Chapter 466: Mr. Chen, Are We Trying to Kill All the Players? (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

In the lounge, everyone looked at Chen Xu without speaking. After all these years, they had come to understand him. Especially with the event Chen Xu mentioned this time, no matter how they thought about it, something felt off.

Regarding the Double Eleven promotion, there was no issue with that. After all, for many players, games on the Nebula Games Platform usually offered various discounts during holidays and festivals. Of course, games released in the current year wouldn't be included in the discounts. This was considered a guarantee for early adopters. After all, if a player bought a game at launch only for it to be discounted a few months later, that would be a bit excessive. Moreover, such a move would actually negatively impact launch sales performance.

So, the event itself was certainly fine, but the problem was creating a dedicated game to coincide with the festival.

“So, Mr. Chen, for Halloween, are we making a horror game?” Yang Xin asked.

“Ahem, it does have a little bit of horror, but fundamentally, it will be a joyful, family-friendly game. Actually, to be honest, it would be even more suitable for a Mid-Autumn Festival reunion,” Chen Xu said, clearing his throat lightly and organizing his thoughts.

A little bit? More like a billion bits, right?

And “joyful, family-friendly”? What the heck is that?!

Hearing Chen Xu’s words, everyone looked bewildered.

“You’ll understand when the time comes. Also, during this period, you can all read a few novels, especially you, Ruan Ningxue. Our project after the Halloween event is related to them,” Chen Xu said with a smile. Surprises, surprises. The Double Eleven Nebula Games Platform special offers would naturally be a part of the “surprise” – the “joy” part. Plus, there would be additional feedback activities for players, making that joy even greater. Since “surprise” (惊喜, jīngxǐ) combines “joy” (喜) and “shock” (惊), and the “joy” is already so big, then the “shock” naturally can’t be small, otherwise, wouldn’t it be letting the players down?

“Novels?! Are we adapting a game?” Qin Yi looked very surprised.

Even Meng Zuo, next to him, was startled.

Adapting IPs wasn’t uncommon in the gaming industry. Atari, for example, was a big player in game adaptations, with examples of both niche and popular IPs being adapted. Of course, some were good, some were bad.

But Nebula Games seemed to have never shown interest in this area. Was Nebula Games now going to start adapting IPs?

“Of course, it’s not an IP adaptation. We might just draw some inspiration from the background. Specifically, I want you to focus on H.P. Lovecraft’s works, especially the two short stories, The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Whisperer in Darkness.”

“Additionally, you can also learn a bit about the mythology system within those books.” Chen Xu’s smile gradually grew brighter.

Sitting in their chairs, everyone involuntarily shivered at Chen Xu’s smile.

Then, they searched for the two novels Chen Xu mentioned. After looking at the related introductions, they were even more shocked.

“Mr. Chen, is this a double dose of horror!?”

“Mr. Chen, are we trying to kill all the players?”

“Mr. Chen, think twice! If all the players are scared to death, who will buy our games in the future!”

“Yeah, yeah! If all the players are scared to death, it’ll directly set the gaming industry back significantly!”

They hadn’t even read the content, and from the search results, it was clear these were two rather niche novels. But the crucial part was that the words ‘thriller’ immediately caught their eye – who could handle that?!

“Don’t worry, the latter isn’t horror; it’s a very satisfying game to play,” Chen Xu reassured with a smile.

……………………

While Chen Xu had already determined the next direction within Nebula Games, ordinary players were naturally unaware of this situation. At this moment, players were reveling in excitement.

First, Assassin’s Creed’s aggregate media score was released, a high 9.5. GameSpot, which had transformed into a Nebula Games hype-machine ever since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was no exception this time. It gave a media review score of 9.7 and offered high praise in its commentary.

‘Another landmark IP from Nebula Games.’

‘Assassin’s Creed takes players to historically renowned periods, like the romantic Apennine Peninsula, in a unique and profound way.’

‘At the same time, the game presented us with the stories of multiple Assassin Masters: Ezio, Altaïr, Desmond. We entered those special eras and grew alongside these Assassin Masters.’

‘The game is called Assassin’s Creed, but after tens of hours of experience, we realized that the ‘Assassin’ isn’t the main point.’

‘The significance of ‘Assassin’ doesn’t lie in the profession itself, but in the image it represents, just like the Assassins’ Creed – an Assassin is more of a spirit.’

‘Furthermore, the game’s depiction of the culture of specific historical periods and regions is truly stunning.’

‘Even without playing the main story, the in-game scenery alone is enough to make one linger.’

Beyond GameSpot, industry media from various countries all gave Assassin’s Creed very high ratings. The final aggregate media score reached an impressive 9.5. For both players and the gaming industry, this was another astonishing score.

However, Chen Xu understood clearly that the reason Assassin’s Creed achieved such a high score was primarily because he had integrated the essence of several works from his previous life.

In his previous life, while Assassin’s Creed titles were essentially multi-million, or even ten-million selling products. Despite being nominated for Game of the Year every time, many devout fans of the Assassin’s Creed series knew that even with nominations, they were mostly just along for the ride. The reasons for this were, of course, multifaceted. The main point was that in his previous life, the Assassin’s Creed series was considered an annual franchise. Several studios developed it separately, with combat systems and even maps often being depicted as distinct modules. For example, if you look closely at Unity and Syndicate, you’d find that the maps for these two games were essentially patched-up versions of each other. The later Odyssey, when it first came out, was even criticized by some players as just being a large DLC for Origins.

Nevertheless, for all players who loved the Assassin’s Creed series, no matter what criticisms the series faced, they still bought it without hesitation. Because it was a truly unique work. You couldn’t experience the cultural charm of those specific historical periods and regions in any other game outside the Assassin’s Creed series. A sense of history – that was the unique characteristic of the Assassin’s Creed series.

Of course, the Assassin’s Creed series itself was not an unchanging game. Players constantly grumbled about it becoming a ‘Berserker’s Creed,’ and in Valhalla, it directly turned into a Viking warrior game – these were all changes the series made. And throughout this process, the protagonists of each installment also left a deep impression on players.

Moreover, besides the explosive ratings and sales of Assassin’s Creed, the Uncharted DLC Trilogy, announced shortly after, made many players exclaim that their wallets were completely drained, saying ‘we truly have not a single drop left.’

(End of Chapter) <>