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BSide: Olivia Lin

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BSide: Olivia Lin (Chinese: 《BSide: Olivia Lin》, sometimes styled 林离 Olivia) is a free desktop application that combines an AI companion with a music player and creation tool. It was developed and published by miHoYo, the Shanghai studio globally branded HoYoverse that makes Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero. [1][2] The software centers on a virtual character, Olivia Lin, who plays the piano, turns user-supplied MIDI files into animated music videos, exchanges written letters with the user, and lives on the desktop as an animated wallpaper. [1][3] Its Steam store page was published in the China region on June 18, 2026, after which the app rolled out there in Early Access as a free download. [1][4] Steam lists it as an Application rather than a game, under App ID 4532590, and Chinese reporting notes it is the first miHoYo product in that non-game category. [1][3][4] Chinese press has described it as an "AI 陪伴" (AI companionship) product built around gentle, "healing" (治愈) interaction, and some Chinese and English outlets have called it an "AI girlfriend" or "AI desktop waifu." [1][11] The name evokes the B-side of a vinyl record, the flip side to a single, in keeping with Olivia's fondness for vinyl and the app's music theme. [1]

Overview

FieldDetail
TitleBSide: Olivia Lin (林离 Olivia)
TypeFree desktop application: AI companion plus music player and creation tool
CharacterOlivia Lin (林离, pinyin Lin Li)
DeveloperShanghai miHoYo Daohaisangtian Technology Co., Ltd. (上海米哈游稻海桑田科技有限公司), a wholly owned miHoYo subsidiary
PublishermiHoYo / HoYoverse
PlatformSteam (PC); classified as an Application, App ID 4532590
Store pagePublished June 18, 2026 (China region)
StatusEarly Access, expected to run through the end of 2026
PriceFree to play
AvailabilityChina Steam region only; no announced global release
Launch languageSimplified Chinese

The character Olivia Lin

Olivia Lin (Chinese name 林离, pinyin Lin Li) is written as a college student living in Shanghai. She majors in piano and minors in psychology, and the app describes her as quiet and sensitive, fond of vinyl records, old films, and rainy days. [1][2][8] Within the fiction she is doing personal research on the theme "music and memory," about how sound leaves an imprint on recollection. [1][8] Instead of miHoYo's usual anime aesthetic, Olivia is rendered in a realistic 3D style meant to make her look closer to a real person in daily life. [5][6]

The character existed before the software. A Bilibili account began posting piano-performance videos as Olivia on August 28, 2025, and it started publishing letter-reading content in March 2026. [1][8]

Features

The app is built around four core features. [1][3][5]

FeatureWhat it does
Piano performancesOlivia plays piano pieces for the user to listen to.
MIDI to videoThe user uploads a MIDI file and the app automatically turns it into an animated music video, with the visuals and performance shaped by the piece's rhythm, melody, and emotion.
Letters and chatThe user writes letters or messages to Olivia; she reads them and replies. The reply text is produced with generative AI.
Desktop wallpaperOlivia stays on the desktop as a live wallpaper and can begin a performance directly from there.

miHoYo has said the MIDI-to-video feature builds the animation from the rhythm, melody, and emotion of the uploaded piece, and that the letters Olivia writes back and some music-related explanations are generated by AI. [4][5] For the official version that is to follow Early Access, the company has listed planned additions: more voice and performance-style options, smarter MIDI editing and processing tools, richer letter templates and reply scenarios, and further tuning based on user feedback. [1][5] miHoYo describes these as planned rather than shipped.

How the AI works

Generative AI produces some of the app's text, including Olivia's letter replies and some music-related explanations, and it drives the automatic conversion of MIDI files into video. [2][3][5] miHoYo has not publicly disclosed which AI model or large language model powers the app, or whether the underlying system is built in-house or licensed from an outside provider. [5]

Development and release

The listed developer is Shanghai miHoYo Daohaisangtian Technology Co., Ltd. (上海米哈游稻海桑田科技有限公司), a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd. It was established in September 2025, and Chinese reporting notes that its registered business scope includes AI application software development and network and information-security software. [1][7][8] The trademark "BSIDE:OLIVIA LIN" was filed on November 27, 2025 under Nice Class 42, with a status of pending examination. [1][9]

The Steam store page went live in the China region on June 18, 2026, and Early Access availability there followed. [1][4] The app supports binding a miHoYo / HoYoverse account, and its launch build is in Simplified Chinese. [1][3] It is distributed only through the China Steam region; users elsewhere have reportedly reached it with a VPN set to a Chinese IP, and no global release has been announced. [4][6] The software is free to play, and miHoYo has indicated that basic features will remain free after the official launch. The Early Access period is expected to run through the end of 2026. [4][6]

