Penguin Loses the Lawsuit, Game Goes Offline, Genshin Impact Trailer Ready to Go! (Continued)

Over the years, Tencent had relied on its massive traffic, constantly hyping things up, churning out half-finished games, and ruthlessly harvesting players.

Whenever a decent game appeared, Tencent would quickly shape it into something of its own through its usual tactics.

Domestic online game players could only grit their teeth and keep playing.

Only those who played single-player games would buy foreign titles.

This situation had left domestic players groaning in misery.

Now, at last, a high-quality game had appeared—and it had even made Tencent suffer a setback.

Those online game players felt as though they had finally vented their anger, and they were ecstatic.

Even knowing that God's Grace Sonata was a launch character and would likely be phased out soon, countless players still rushed to pull for her.

These players carried a hint of retaliatory spending.

They had been harvested by Tencent for so long. Compared to that, even if MiHoYo harvested them, they were willing to accept it.

At least MiHoYo was seriously making games.

Even the songs and CG animation were made with such care. If you didn't make money, who should?

Just as players were flocking to pull for God's Grace Sonata, the official MiHoYo account suddenly released another announcement.

To the players' surprise, the announcement was actually urging them to spend rationally.

They were pushing money away!

Recently, I noticed that many players had been influenced by my previous video and were pulling for God's Grace Sonata in the Dorm Supply... Here, I have no choice but to offer everyone a word of advice...

God's Grace Sonata is a launch S-Rank Valkyrie. In the last few versions, she has already reached the end of her glory. I urge players to spend rationally. It would be best to save your crystals and wait for a future Herrscher-tier physical support.

As soon as this news came out, not only were the players stunned, even the game developers in the industry were dumbfounded.

They were still trying every possible way to lure players into spending money, yet MiHoYo was actually discouraging players from doing so?

Were they out of their minds?

Even Yae Miko and Kamisato Ayaka, who had only recently joined the Studio, were deeply puzzled.

What was the point of making games?

No matter the reason, results and money were absolutely the most important things.

They had a chance to make a huge profit, yet as the boss, he was actually pushing it away?

But was Mo Li stupid?

Of course he wasn't.

But... with the Game Development System, he didn't lack money or good games at all!

What he lacked was satisfaction!

And that announcement could not only make Honkai Impact 3rd's reputation explode, but also harvest a wave of popularity points.

Once he had a good reputation, there would naturally be more and more popularity points in the future.

Besides, Honkai Impact 3rd was already hugely profitable. Mo Li didn't lack money at all now.

And his move truly drove the players completely crazy.

Countless players reposted it frantically.

It even spread overseas.

This kind of move also left foreign players and game developers utterly baffled.

Spend rationally? How was anyone supposed to stay rational after hearing that?!

Everyone else was encouraging spending... but MiHoYo not only revealed future characters, they were even pushing money away...

If a Studio like yours didn't make money, who else deserved to?

I'd already stopped spending, but after seeing this, I went ahead and bought two more 648 packs.

Idiot... but kind of adorable...

From now on, I'll never curse MiHoYo's boss again. I'll only curse Otto. [doge]

As it turned out... that announcement not only failed to reduce MiHoYo's profits, but instead caused them to surge by another huge amount.

Only then did the game developers realize...

Was this marketing?

Even if it wasn't, they had all seen the benefits brought by a good reputation.

Tencent and NetEase both fell into deep self-doubt.

Meanwhile, countless small Studios that genuinely worked hard on their games were moved to tears.

They all posted statements praising MiHoYo.

They felt that... their past efforts had not been in vain. If they seriously made games, they would eventually be rewarded.

But NetEase and Tencent both had headaches.

Because compared to MiHoYo, their ugly greed had been completely exposed.

Countless players flooded the comments with angry curses.

Studios that treat games seriously deserve everyone's love.

Think carefully. You have the best teams, so why can't you make games properly?

I have absolutely no hope for Tencent, because they're an investment company, not a game company.

I hope NetEase can wake up.

NetEase aside for now, Tencent truly had no intention of changing.

