China arrests suspect over death of Game of Thrones video game tycoon

Lin died on Christmas after getting hospitalised due to poisoning

File image: Billionaire founder of Yoozoo group died on Christmas after getting hospitalised due to poisoning (AP)

Shanghai police say they have detained a suspect in the mysterious death of Lin Qi, the billionaire founder of Chinese company Yoozoo Games, known for creating the Game of Thrones video games.

The founder of the company, also known as Youzu Interactive, was found dead in hospital on Christmas day after getting hospitalised on 17 December. The company confirmed the news of his demise in a statement on Friday.

"Goodbye youth. We will be together, continue to be kind, continue to believe in goodness, and continue the fight against all that is bad," the statement read.

The death of the 39-year-old billionaire shocked fans and gamers on China's social media networks.

The police statement says a co-worker, identified only by the surname Xu, has been detained as a suspect in Lin’s death. The statement also confirmed Lin was diagnosed with possible poisoning but gave no other details.

Local media outlets in China reported that prior to the alleged poisoning, there was a dispute among the executives of the Yoozoo Group.

The business magazine Caixin, citing unidentified industry sources, said the suspect is an employee of Yoozoo's film division and was working on the company's Netflix project, an adaptation of Cixin Liu’s popular science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem which Lin was co-producing.

The company’s most popular venture continues to be its Game Of Thrones: Winter Is Coming game, based on the popular TV series, although it was expanding to other areas outside gaming as well.

Lin was ranked 870th among China's richest entrepreneurs, according to Hurun Report, which follows China's wealthy with a net worth of 6.8 billion yuan (US$1 billion). 

Lin founded Yoozoo Games in 2009 and led it to become one of the biggest in the Chinese gaming market. 

Additional reporting by agencies