What do you mean the games you make are all real?!

Chapter 88: The Release of Sekiro's Prologue (4800)

When Fang Qingzhou opened his eyes again, he found himself back in that familiar office.

"Am I back?" Fang Qingzhou murmured to himself, the last image in his mind before losing consciousness was Jiulang's little face that was about to cry.

The system panel appeared in front of him the next moment.

[Game Realization System]

[Host: Fang Qingzhou]

[Current Status: Returned to the real world, injuries fully healed]

[This World: Sekiro (First Story Node Completed)]

[Inherited Ability: Tiger Eye Style (Intermediate)]

Special Abilities: Soul Absorption (Basic: Low probability of absorbing the enemy's soul and turning it into a paper doll); Ninja Strike (Can see through the enemy's weaknesses and kill them in one blow; the degree of insight depends on the strength of the host and the opponent)

[Main Character Aura: Dragon's Blood Power (Allows one free resurrection within a short period, which regenerates over time; however, excessive use will cause those around the user to contract Dragon's Cough)]

[Automatically generated game: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Prologue]

[Game data has been synchronized to the company's development platform and can be released directly online]

[Reward for completing the first story point: Healing Gourd]

Soon Fang Qingzhou felt a gourd appear in his arms. This gourd, which was similar to a magic weapon, was indeed very magical.

However, he is now more concerned about what's going on with the system. He thought he would have to fight the Demon General before returning, but he didn't expect to return before even reaching the temple.

"System, what's going on?" Fang Qingzhou asked.

[The system is currently undergoing maintenance. Except for the game publishing function, all other functions are temporarily unavailable.]

"Holy crap! The system needs maintenance!" Fang Qingzhou was shocked. He had never thought that the system would need maintenance. Would changing the mode have such a big impact on the system?

Wait a minute! If the system really breaks down completely this time, then he won't have to risk his life in those dangerous worlds anymore?

Without the threat of the new world, with the billions of dollars in net profit he currently earns from his two fully automated skincare production lines every day, he could live a life of luxury with young models and no worries about food or clothing. His biggest daily worry would be how to spend all that money.

Just imagining this scene is enough to make one's heart flutter.

No! Fang Qingzhou quickly banished that dangerous thought from his mind. He recalled the night he was ambushed by the nine-tailed fox outside the Nushantara factory, and the zombie crisis that had previously erupted in Fusang.

During this time, as he became increasingly wealthy, he also met other wealthy people through other channels and learned from them that the world situation was far more complex than he had previously thought.

If a war really breaks out, even with the addition of two tyrants, he won't be able to protect his current assets.

"System Daddy, hurry up and fix it! I won't curse you anymore!" Fang Qingzhou began to pray decisively, his tone extremely sincere, but the system did not respond.

"Sigh, things have come to this, let's make money first." Fang Qingzhou sighed and turned his attention back to the computer screen in front of him.

The screen displayed the complete information for the Sekiro prologue, which had been automatically generated by the system. He only needed to click the publish button to go online.

Previously, the publicity channels for Resident Evil were blocked by governments around the world. The global promotion that cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars was withdrawn without a trace.

But this time he's working on a completely new game, so surely no one can find fault with it? The marketing budget for Sekiro will definitely be huge this time, since he's not short of money. With two production lines generating billions in net profit a day, spending billions on marketing would be less than a day's profit.

"And this too." Fang Qingzhou took the medicine gourd in his hand and examined it closely.

This gourd that can exude medicine on its own doesn't have much practical value for him in the real world. His current production line can mass-produce first aid spray, which is just as effective as the medicine gourd, and the output is astonishing, producing millions of sprays a day.

However, he was very interested in the technical principles behind this gourd and wanted to set up a laboratory specifically to study its magical power.

"Sigh, it seems I have to redeem the Mother Nest." Fang Qingzhou carefully placed the gourd in his desk drawer, then picked up his phone and dialed his secretary Shen Yingtang's number to begin arranging Sekiro's global promotional activities.

At 9:00 AM the following morning, Miteng Company simultaneously released a new announcement on its official website and major global social media platforms.

The prologue to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be released globally for free.

A two-minute promotional video was also attached to the bottom of the announcement.

The news exploded on social media trending topics almost instantly.

Global gaming communities went into a frenzy, with player comments refreshing at a rate of hundreds or thousands per second.

The servers for the Xiaozonghe forum began experiencing response delays shortly after the announcement was released, and the operations team had to urgently add servers to restore the website to normal.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! What am I seeing?! It's Miteng's new game!"

"It's been a month since Resident Evil ended. Ever since the speedrun competition was canceled halfway through, and then that incident happened, Resident Evil has been suppressed. I thought Mitten would be depressed for a long time, and maybe even disband. I didn't expect them to release a new work so quickly!"

