A Little Warm-up

But EA poured the bulk of its resources into the flagship Battlefield series.

That directly caused Titanfall 2 to streak across the sky like a meteor—and a meteor's symbol isn't just wish-making, it's a flash in the pan.

It was called a fall, and it truly fell.

That game's fate was brutal, absolutely brutal!!

That's about the timing of the game's launch, but the exact release time also had its considerations.

Whether in the past life or this world.

Most studios set the launch time at exactly twelve o'clock.

Not for some auspicious meaning, but to track data and observe retention rates.

Also, there were game rankings, like the 24-hour sales chart, the producer's new release chart, and so on.

These charts also refreshed at twelve o'clock.

So that's why Wang Chuan chose to launch at twelve.

As for why he picked next Friday, that was even simpler.

The chosen Soul Knight had already lost a lot of its buzz, at most leaving a few players remembering the name.

And that was only the result of the earlier big clash with Penguin.

You can imagine how much buzz Soul Knight would have had without that incident.

The reason for next Friday was to leave some time for a little promotion for Soul Knight.

Unlike last time, when ten thousand bucks could only give The Stanley Parable a tiny traffic boost.

Because Soul Knight's development cost was low.

That meant Huangtu Game Company's account, aside from daily operating funds, had about one million left.

Thanks to Penguin's earlier help, players already had some impression of Soul Knight.

So using that one million for a small promotional push was enough.

Honestly, Wang Chuan was pretty lucky too!!

Because during Soul Knight's pre-launch period, no major studios—domestic or overseas—released any big titles.

The daily game news was all the same, and the media was starving.

So at this moment, putting Soul Knight out there for a wave of promotion would definitely yield unexpected gains.

"Zhao Jing, take some time later to contact a few media outlets we're on good terms with, buy some keyword resources, and some app soft ads to warm up our game's launch."

"Got it, Manager Wang. I'll get on it right now!!!"

Wang Chuan called Zhao Jing over and handed down the promotional tasks.

During this time, Wang Chuan wasn't idle either. He also reached out to some public accounts to see if he could get a wave of recommendations.

Just like the Game New World trick last time.

And sure enough, a few fell for it—cough, I mean, reached an agreement.

Yeah, it felt like opening a new door for Wang Chuan~~~

After arranging all the promotional resources he could think of and that the budget allowed, Wang Chuan started browsing forums.

Gotta say, money makes the world go round!

After spending on promotion, the effect was really different.

Soon, Wang Chuan came across a post promoting Soul Knight.

"Remember that poor Stanley? That's right, it's him—genius producer Wang Chuan returns with his new work Soul Knight. Come take a look!"

"Didn't get enough of The Stanley Parable? Don't worry, Soul Knight will have you rolling with laughter! Brought to you by the same producer, Wang Chuan!"

"Once, The Stanley Parable introduced us to meta games. So now, what kind of shock will the new work Soul Knight bring us??"

Gotta hand it to those media outlets—they were really honest.

Once they got paid, they started promoting right away.

And after reading carefully, Wang Chuan noticed a common thread in all these promotions: they tied The Stanley Parable and Soul Knight together.

Honestly, that was a brilliant idea!!

Even though The Stanley Parable's buzz had faded a lot, it was still the pioneer of meta games, and until other meta games came out, it remained quite popular.

By linking the two games together, players would know that Soul Knight was also made by him.

That way, he could absorb as many The Stanley Parable players as possible.

Compared to just promoting Soul Knight alone, the effect was more than double!!!

Just as Wang Chuan expected, after the Soul Knight news appeared, Other media outlets that hadn't spent a dime also started joining in on their own, giving Wang Chuan publicity.

After all, there hadn't been any big news lately—the media was practically starving.

Now that they finally had a hot topic, how could they possibly miss it?

Some might wonder: since having a topic and publicity makes other media promote it on their own, why did Wang Chuan still pay for media coverage?

It wasn't because Wang Chuan had money to burn, but because the media you pay for will only sing your praises in every way possible, never badmouth you.

As for neutral media, they churn out all sorts of bizarre stories, each one a textbook clickbait headline.

Meanwhile, in the gaming circle, after days of silence, heated discussion flared up once again.

"Hey hey hey, have you all heard? Wang Chuan—the guy behind 'The Stanley Parable'—his new game is about to launch!!"

"Knew it ages ago. I hit the forums today, and it's all his promo posts."

"Gotta say, he cranks out games fast. 'The Stanley Parable' took him just over ten days, and this one's only been a month."

"Haha, maybe he's a quick-draw artist? Or maybe the games are just small-scale!"

"Pfft, you talking about yourself there?"

"I wonder, between Wang Chuan's 'Soul Knight' and Tian Boxun's 'The Parable of Illidan,' who'll come out on top? Tian Boxun was dead set on Wang Chuan losing last time."

"Now that you mention it, I'm kinda looking forward to it too!"

"Oh right, speaking of 'Soul Knight,' I'm baffled—what kind of game is it? A shooting RPG? Or what? Why's it a god's-eye view!!"

"No clue, but whatever, let's see what Penguin and Tian Boxun are up to first."

"Yeah, 'The Parable of Illidan' has been quiet for days. Word is Penguin wants to go head-to-head with Wang Chuan."

"Then Wang Chuan's toast, isn't he? Penguin's one of the Three Factories—a real giant!!!"

With the promotion of 'Soul Knight,' the gaming circle was buzzing!

And just like they said, it all came down to what Penguin and Tian Boxun would do.

Right now, they were acting like a bunch of pure Melon Eating Masses!!

But no matter how the outside world stirred, Tian Boxun had a clear picture of it all in his mind.