Players Abuzz

Yang Ying was helpless. Although he wanted to stop the game's early release, he was ultimately powerless to persuade President An.

There's nothing we can do but let nature take its course and leave everything to fate.

In such a short time, let alone fixing bugs, there's not even enough time to do any optimizations...

The matter is now settled, and there's nothing he can change.

Frustrated and agitated, he instructed his assistant to inform the operations manager of the game's release date so they could prepare in advance.

But a short while later, the assistant returned and reported that the operations department already knew about it.

This surprised Yang Ying.

It turned out that President An had already contacted the operations department before notifying him.

After all that, it turns out that he, the person in charge of the game, was the last to find out.

At this moment, Yang Ying felt a mix of emotions, and was somewhat exhausted. Moreover, for the first time, he also felt a slight aversion to the company.

The next day, around 10 a. m.

The Weibo account of Ji You announced that Bloody Scientist would be released ahead of schedule, almost as soon as everyone had returned to work.

Along with this, there was also a pre-sale preview list.

Above are the top streamers from various live streaming platforms.

Immediately after the news broke, within half an hour, major gaming media outlets, verified influencers, and veteran gamers on Weibo began vying to share and praise it.

Meanwhile, major traffic platforms such as Podbean Reviews, Bihou, AiPlay, Danmu Network also published eye-catching advertisements.

Other smaller platforms, such as a certain game forum and the Fourth Calamity Club, have also started promoting the reverse delay.

The Danmu Network's app, in particular, displayed a 5-second ad on its splash screen, reaching tens of thousands of people.

As a result, various eye-catching posts from the media flooded the communication platforms.

like:

We interviewed the game's producer and obtained firsthand information about "Bloody Scientist".

[An unprecedented delay! Jiyou Network ' horror-themed action game has been released ahead of schedule!]

[A 10-minute overview of the innovative Horror Games "Bloody Scientist"]

[The reason for the delayed release of "Bloody Scientist" has been revealed; the producer says it's all for the players!]

[Bloody Scientist may become the first Horror Games that lets you unleash your fear]

[The developers of "Bloody Scientist" respond: They will continue to update and add content to keep the game fresh.]

While the announcement from Weibo Ji You the attention of a small number of players, the articles written by the media on various platforms drew the attention of the majority.

Some of these reports were exaggerated, and with the vigorous promotion by various websites, the internet was flooded with news reports about "Bloody Scientist" for a time.

In addition, since players already knew that Bloody Scientist would be released on July 15th, this move of 5 days earlier has left them completely confused and they have started discussing it online.

"Hey guys, what's the difference between 5 days in advance and 5 days in advance?

"It's not a game to look forward to, just an ordinary game about fighting aliens. I guess it's just a gimmick to make it easier to sell."

"As long as the optimization is good and the graphics are passable, I don't care about anything else. I'll definitely buy it. I'd like to see how to vent my fear."

"That's right, support domestically produced games! Buy them all!"

"Now every website I open is an ad for ' Bloody Scientist,' how much money did they spend on that?"

"Pre-sale preview? Even Ji You are doing this? Good, it'll let us see how good the game is."

"We were discussing Dark Forest in our group yesterday, but today news about Bloody Scientist came out, and nobody's talking about it anymore."

"Early release? Great! I'm so tired of all the Horror Games from Shuo Guang, finally I can play some really fun Horror Games!"

"Nobody remembers games that are released on time, but Ji You ' reverse delay has made them memorable! Awesome!"

"Release early? You're in such a hurry, aren't you? Is the game even finished? Is the optimization complete? Don't release a complete mess."

"Upstairs, would a game be released early if it wasn't finished? Do you think the executives at Ji You are as brainless as you?"

"Something feels off. Ji You is such a big company, why haven't the review sites given their scores yet, even though the release is almost here? Did Ji You not provide the CD key, or do they not plan to release it overseas at all?"

"They are an integrated production and distribution company, and they also have the Xiyou platform, so they definitely won't go on the Cyber Platform. Think about it, their last game, ' Jungle Terror,' received mostly negative reviews on the Cyber Platform, and they couldn't control it at all. It's the opposite of the highly praised games from Shuo Guang."

"Let's not even talk about that kind of terrible game, ' The Jungle Terror.' Not only did it plagiarize ' Dark Forest,' it didn't even copy it properly, yet it had the nerve to sell it for 168 yuan, while ' Dark Forest ' only sells for 69 yuan."

"A bunch of sour grapes. Our country finally produced a decent horror masterpiece, and you all belittle it like this? You can't stand to see others succeed? If you don't support it, fine, but at least watch your mouth. If you're so great, why don't you play it? If you can't do it, then shut up."

"Upstairs, is the Only Game not from Huaxia? Did we say we didn't support it? You came here because of the keywords after only a short while, didn't you?"

"Given the lessons learned from ' The Jungle Terror,' I expect ' Bloody Scientist ' will be a great success. After all, it's a huge company, and judging by the hype and marketing, they're very confident. Anyway, there are still 5 days left, so let's just wait and see."

