NextFin News — miHoYo announced Tuesday that its Steam early-access AI companion product BSide: Olivia Lin will end online operations less than a month after launch.
The title, which entered early access on the China Steam store on July 13, will receive an offline version on Aug. 27 that preserves local features such as piano performances and dynamic desktop wallpaper. Online functions including letter writing and MIDI uploads will cease at that time, with full delisting from Steam and server shutdown scheduled for Aug. 31. Players must download the offline build before the cutoff and back up any letters, MIDI files or library data.
The short-lived experiment follows the permanent closure in late July of AnuNeko, an AI cat-girl companion from Anuttacon, the studio founded by miHoYo co-founder Cai Haoyu. Both projects targeted anime-style interactive companionship and highlight the rapid iteration and high attrition rate of early consumer AI companion trials by the company and its related entities.
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Insights
What kind of product was BSide: Olivia Lin, and how did its AI companion features work?
Why are anime-style AI companion products becoming a focus for companies linked to miHoYo?
What does BSide's shutdown after less than a month suggest about the current consumer AI companion market?
How do the preserved offline functions differ from the online features that will be discontinued?
What steps do current BSide users need to take before the Steam delisting and server shutdown?
What recent timeline of updates led from BSide's early-access launch to its shutdown announcement?
How does the closure of AnuNeko compare with the shutdown of BSide: Olivia Lin?
What does this back-to-back closure pattern reveal about miHoYo's AI experimentation strategy?
Which online functions are most affected by the shutdown, and why might users value them?
What technical or operational challenges might make AI companion services hard to sustain after launch?
Why do early consumer AI companion projects appear to have such a high attrition rate?
What user trust issues can arise when an AI companion product is shut down so quickly?
How might Steam early access affect user expectations for experimental AI companion products?
What future direction might miHoYo or related studios take after two AI companion closures in one month?
Could offline-only AI companion products become a more viable model than server-dependent versions?