Although MiHoYo's current player loyalty and atmosphere looked wonderful...

Original games, after all, came with risks.

Tencent's executives would absolutely choose their old method of making quick money.

So...

They planned to keep copying Maiden Voyage.

However...

Just as they spent money to finish the new version, a single announcement from MiHoYo completely set the internet ablaze.

MiHoYo Sued Tencent for Plagiarism

This keyword shot to the top of the trending searches with unstoppable momentum.

Countless netizens were shocked.

Then they quietly shook their heads.

Although MiHoYo had risen and gained some strength...

Tencent had been plagiarizing for so many years and had been sued so many times, yet it had never lost a lawsuit.

Still, MiHoYo's tough stance earned the support of countless players.

However, just a few days later, the final ruling stunned everyone.

Tencent lost!!

And it lost completely!

Not only did it have to cease operations for Maiden Voyage, it also had to pay MiHoYo a huge sum in compensation and issue a public apology...

Just as the public wondered how MiHoYo had won the case, a mysterious insider laid out the entire story in detail.

MiHoYo's game code actually contained a huge number of MiHoYo logos...

As long as Maiden Voyage's code was carefully examined... the evidence was indisputable.

This outcome made countless players cheer in applause.

It also set an example for countless small Studios.

MiHoYo, you sneaky bastard... Hahaha... I'm dying laughing.

Walk by the river often enough, and eventually your shoes will get wet... Well done, MiHoYo!

They finally punished Tencent, that rogue, for once. Sob sob sob~ I'm so moved.

Learn from this lesson. Next time you plagiarize, remember not to copy the game code. [smirk]

The person above still doesn't believe Tencent will turn over a new leaf... Too real!

MiHoYo was nasty enough too. They didn't sue early or late—they had to wait until its operations stabilized before suing. Hahaha...

I hope MiHoYo can hold on and doesn't get crushed by Tencent.

This outcome also made NetEase tremble in fear.

Thankfully, they weren't as brazen as Tencent and didn't dare copy things so openly.

Otherwise, they would have suffered massive losses this time too.

Meanwhile, at Tencent's TiMi Studio.

The entire main development team of Maiden Voyage had gathered together, every one of them trembling.

Zhao Wenbo was equally nervous.

Because a middle-aged man in a suit was seated at the head of the table.

He was one of Tencent's major shareholders—Little Ma.

He quietly flipped through the financial report, calculating exactly how much Tencent had lost on the Maiden Voyage project.

Although Maiden Voyage had only released two versions, four versions had already been completed.

The fifth version was still in development.

Even without counting the massive traffic Tencent had directed to it... development alone had cost eighty million yuan.

And that was only because Honkai Impact 3rd provided a foundation, allowing them to develop four versions of Maiden Voyage with eighty million yuan.

If they had created an original Maiden Voyage themselves and produced four versions...

They probably would have needed two hundred million yuan to make those four versions.

However, because Honkai Impact 3rd had already set such a high standard, the two versions they released had only earned a little over one hundred million yuan. The latter two versions had not even been released before they were sued...

Their total profit was one hundred million yuan, but development had cost eighty million, and they had to compensate MiHoYo fifty million...

Adding in the traffic and manpower Tencent had provided for Maiden Voyage...

Tencent had practically lost its shirt this time.

In all these years, they had never suffered such a huge loss.

Seeing Xiao Ma's increasingly gloomy expression, Zhao Wenbo knew that he was probably finished this time.

Losing his job was a minor matter. If Tencent spared him, he would already be thanking heaven and earth.

But... he knew Tencent's methods all too well.

Before driving him out, they would definitely take a bite out of him.

All in all, his life was basically over...

Zhao Yi wouldn't escape either!

"Well done..." Xiao Ma set down the report and stared sharply at Zhao Wenbo. "I told you to imitate it, and you copied the code outright!"

"Losing this little money is nothing, but do you know how severe the hidden consequences will be?!"

Zhao Wenbo opened his mouth. "President Ma... I..."