The delayed release of "Bloody Scientist" caused some ripples among players, but due to issues such as word-of-mouth, high price, and lack of media reviews, the impact was not significant.

After all, there are a host of highly anticipated titles to be released, such as the VR remake of * Dark Forest and * Dead Space *, and popular works like * Control Failure * and * Skyhill *.

In addition, the trailer for "Bloody Scientist" shows a fast-paced alien-fighting experience without any sense of horror, which makes players hesitant.

Therefore, even though the release was ahead of schedule, players only verbally expressed their support, but in reality, they were still taking a wait-and-see approach.

For their player base, since they're all playing games that offer a lot of shooting fun, why not go and play higher-quality foreign FPS games?

At the very least, they have a good reputation, reliable quality, and are an established factory.

Thus, while the unexpected delay of "Bloody Scientist" sparked a wave of excitement, the response was rather lukewarm.

Some players even expressed concern about the game, fearing they were buying a "quick-fix" game, not even a proper fast food meal.

However, the player base is quite large, and even after removing most of those who are taking a wait-and-see approach, the remaining number is not to be underestimated.

Meanwhile, this large-scale online promotion caused "Bloody Scientist" to temporarily surpass the VR version of "Dark Forest" in terms of topic popularity, becoming a hot topic on Weibo and Bihou that day.

Of course, this reverse default operation also reached Meng Shu's ears.

At this moment, inside the Only Game office.

Having already reconciled with Infinite Network Entertainment, he was browsing the promotional materials sent by Supervisor Lian while conversing with her.

"So, you mean you want to announce the progress and release date of my new game to the public?"

Meng Shu spoke, her tone flat.

A familiar female voice came from his phone.

[President Meng, you might consider doing this. After all, your game is quite popular, and it shouldn't just fade away. We'll help you generate buzz.]

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu shook her head.

"Thank you, but I know what you're thinking: releasing game content to attract traffic and hype? There's really no need for that. Ji You has already released their games ahead of schedule, so let them release them in peace. Mature fruits should be harvested in abundance, and I don't want to cause trouble."

[But]

"There's no buts. Originally, I wasn't even planning to release a game trailer, because Ji You released their own press conference video to generate buzz, so I didn't want to cause trouble at this crucial moment. But you guys messed things up, forcing me to release a game trailer to divert public attention."

"Now that Ji You has released its game early to regain popularity, let's just let their hard work be rewarded. Why make such a fuss? I'm very busy."

Supervisor Lian on the other end of the phone fell silent for a moment, it was unclear whether she was stunned or something else.

He recovered after a few seconds and responded.

[Alright, President Meng, we trust your judgment. Also, have you reviewed the promotion plan? Our colleagues in the promotion department want to know some inside information about the development process, such as the progress or stages of development.]

[We need to send the game to the media for review a week in advance, and they also need time to play the game and write their reviews. So if you have a release date in mind, please let us know a month in advance so we can prepare for domestic and international promotion.]

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu smiled.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I haven't set a release date. My requirements are very simple: release it whenever these complicated release procedures are completed."

"As for the development work, my main tasks are story presentation, voice acting, and the remaining programming. Once completed, I will provide the game to you for overseas translation. That's all."

Supervisor Lian on the other end of the phone said she understood.

[Okay, President Meng, I understand. We'll be ready and waiting for your game. By the way, the trademark transfer is already in the application process. Regarding the development budget, you can apply to us if needed at this stage, and we'll release the funds after evaluation. If you have any further questions, please contact me promptly.]

"Development budget? Just tell me how to apply. Oh, right, one more question."

Meng Shu suddenly remembered something and quickly called out to Supervisor Lian on the phone.

[What's wrong, President Meng?]

Meng Shu coughed twice and explained the thoughts that had just been on her mind.

"Our next game is a VR version of ' Dark Forest,' which you know. The original ' Dark Forest ' is currently only available in Chinese; it hasn't been localized for overseas markets."

"So I thought about it, since the VR version of Dark Forest is also going to be released overseas, why don't we translate the original Dark Forest into multiple languages first and promote it abroad in advance? Once overseas players know about and have played the game, then we can release the VR version. This might be more effective, what do you think?"

"I don't want foreign players to only know about the VR version. I want the original Dark Forest to generate buzz for the VR version at the last minute."

Upon hearing this, Supervisor Lian was taken aback at first, and then asked softly.

[President Meng, isn't it too late to add multiple languages now? Both games are of the same type, and I'm worried that adding multiple languages to the original versions will affect the sales of the VR versions, and...]

"That's alright."

Meng Shu laughed, her voice full of confidence on the phone.

"I think anyone who has played the original Dark Forest would be looking forward to the VR version. Moreover, if you go straight to the VR version without playing the original, there won't be any disconnect, but the viewing experience will likely be significantly diminished, especially given the huge content gap between the two versions."

"Do as I say. Adding multiple languages isn't about making money off users, but about building a fan base for the VR version, a base of overseas players."