"Daddy! Awesome! I can't wait, bring it up already!"

"Don't be too happy, upstairs. A game developed in such a short time is bound to be shoddy. I feel like this is Mitt's last chance to make a quick buck before he runs away."

"Indeed, releasing a new game in such a short time means the quality is unlikely to be good. I suggest we wait and see and not have too high expectations."

"But the trailer's visuals are really amazing—the reed field, the moonlight, and the sparks from clashing swords, every frame could be used as wallpaper. I really like it."

"Why are the protagonists of the new game Japanese ninjas and samurai? I'm not interested in this theme. Why not make a sequel to Resident Evil? I want to date Aunt Wang!"

"Yeah, why is the theme of the new game Japanese samurai and ninjas? Doesn't Umbrella have a huge conflict with Japan? Why would they release a game related to Japan? Could it be because they're being sanctioned and can't issue any official announcements, so they want to insult Japan in the game?"

"Wait a minute, I didn't see the Umbrella logo in the game? Nor did it mention Umbrella sponsorship? Did Mitten and Umbrella have a falling out? Impossible, they can lose such a big sponsor!"

"Holy crap! Has Mitten been bribed by Fusang and betrayed Umbrella?"

"The success of Resident Evil largely stemmed from Umbrella's funding and technological support. Now that Umbrella is gone, it's foreseeable that this will be a terrible film."

"As expected, the emergence of Resident Evil was just a flash in the pan."

"It's too early to draw conclusions now. The game's prologue will be released at 5 PM this afternoon. We'll know whether it's good or bad then."

""

"Battlefield 2 is also releasing at 5 PM today, I think I'll go play that instead."

Meanwhile, Liao Yunkai was live-streaming "Battlefield Vanguard".

Since the speedrun competition was unexpectedly interrupted half a month ago, and the zombie incident in Japan was suppressed by governments around the world, all live streaming platforms and social media have begun to suppress all content related to "Resident Evil" openly and covertly.

He could still stream games, but his viewership was drastically reduced. At his peak, he had millions of viewers in his live streams, but after streaming Resident Evil, the number dropped to only tens of thousands.

With no other option, he had to return to Battlefield Vanguard. Although the viewership wasn't as high as at its peak, it was still stable at around a million viewers.

The platform is clearly giving "Battlefield Vanguard" traffic support. The homepage recommendation section for "Battlefield Vanguard" is almost always displayed every day, and new streamers can get extra exposure as long as they stream this game.

Not only him, but other game streamers have also returned to Battlefield Vanguard one after another, and news of the upcoming release of Battlefield Vanguard 2 is everywhere.

DeepBlue Technology spent an even more extravagant marketing budget than Miteng did when promoting Resident Evil. From giant posters in subway stations to GG on video websites to private booths at major game shows, every corner that could be used to play GG was plastered with Battlefield 2 logos.

They could clearly feel that the platform was providing comprehensive traffic support to the entire Battlefield series.

Soon, no one streamed Resident Evil anymore.

That phenomenal game that once took the world by storm, streaked across the night sky like a shooting star, and then disappeared from everyone's sight just as quickly.

When Liao Yunkai destroyed the enemy's last tank and the victory symbol that he had seen countless times appeared on the screen, he did not feel the slightest bit of joy, but rather a sense of emptiness.

It's hard to describe the feeling. It's like someone who has tasted top-notch cuisine and then goes back to eating a fast food bento box that they used to think was okay, only to find their mouth filled with a bland, tasteless, and plastic-like sensation.

He originally liked Battlefield the most, but after playing Resident Evil, he felt that the game was somewhat boring.

He has completely transformed into the adult form of "Resident Evil," but for the sake of popularity, he still has to stream "Battlefield Vanguard." He can only play a round of "Resident Evil" by himself after the day's live stream ends, leisurely fighting zombies in it.

Just then, Liao Yunkai noticed a surge in comments on the screen, all discussing the same topic.

"Brother Kai! Have you seen the new trailer Mi Teng released? Will he be streaming Mi Teng's new game next?"

Liao Yunkai was startled when he saw the message. He didn't expect Miteng to release a new game. He quickly quit the game and opened the game forum to watch the new trailer released by Miteng.

However, he quickly frowned. It wasn't that the trailer was bad; it was still of a high standard. But he preferred shooting games to knife-fighting games.

Moreover, the game is set in Japan, and he lost both his legs during a war with Japan, so he has no affection for Japan.

"Sorry, this kind of game isn't my forte, and Battlefield 2 is being released this afternoon. I'll be streaming Battlefield 2," Liao Yunkai said.

