A week passed.
With less than two weeks until the New Year.
This year was destined to be an extraordinary one.
Because of the sudden emergence of Lingjing, and the appearance of a new designer named Lu Li.
The domestic game industry had received much-needed rain after a long drought.
Players had truly experienced a dream journey over the past year.
Many had gained a lot in the past year.
Especially industry practitioners, whose careers and lives had reached new heights.
The first to benefit were streamers like Daixiaomei and Mozhi. They already had considerable fame, but were still some distance from being A-list.
By repeatedly trying out Lingjing's torture-style games and breaking through to popularity, they had gained massive viewership and attention.
Their status in the streaming world was further solidified, with gift rewards during this period alone exceeding their total from previous years.
Next were content creators like Sanren and zC. Sanren was now excelling in both streaming and content creation.
His in-depth plot analysis of "Rebirth of the Cell People" became an instant hit across the internet the very next day, even receiving a like from the Lingjing studio.
Official endorsement, guaranteed quality!
And as the difficulty of Five Cells increased, Sanren's theories were validated when players encountered the final boss. The collector was the alchemist and the origin of all this evil; the cell laboratory on the Star Observation Platform, the final level, was irrefutable proof!
Sanren achieved legendary status with this breakthrough!
From an obscure content creator, he leaped to become a top influencer in Bilibili's gaming section, ranking in the top five.
Meanwhile, zC, with his unique video style, attracted a large number of new players to "Apocalypse Ark."
His strategy guides for clearing the game with low star ratings were highly praised by the vast majority of free-to-play players.
With the explosion of "Apocalypse Ark," a large number of new anime-themed game creators emerged. They delved into game content, expanded their knowledge, and developed fan creations and animations...
A very positive ecosystem soon formed.
There was an endless stream of fan creations, animations, and content interpretations of "Apocalypse Ark."
This is the influence of a high-quality game.
It could provide ample nourishment for the entire industry chain, allowing workers at every level to reap substantial rewards.
Even players outside the industry, like Tang Wanqiu and his wife, gained some extra income by chance, which improved their living conditions.
But,
These were not the primary beneficiaries.
Bai Zhiyuan, a strong woman who had lived under others' scrutiny for the first twenty-odd years of her life, found her own happiness after the torture-style games were released.
She also profoundly realized her inner desires and strived relentlessly for them.
Nothing was more fulfilling than finding one's true self.
Moreover, she received a promotion and salary increase this year, which were additional rewards on top of this fulfillment.
...
According to the law of conservation, while some people reaped immense profits, others were destined to suffer heavy losses.
Although Tencent and NetEase enjoyed the dividends of domestic games this year, with revenues not only not decreasing but actually increasing significantly, their stock prices had undeniably dropped.
It was obvious to everyone that Lingjing, seemingly a newcomer, was actually mature beyond its years and possessed infinite potential.
In a way, it had been recognized by the industry as the third major game manufacturer, on par with Tencent and NetEase.
What was once a duopoly was now a tripartite competition. The two original giants, who held half the market each, had lost, and lost completely.
Fortunately, companies of this magnitude were not amateurs. After recognizing the reality, they quickly made adjustments.
Not only did they work diligently on their existing businesses, but they also increased investment in new areas.
Tencent, using its usual methods, acquired stakes in several major overseas game companies. Since the domestic market was saturated, they decided to expand internationally.
Furthermore, their newly developed VR games were progressing rapidly, and VR device production had entered a mature stage, with everything developing in an orderly fashion.
NetEase was not to be outdone. Inspired by Lingjing's torture-style games, NetEase's independently developed post-apocalyptic themed game "After Tomorrow" was about to launch.
Judging by the feedback from the early access version, players were very receptive. It was bound to be popular, even if not a massive hit.
Additionally, NetEase had formed a strategic partnership with Lingjing to jointly develop the key VR game "Journey of the Wind," which was also on the schedule.
Despite their difficulties, domestic manufacturers were actively preparing.
However, major overseas game companies were not as comfortable.
Lingjing's trend had not only impacted domestic games but also brought a wave of reform to the overseas game market.
Compared to the prevalent free-loading culture in China, overseas players were more willing to pay real money for games, and consequently, they were more discerning about game quality.
It was in this stringent environment that Lingjing's multiple AAA console games still managed to carve out a path for themselves.
Not only that, but the mobile game "Another Day's Ark" had directly decimated the entire overseas mobile game sector.
Countless overseas players were begging on Lingjing's overseas official channels for multilingual versions.
Although their anime game player base was not as large as in Eastern countries, and the "flavor" was less intense, their cohesion was in no way inferior.
This put immense pressure on those well-known overseas manufacturers.
Lingjing's influence was visibly growing, but they couldn't employ their usual shady tactics and could only anxiously watch, or confront Lingjing head-on in terms of raw strength.
Because the influence of the eight major universities was significant, they were unwilling to compromise and offer concessions.
Without Lingjing's boldness, they had to accept the constraints of the rules.
Truly outstanding works require time to create, and Lingjing did not give them that time.
They released a small game in two months, and a major one in three months, all with quality above average. Who could withstand that?
If not for their strong foundations, the leaders of these major companies would have likely lost their patience and demanded their employees work 007 overtime.
Everyone knew Chinese people were competitive, but they never imagined the Chinese gaming industry could be this competitive!
Suddenly, all practitioners in the overseas gaming industry felt immense pressure.
If Lingjing continued to release games at this pace, their reserves would be depleted within two years.
Once Lingjing firmly grasped overseas market share, they would all be left with nothing.
Pressure drives rapid progress.
Led by major manufacturers like Valve, Nintendo, BioWare, and Square Enix, game companies had been very quiet recently, all focusing on developing VR games.
You want to launch VR games in June, China?
We'll launch in March!
Not only will we be faster than you, but our quality will be higher!
These old foxes were brewing something wicked.
Everyone could see the potential of VR games, especially Microsoft, which had acquired BioWare early on.
They had already seen the fat pickings in VR games... or rather, the giant pigs, even going so far as to cut BioWare's crucial PC business to increase investment in VR.
All parties were gearing up, awaiting the arrival of a new era.
Lu Li, the center of all this attention, who was currently engrossed in researching VR games, received a call from an unexpected visitor...
...
(I have saved two chapters and will try to take only one day off, likely this Saturday. Starting next week, we'll take off, with character deaths, emotional blows, and the arrival of Titans!)