DateEvent
August 28, 2025A Bilibili account posts its first piano-performance video as Olivia. [1][8]
September 2025Shanghai miHoYo Daohaisangtian Technology Co., Ltd. is established as a wholly owned miHoYo subsidiary. [1][7]
November 27, 2025The trademark "BSIDE:OLIVIA LIN" is filed under Nice Class 42 (status pending). [9]
March 2026The account begins posting letter-reading content. [1][8]
May 15, 2026miHoYo announces a three-year AI investment of up to RMB 100 billion. [12]
June 18, 2026The Steam store page is published in the China region; Early Access follows. [1][4]

miHoYo's broader AI strategy

BSide: Olivia Lin arrived during a wider AI push at miHoYo. On May 15, 2026, co-founder Liu Wei told a closed-door forum in Beijing that the company would invest up to RMB 100 billion over three years in self-developed, "full-stack" AI, covering infrastructure, GPU clusters, training systems, and an application layer, rather than depending only on outside models. [12][14] Converted to US dollars, outlets reported the figure variously as about US$13.9 billion up to roughly US$16 billion, depending on the exchange rate used. [12][13][14]

Separately, miHoYo co-founder Cai Haoyu (蔡浩宇) stepped back from the company's day-to-day operations in 2023 and founded Anuttacon, a US-based AI game studio that released the AI-native game Whispers from the Star. Anuttacon and that game are separate from BSide: Olivia Lin, and are noted here only as context on the interest in AI among miHoYo's leadership. [15]

Reception and debate

miHoYo released the app quietly, without a large marketing push, and coverage was mixed. [10][11] PC Gamer's report framed Olivia as "an eternal student cursed to never obtain her piano degree," a reference to the character's unresolved backstory. [10] Several outlets noted that the design, from the letters to the desktop presence, is built to encourage a parasocial bond, which reviewers found either charming or quietly unsettling depending on their view of AI companionship products. [6][10] Niche Gamer questioned the "free" positioning, pointing out that miHoYo's history with monetized games invites skepticism about how the app will eventually make money. [6]

The product also sits inside a broader argument about AI companion apps, a category that includes services such as Character.AI and Replika and that has prompted debate about emotional attachment and user safety, including regulation such as California SB 243 on companion chatbots. [6]

See also

References

  1. IT之家, "米哈游 AI 应用《BSide: Olivia Lin》上架 Steam." https://www.ithome.com/0/966/284.htm ↩
  2. Inven Global, "miHoYo Moves Beyond Gacha RPGs with AI-Driven 'BSide: Olivia Lin'." https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/22966/mihoyo-moves-beyond-gacha-rpgs-with-ai-driven-bside-olivia-lin ↩
  3. Tencent / QQ News, coverage of BSide: Olivia Lin (June 19, 2026). https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260619A00J6R00 ↩
  4. GAMES.GG, "miHoYo Releases AI Companion App BSide: Olivia Lin on Steam." https://games.gg/news/mihoyo-ai-companion-bside-olivia-lin/ ↩
  5. HN Game Guide, "BSide: Olivia Lin, miHoYo's New AI Desktop App." https://hngameguide.com/en/bside-olivia-lin-mihoyos-new-ai-desktop-app/ ↩
  6. Niche Gamer, "BSide: Olivia Lin is an AI companion from the creators of Genshin Impact." https://nichegamer.com/bside-olivia-lin-genshin-impact-devs-announce/ ↩
  7. DoNews, coverage of BSide: Olivia Lin and its developer subsidiary. https://www.donews.com/news/detail/8/6602061.html ↩
  8. Baidu Baike, "BSide: Olivia Lin." https://baike.baidu.com/en/item/BSide:Olivia%20Lin/2403904 ↩
  9. Aliyun Trademark, "BSIDE:OLIVIA LIN" (application no. 88834273, Class 42). https://tm.aliyun.com/detail/215f_88834273_42 ↩
  10. PC Gamer, "Genshin Impact creator miHoYo has released an AI companion on Steam, an eternal student cursed to never obtain her piano degree." https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/genshin-impact-creator-mihoyo-has-released-an-ai-companion-on-steam-an-eternal-student-cursed-to-never-obtain-her-piano-degree/ ↩
  11. Softonic, "Genshin Impact developer miHoYo quietly launches BSide: Olivia Lin, an AI desktop waifu." https://en.softonic.com/articles/genshin-impact-developer-mihoyo-quietly-launches-bside-olivia-lin-an-ai-desktop-waifu ↩
  12. China Biz Insider, "miHoYo Commits RMB 100 Billion to AI, Repatriates Silicon Valley LLM Team." https://chinabizinsider.com/mihoyo-commits-rmb-100-billion-to-ai-repatriates-silicon-valley-llm-team/ ↩
  13. Game World Observer, "The creators of Genshin Impact will spend nearly $15 billion on AI." https://gameworldobserver.com/2026/05/26/the-creators-of-genshin-impact-will-spend-nearly-15-billion-on-ai ↩
  14. Inven Global, "HoYoverse to Invest $16 Billion Over Next Three Years, Aiming for Full-Stack AI." https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/21988/hoyoverse-to-invest-16-billion-over-next-three-years-aiming-for-full-stack-ai ↩
  15. TechNode, "miHoYo founder's AI game Whispers From The Star features real-time AI interaction." https://technode.com/2025/03/17/mihoyo-founders-ai-game-whispers-from-the-star-features-real-time-ai-interaction/ ↩

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