What surprised Wang Chuan was that, out of more than three thousand downloads, fewer than ten people had requested refunds.
The players' average playtime had also reached two hours.
There were also more than two thousand paid purchases.
This result might not have looked like much, but for a game that had been released for less than a day—
—it was already an explosive achievement.
Moreover, judging by the timing of the growth in sales data—
—this massive surge had suddenly emerged after five or six in the afternoon.
If nothing unexpected had happened, that should have been when Game New World's interview aired.
"I wonder what the interview I appeared in looked like?"
Thinking of that interview, Wang Chuan suddenly grew curious.
He set his computer aside, took out his phone, and opened Game New World's official account.
The moment he saw the newest article, he noticed that it had been posted at exactly 5:30 p.m.
That was it. As expected, it was this article that had sent the game's data soaring.
A graduate from a game development school created a masterpiece that overturned traditional concepts in just ten days!
The moment he entered the official account, he saw that eye-catching headline.
Wang Chuan felt a little embarrassed, but he continued reading.
Though he felt somewhat awkward about it, he thought this sort of headline had its benefits.
It was like those sensationalist headlines and marketing titles from his previous life.
What he wanted was to catch people's attention and attract as many players as possible.
Game New World's title happened to suit his intentions perfectly.
"Wang Chuan, how's the game's data? Has it taken off yet?"
At that moment, Xiao Ming sent him another message.
This time, Wang Chuan did not ignore it. Since he had nothing to do anyway, he might as well chat.
"It's alright. It hasn't exactly taken off, but once the hype builds up, who knows?"
Wang Chuan did not directly reveal the data. He merely answered honestly.
"Damn, look at you acting all impressive. Let me tell you, if it takes off, don't forget to buy me dinner. I spent an entire day at the internet cafe supporting you."
"Beep. You are no longer this user's friend~~"
"Damn!!!"
After joking around with him for a while, Wang Chuan logged off.
His gaze returned to the game.
The official platform had a rule: players had to play for more than an hour before they could leave a review.
This was mainly to prevent review spam.
It also showed that these reviews reflected players' genuine experiences.
Looking at those reviews, Wang Chuan was in a wonderful mood.
Online, things unfolded just as Wang Chuan had expected.
The popularity of "The Stanley Parable" continued to rise alongside Game New World's article.
Although this official account was not a major media outlet, it could still be considered mid-sized.
They often produced game-related videos and articles, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses fairly.
As a result, they had built up a certain reputation and level of recognition.
The article they posted today caught the attention of quite a few people.
"What the hell? What the hell? Was their account hacked, or did the sun rise in the west? Game New World actually recommended a game?"
Liu Bo was an ordinary office worker whose hobby was playing games whenever he had free time.
He looked at the messages pushed by the Game New World official account he followed on his phone.
When he saw that exaggerated headline, he was dumbfounded.
As an RPG fan of this official account, he knew what they were like.
To maintain its fairness and reputation, Game New World reviewed games in advance before promoting them.
Because of that, they rarely took sponsored deals and were not favored by advertisers.
But what was going on today? Was Game New World taking a sponsored deal?
A college student who had not even graduated had independently developed a masterpiece that overturned traditional games in less than ten days?
How was that possible? The headline reeked of sponsored content.
If it had not been an article from Game New World, Liu Bo would never have clicked on it.
But after he clicked in and read the contents, he could not help feeling confused.
Because the entire article contained no concrete information and did not reveal anything about the game itself.
Instead, it focused on other aspects, and its wording was extremely exaggerated.
For example:
A game editor became addicted to playing "The Stanley Parable" and even forgot to write the article.
Traditional RPGs are already outdated. This is the future of RPGs.
Who would have thought an ordinary RPG could be played like this?
And many other descriptions like those.
Of course, the article was not all praise. It also contained plenty of criticism.
For example:
The graphics were not refined enough, affecting the player's experience.
The independent developer lacked funding, resulting in low visual clarity.
And various other shortcomings.
However, compared to all the earlier praise, those criticisms fell rather short.
Of course, Wang Chuan had agreed to those criticisms being mentioned.
After all, praising only its strengths would have been too much. Adding some flaws made it seem more genuine.
"This is over the top! You're praising a game like this?"
After reading the entire article, Liu Bo did not know whether to laugh or cry.
He knew Game New World was under some financial pressure, but praising something so shamelessly was a little too ugly.
At this point, he had already assumed it was a sponsored advertisement.
But the next moment, he grew a little curious about the game that could make Game New World praise it so extravagantly.
Even if it was sponsored content, the quality could not be too bad, right?
Quite a few people shared Liu Bo's thoughts.
Most people who saw Game New World's headline could not help feeling a flicker of curiosity.
On top of that, "The Stanley Parable" itself was solidly made and priced as cheaply as cabbage.
That left players with even fewer reservations.
It was only five yuan anyway—not even enough to buy a pack of cigarettes—so they did not feel the slightest bit pained spending it.
"Nice, it went up again."
In the Boys' Dormitory, Wang Chuan clenched his fists, his heart filled with excitement.
Through the Pangu Editor, he could directly view the data inside.
Every time he refreshed it, the game's numbers increased.
By eight in the evening, the game's data had taken off like a tornado.
Seven to eleven at night was the prime time for gaming.
That was when people had the most free time, and players would play games during those hours.
Game New World's article happened to push that momentum to its peak.
Before eight o'clock, "The Stanley Parable" had been gaining roughly one thousand entries per hour on the official platform.
After eight o'clock, that increase suddenly reached more than 2,600.
Moreover, the number of reviews beneath the game began to rise as well.
The number of paid purchases also broke through five thousand.
Before you continue