Century Horizon

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Century Horizon
Original Name	世纪万象
Founder	Chen Hao 36 577
Occupation / Role	Network technology company; later the core of Century Horizon Group’s internet-business ecosystem 36 108
Headquarters	China World Trade Center, Beijing; initially the entire 22nd floor 36
Registered Capital	10 million yuan 36
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 36

Background / History

Century Horizon was founded on April 8, 2002 by Chen Hao, Lin Lang, Xu Pengkun, and Pang Ban. It began with four co-founders and no employees. Chen Hao registered it as a network technology company with 10 million yuan in capital, naming it to reflect his ambition to dominate the new century’s internet industry. Its original business scope covered software development, network engineering, hardware and software sales, advertising, internet game publishing, telecommunications services, and related computer businesses. 36 577

The company established its first office on the 22nd floor of Beijing’s China World Trade Center. It also rented a Zhongguancun factory to construct a professional server room and procured ten sets of EMC Blade Servers. 36

On June 1, 2002, Century Horizon secured exclusive Chinese publishing rights for Miracle MU from Webzen. It began external recruitment one week later, attracting 104 recruits over two days. Miracle entered open beta on August 8 and reached 200,000 concurrent players on its first day. 50 577

The company expanded beyond game publishing with the September 2002 launch of Taoyoubao, an online virtual-item trading platform. It then acquired 17173, established Century Giant Hardware Services, created a medical-relief platform, and acquired Phantom Forum through Century Investment. 95 577

In January 2003, Century Interactive Entertainment was established and Century Horizon transitioned into a group-based organization. The group later expanded into social networking, security, media, technology research, infrastructure, e-commerce, charity, esports, and overseas operations. 109 288 389 577

Corporate Development

Period	Development
2002	Founded with four co-founders; established Beijing office and server-room infrastructure. 36 577
June–September 2002	Secured Miracle MU publishing rights, recruited its first personnel, launched Miracle open beta, and launched Taoyoubao. 577
Late 2002	Acquired 17173; established Century Giant Hardware Services and a medical-relief platform. 95
January 2003	Formed Century Interactive Entertainment and adopted a group-based structure. 577
2003–2004	Expanded server rooms into major cities; integrated 17173 and 5173 with Taoyoubao; developed security, media, and social-network businesses. 109 288
2005	Adopted the corporate vision: “Technology Saves the World, Innovation Leads the Globe!” Established Century Esports Development Co., Ltd. 389 393
2009–2010	Acquired Blizzard in 2009 and partially acquired Shanda in 2010. 577
Century Horizon 2.0	Reorganized into eight business groups and introduced a rotating CEO system. 546

Business Scope

Gaming and Interactive Entertainment

Century Horizon’s earliest and most profitable business was online gaming. Miracle MU served as the group’s initial revenue engine, and its continued updates—including “Sky City” and “The Forgotten Continent”—helped establish Century Interactive Entertainment as a leading publisher and developer. 109 147

• Secured exclusive Chinese publishing rights for Miracle MU. 50 577
• Released Miracle open beta with 200,000 concurrent players on its first day. 577
• Released the “Sky City” expansion pack, driving Miracle to 360,000 concurrent players and more than 10 million registered users. 109
• Developed self-produced projects including Wuxia World OL. 134
• Planned Century Game Center, a PC online-game ecosystem platform. 470
• Introduced ranking systems, battle passes, seasons, and seasonal rewards to extend game lifecycles and user retention. 469 470
• Operated global launches of Honor of Heroes and Alliance of Gods, each exceeding 3 million players worldwide. 505

Infrastructure and Network Services

Century Horizon invested in infrastructure from its founding, beginning with a dedicated server room and EMC server procurement. It later expanded this capability through Century Giant Hardware Services, which built server rooms in major cities and provided professional network and server-room services. 36 95 109

• Rented a Zhongguancun factory for a professional server room. 36
• Purchased ten sets of EMC Blade Servers. 36
• Established Century Giant Hardware Services on November 23, 2002. 95
• Expanded server-room infrastructure nationwide. 94 109

Security and Technology

The group developed network-security capabilities through Century Shield Technology, Century Security, and the NetShield system. Wu Hanqing was recruited to lead cybersecurity-software research and later helped coordinate defenses against large-scale network attacks. 126 134 261

• Established Century Shield Technology for enterprise- and consumer-level cybersecurity software. 134
• Used NetShield and link-verification filtering to defend group services during a network attack. 261
• Formed a Security and Risk Management Department under Pang Ban to investigate personnel backgrounds and assess internal risks. 361
• Invested more than 10 billion yuan in research spanning search engines, AI, cloud computing, big data, game engines, machine learning, streaming technology, operating systems, and chip manufacturing. 505