Even if this sword-fighting game wasn't set in Japan, he probably still wouldn't stream it. After all, the quality of a game released in such a short time is hard to guarantee, and it can't compare to games like Battlefield 2 that have been polished for a long time.

The comments section didn't show much surprise, and most viewers were pessimistic about MiTeng's sudden attack. A new IP developed from scratch and then released for sale in such a short time—even if MiTeng's technical capabilities are amazing, how much game content can it possibly have?

The prologue will probably only take about an hour, and it will likely end after defeating the first elite monster. As for the rest of the content, it's unclear how long we'll have to wait.

Instead of gambling on a new game with an uncertain future, it's better to continue playing popular titles like Battlefield 2, which offer greater certainty.

Meanwhile, Captain Ao on the other side almost jumped up with excitement when he saw the trailer.

In the speedrunning competition two weeks ago, even though he had given it his all, he still came in last place. After all, he entered the competition in an unsportsmanlike manner, and there was still a considerable gap between him and those truly top-notch gamers.

Fortunately, that incident happened later, which diverted all attention from the speedrunning competition, and no one noticed his last-place finish.

He was quite happy at first, feeling that God had once again blessed him, allowing him to encounter an even bigger event at his most embarrassing moment to cover up his shame.

But as time went by, other streamers gradually returned to Battlefield Vanguard, and the popularity of his live stream began to plummet.

In Battlefield Vanguard, his skill level is at best amateur mid-level. He can play well in random matches, but he gets completely crushed when facing professional players.

Viewers were used to his terrible gameplay in Resident Evil, so when they saw him playing Battlefield, all they could see were comments like "noob," "end the stream," and "don't embarrass yourself."

He tried to switch gears and create some indie games to entertain viewers, hoping to maintain the popularity of his live stream with his wit and exaggerated reactions. However, after experiencing top-tier phenomenal hits like Resident Evil, viewers had absolutely no interest in those poorly made indie games.

That's why he was so excited when he saw the news that Miteng had released a new game that he almost jumped for joy.

Regardless of whether the game is good or bad, as long as it has the name Miteng, it will definitely be popular and attract a lot of viewers.

Inside DeepBlue Technology's office building, President Ma Jiyuan and Lu Fuyun were also watching Miteng's newly released trailer, both with furrowed brows.

Their original plan was to take advantage of the opportunity when the popularity of "Resident Evil" was completely suppressed and a vacuum appeared in the market, to bring forward the release date of "Battlefield 2" and seize the absolute hegemony of the global shooting game market.

During this period, they spent a huge budget on marketing and promotion, with Battlefield 2 being bombarded online and offline with news of its failure. Unexpectedly, on the day of release, MiTeng suddenly released a brand new game trailer, and the release time precisely coincided with theirs, at the same time.

"How come they released a new game so quickly? And at the same time as us?" Ma Jiyuan pointed to the trailer that was still playing on a loop on the screen, his voice filled with disbelief.

From project initiation to development, testing, and launch, it typically takes at least a year for a large company to develop a game, and that's under conditions of frantic overtime work.

It's only been half a month since Miteng was suppressed for Resident Evil. What can you do in half a month? You can't even make a complete game demo.

"They did this on purpose," Lu Fuyun said with a stern face. He recalled the young boss, Fang Qingzhou, whom he had met when he first visited Miteng Company half a month ago.

At the time, he represented the Yan State military in pressuring them to drop their lawsuits against several internet giants and to stop the large-scale promotion of Resident Evil.

The young man verbally agreed, but Lu Fuyun could see no sign of conviction in his eyes.

However, after only half a month, Mi Teng made no move. He originally thought that the boss had given in, but he didn't expect him to start fighting back at this time.

"Should we skip the deadline?" Ma Jiyuan asked nervously.

He hadn't forgotten the terrifying influence of Resident Evil during that period. If this game were like Resident Evil, their painstakingly developed Battlefield 2 might have been a complete flop.

"No, we'll release it normally. Otherwise, people will think we're afraid of him. Besides, what kind of quality can a game made in such a short time possibly have?" Lu Fuyun said decisively.

Even with Miteng's strong technical capabilities, a game rushed out in just half a month cannot possibly achieve the same level of quality as Resident Evil.

Game development is an industry that requires time to mature. Art can be developed with technical skills, and sound effects can be created using asset libraries, but level design, the polishing of the combat system, and the adjustment of numerical balance cannot be done well without sufficient time.

He stood up from the sofa and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to look at the skyline of Deepsea City.

Outside the window, the exterior wall of the building displays a huge banner of Battlefield Vanguard 2GG, with new main battle tanks, helicopters, fighter jets, and new firearms flashing by in turn.

This is something he's prepared for so long, how could he possibly back down because of a poorly made game?