade.
The9 secured the agency rights for "World of Warcraft," raking in huge profits as well.
The landscape back then was crystal clear: Shanda was first, NetEase second, The9 third, and Tencent could only pick up scraps from behind.
But from 2008 onward, the situation completely changed.
Thanks to its terrifying traffic gateway, QQ, Tencent began a frenzied takeover.
First, it struck in the casual game arena, beating down once-dominant titles like "Audition" and "Crazy Kart" until they were lost.
Then, the licensed games "CrossFire" and "Dungeon & Fighter" exploded upon launch, becoming the new darlings of internet cafes.
By 2009, Tencent’s gaming revenue had already surpassed Shanda and NetEase, officially taking the top spot among domestic game companies.
Liu Yutong watched the intense esports competition on stage and couldn’t help but think.
The truth was, Tencent’s success now wasn’t about how good its games were—it was that terrifying traffic gateway, QQ.
With hundreds of millions of users, simply channeling some traffic could push any product to the top.
But was that really a good thing?
She still believed that the complacency bred by traffic monopoly would eventually kill innovation.
Just as she was pondering this, her phone suddenly rang.
She glanced at it—it was actually Pony Ma calling.
Speak of the devil.
“President Ma, what made you think to call me?” Liu Yutong answered with a smile.
A gentle male voice came through the line.
“Director Liu, I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Not at all. I’m actually watching your ‘League of Legends’ tournament right now.”
“President Ma, just say what you need to say. No need for formalities between us.”
Pony Ma paused on the other end for two seconds before speaking.
“Director Liu, I’m calling today because I need to discuss something with you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Well… we at Tencent have been working on our own microblogging service lately, and the product is about to launch soon. So, some of our past advertising collaborations with Weibo may need to be readjusted.”
“Are you saying you won’t let Weibo place ads on Tencent’s platforms anymore?”
“It’s not that we won’t allow it, just that adjustments are needed.”
“Our partnership has always been pleasant, and I hope we can find a way that works for both of us.”
Hearing this, Liu Yutong wasn’t surprised at all.
Tencent had already copied her farm game before, and it was only natural for them to copy Weibo now.
But this time, it seemed to be happening earlier than in her previous life.
In her past life, Tencent’s microblogging service launched in 2010, but now it was only 2009—a full year ahead.
Apparently, Weibo’s rise had put pressure on Tencent, pushing them to accelerate their own social product to defend their traffic turf.
“President Ma, I think it’s a good thing that Tencent is launching a microblogging service.”
These words left Pony Ma on the other end momentarily baffled.
Wait, was this girl serious?
She actually thought it was good?
Wasn’t she afraid history would repeat itself? Or was she underestimating Tencent’s copycat prowess?
“Director Liu, honestly, are you angry? I…”
“I mean it, President Ma. Seriously, I welcome Tencent entering the microblogging space.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe the market needs competition.”
“Right now, Weibo dominates alone, and frankly, that makes me uneasy. All the users are on my side, all the traffic flows to me. What if one day I get carried away, or my team does, and we make a bad product? Users would curse me out.”
“Having a competitor to share the blame with wouldn’t be so bad.”
On the phone, Pony Ma fell silent.
He suddenly felt he couldn’t quite figure out this young woman anymore.
She had built Weibo from scratch, it was now the largest social media platform in China, and Tencent was about to poach her turf, users, and traffic—yet she said she welcomed the competition.
This level of vision… he felt a bit unworthy.
“Director Liu, what you said makes me a little ashamed.”
“President Ma, don’t be ashamed. I’m being sincere.”
“But…”
Pony Ma’s heart skipped a beat: “But what?”
“Do you remember a pretty big acquisition case this year?”
“You mean Coca-Cola wanting to buy Huiyuan Juice?”
“Exactly, that one.”
“Coca-Cola offered 17.9 billion to acquire Huiyuan, but the Ministry of Commerce blocked it, citing monopoly concerns.”
“I think that decision was absolutely right. No industry should allow monopolies—monopolies kill vitality. So, I’m genuinely happy that you’re entering the microblogging space.”
“Director Liu, I…”
Pony Ma didn’t know what to say anymore. It felt like he’d finally met someone who understood him.
In recent years, everyone had been bashing him for copying and imitating. Now, at last, someone got it.
He was doing this to prevent monopolies, right?
Sure, it sounded nice enough to be comforting.
Director Liu really was a perceptive person.
No, if Director Liu was being so magnanimous, he couldn’t just let it pass without reciprocating. He should at least show more support for Loongson as an apology for canceling the partnership.
Little did he know, he was completely misreading the situation.
Liu Yutong had said those words to plant an idea.
She had let him copy so much from her—Farm Game and Weibo—without losing her temper, right?
So, when her own instant messaging service launched, she hoped he wouldn’t lose his temper either, and would sincerely congratulate her.
“Thank you, Director Liu.”
“You’ve set a great example. Business competition may be fierce, but it doesn’t have to affect our personal friendship.”
“Well said, President Ma. No matter how fierce the competition, personal friendships shouldn’t suffer.”
“Then I wish Tencent’s microblogging service a smooth launch. When the time comes, I’ll make sure to send a big bouquet of flowers.”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
After hanging up, Liu Yutong turned her attention back to the match on stage.
Pony Ma’s call had only strengthened her resolve.
No industry should be monopolized, and she wouldn’t allow anyone to monopolize—not even herself.
The position of QQ was hard to shake, but a chance had emerged to change the landscape and prevent Tencent’s monopoly.
Instant messaging tools.
Why was QQ so dominant?
Because it was the earliest instant messaging tool in China, had the accumulated user base, and had formed the strongest social relationship network.
Hundreds of millions of people were on QQ. If you wanted to switch to another app, no one would chat with you there—so you couldn’t switch.
That was the most terrifying part of social software—the network effect.
The more users, the harder it was to replace.
But that didn’t mean QQ was forever unshakable.
When new technology, new scenarios, or new demands emerged, that was the opportunity to break the monopoly.
Mobile internet was that opportunity.
In her previous life, WeChat launched in 2011 and took less than two years to completely reshape the landscape of domestic social software.
Although QQ was still thriving, it was no longer the sole ruler.
It was only 2009 now, so she still had at least a one-year window.
One year.
That was more than enough.