Media, Public Relations, and Talent Development

Century Horizon operated media and public-relations businesses through Century Media and later established Century Vientiane Co., Ltd. under Li Fang for crisis public relations and relationship facilitation. It also founded Century University to develop technical, managerial, and newly hired talent. 361

• Established Century Vientiane Co., Ltd. under Li Fang. 361
• Founded Century University for new-hire, technical, and management training. 361
• Launched an Elite Recruitment plan offering high compensation without formal education requirements for candidates with major achievements in fields such as physics, mathematics, and computer science. 356
• Ran a Talent Program whose first cohort advanced five of nine finalists into specialized positions. 367

Organization

By January 2003, the Century Group consisted of four major companies: Century Horizon, Century Giant Hard, Century Investment, and Century Security. 109

During the Century Horizon 2.0 restructuring, the group was divided into eight business groups. Documented groups included: 546

Business Group	President	Responsibilities / Affiliated Entities
Strategic Development Business Group	Xu Pengkun	New-business incubation, investment strategy, and commercial deployment; included Century Investment. 546
YY Business Group	Zhang Xiaolong	Development and operation of the YY ecosystem, including YY, YY Live, and Y Message. 546
Innovation Science Business Group	Dr. Wang Jian	Research into operating systems, chips, big data, machine learning, cloud computing, and other frontier technologies; included the Century Science Research Institute. 546
Channel Media Business Group	Li Fang	Publicity, promotion, public relations, and related operations; included Century Media and Century Horizon. 546
Social Supervision Business Group	Pang Ban	Oversight of finance, HR, legal work, and charity operations; included Century Security, Century Jian, and the former Special Crimes Unit Six. 546

Corporate Culture

Century Horizon’s management emphasized performance, employee welfare, long-term technological investment, and user experience.

• Employees were assessed primarily on completion of assigned work and end-of-month performance. 59
• The company offered flexible hours, strong compensation, free meals at some offices, bonuses, and stock options. 59 328 393
• Chen Hao declared that player experience and player demands must come first. 65
• The company’s stated vision is: “Technology Saves the World, Innovation Leads the Globe!” 389 393
• Century Horizon’s recruitment and talent-development strategy operated year-round rather than following conventional hiring seasons. 390

Major Milestones

Date / Period	Event
April 8, 2002	Century Horizon was founded by Chen Hao, Lin Lang, Xu Pengkun, and Pang Ban. 577
June 1, 2002	Acquired exclusive Chinese publishing rights for Miracle MU. 577
June 8, 2002	Held its first external recruitment drive, bringing in 104 recruits over two days. 577
August 8, 2002	Launched Miracle open beta; reached 200,000 concurrent players on its first day. 577
September 15, 2002	Launched Taoyoubao. 577
Late 2002	Acquired 17173 and created Century Giant Hardware Services. 95
January 2003	Established Century Interactive Entertainment and entered group-based operation. 577
2005	Established Century Esports Development Co., Ltd. 389
2009	Acquired Blizzard. 577
2010	Partially acquired Shanda. 577
March 2, Century Horizon 2.0 era	Reorganized into eight business groups and implemented a rotating CEO system. 546

Relationships

• Chen Hao — Founder, chairman, and chief strategist; established the company and directed its expansion into a multi-industry internet group. 36 226 546
• Lin Lang — Co-founder; led infrastructure expansion through Century Giant Hardware Services. 94 577
• Xu Pengkun — Co-founder; later led the Strategic Development Business Group and participated in major acquisition efforts. 94 546
• Pang Ban — Co-founder; led Century Security and later the Social Supervision Business Group. 577 546
• Zhou Xiao — Senior executive who led game operations and was tasked with developing Century Game Center. 108 470
• Lu Tao — Technical leader responsible for Miracle’s “Sky City” expansion pack. 109
• Wu Hanqing — Cybersecurity expert recruited to lead Century Shield Technology; later directed secret security work and network-defense efforts. 126 199 261
• Li Fang — Media and public-relations executive; led Century Vientiane Co., Ltd. 361
• Shanda — Major commercial rival; its chairman Chen Tianqiao offered 300 million yuan for 49% of Century Horizon, but Chen Hao refused. 92
• Webzen — Korean developer from which Century Horizon obtained Miracle MU’s exclusive Chinese publishing rights. 50 577
• Blizzard — Initially dismissed Century Horizon’s publishing overture; later acquired by the group. 134 557 577

Trivia

• Century Horizon initially occupied the entire 22nd floor of the China World Trade Center. 36
• At its founding, the company had four co-founders and no employees. 577
• Its early monthly revenue was approximately 150 million yuan, with Miracle and Taoyoubao contributing the largest shares. 109
• Century Interactive Entertainment eventually employed nearly 10,000 people, accounting for roughly 30% of the group’s total scale. 543
• The group’s exhibition hall later documented its development from its 2002 founding through its acquisitions of Blizzard and Shanda. 577