Chapter 468: Mr. Chen Lost Big This Time! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Chapter 468: Mr. Chen Lost Big This Time! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

As time progressed, several other game developers launched their new projects.

For instance, NetDragon had previously released Shadow Operations: Communication Interrupted, which had been actively promoted since after the Lunar New Year.

However, they later decided not to launch it simultaneously with Uncharted and Zeus's Element World. The main reason was to avoid direct competition.

At that time, Nebula Games and Atari were gaining tremendous momentum, and NetDragon was worried they wouldn't stand a chance.

During the development of Assassin's Creed by Nebula Games, NetDragon offered a trial version of their game. However, the feedback was less than satisfactory, prompting them to delay the release.

Unfortunately, even after the eventual launch, the game dealt NetDragon another blow.

Both media and player scores failed to reach the 6-point passing threshold.

Compared to the mixed reviews of the first installment, players this time collectively gave negative reviews. The primary complaints focused on the game's pacing and storytelling—its open-world gameplay severely disrupted the narrative flow.

Aside from top-tier graphics, players described the gameplay and content as utterly unremarkable.

In contrast, during the same period, a Swiss game developer released a linear action FPS game titled Undercover on Zeus's VR platform.

It not only received extremely high praise from critics but also achieved explosive sales, even surpassing Zeus's previously released Medieval: Deliverance.

Set in a gang environment, Undercover is a linear action FPS where players assume the role of an ordinary detective. After a tiring day at work, the protagonist returns home, only to find his house invaded by drug addicts. Amid his wife and children’s cries, gunshots ring out—everyone except the protagonist falls dead in a pool of blood.

This tragedy drives him to swear vengeance against those who produce and distribute drugs. He joins the Drug Enforcement Administration and takes on an undercover mission to infiltrate local gangs and criminal organizations. However, during one operation, he is framed for killing his partner, leaving him hunted down by both the police—representing justice—and the criminal underworld.

With exceptional action mechanics, bullet time shooting, and powerful story presentation, the game delivers a complex emotional experience where morality blurs between black and white. It’s no exaggeration to say that Undercover achieved a rare double triumph in both sales and reputation.

Meanwhile, the strong sales of the Uncharted trilogy DLC prompted many gaming industry designers to reflect: Is an open-world game necessarily superior?

Previously, Uncharted had set a trend, but most game designers still believed open-world games held great potential, considering Nebula Games an outlier.

Now, the success of Undercover and the failure of NetDragon’s Shadow Operations: Communication Interrupted prompted many designers to quietly reconsider their assumptions.

Of course, these are issues for professionals in the gaming industry to ponder.

For regular players, this period was nothing short of bliss.

The release of Assassin's Creed and the Uncharted trilogy by Nebula Games thrilled countless players.

Not long after, Zeus’s platform also launched a critically acclaimed blockbuster.

For a time, players from Huanyu VR Platform and Zeus Platform were fiercely debating, reminiscent of the console wars of Chen Xu’s previous life.

Amid this wave of major releases, time quickly approached the end of October.

Players soon discovered that Nebula Games had announced a new event.

It was a double celebration of Halloween and Double Eleven.

Many players were stunned.

Previously, Nebula Games had held no special events during this period.

For Halloween, they only casually joined the festivities without real engagement.

After all, Halloween is a major Western holiday. On the Nebula Games Platform, discounts were typically limited to seasonal sales—spring, summer, autumn, winter—along with National Day, New Year's Sale, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Christmas.

Now, Nebula Games was introducing an entirely new promotional period?

Seeing Chen Xu and Nebula Games’ official Weibo account, many players wept bitterly.

Could they not give their wallets a single day of rest?

They had just finished purchasing Assassin's Creed and the Uncharted trilogy DLC, and now another platform sale was here.

Their wallets were truly empty—there wasn’t a single coin left!

Yet, even as they complained, players were deeply excited about the upcoming event.

Players are like this—outwardly reluctant but inwardly eager. They’d swear they’d never spend again, only to immediately empty their shopping carts.

This time, the promotional scale was substantial. And unlike the straightforward -90% green discount tag of the previous New Year's Sale, this event seemed to have a more thoughtful design.

The entire promotion was divided into three major parts.

The first part was straightforward: discounts on first-party and third-party games available on the Nebula Games platform.

Of course, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, and their trilogy DLC series were excluded from this sale.

The second part, however, sent players into a frenzy—a cashback event.

Based on the amount spent on the Nebula Games platform, players would receive 10% of their spending as tokens.

These tokens could only be used to purchase games on the Nebula Games platform. Upon seeing this, many veteran Nebula Games players nearly cried.

It was unprecedented! They were actually getting some money back!

Although the tokens couldn’t be withdrawn as real currency and were restricted to use within the platform, it was still more than enough!

But there was a third part that surprised even more players.

During the event, Nebula Games would release a mystery game, available in both VR and PC versions—priced at 88 Yuan and 38 Yuan respectively.

Any player who cleared the game would receive it for free. The purchase price would be fully refunded as tokens to their Nebula Games account. Additionally, depending on which platform they cleared it on, they would randomly receive one previously released game under Nebula Games on that platform (Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, and their DLCs were excluded from the list).

Moreover, the game would incorporate elements from Atari’s previous sword-hunting event.

Hidden throughout various scenes would be random shreds of treasure maps. Once all shreds were collected, players could dig for treasure at designated locations.

The first 3,000 players to complete this would receive a 999-Yuan voucher; the next 27,000 (3,001 to 30,000) would receive a 399-Yuan voucher.

VR and PC platform slots were calculated separately.

After reading the full event details, players were stunned.

"Damn it! This promotion is seriously generous!"

"Hahaha! First time ever seeing money back! I got over 4,000 tokens refunded. Too bad I already bought Uncharted and Assassin's Creed—but hey, the tokens have a long validity period!"

"Exactly! This time Mr. Chen really lost big! And the third event is especially interesting!"

"Beating the game means you basically freeloaded it—and you can also hunt for Easter eggs and dig up treasure? Now that’s intriguing!"

"It’s not just freeloading—on top of that, you get a random game previously released on your platform. Too bad Assassin's Creed and Uncharted aren’t included."

"So what? If you get Red Dead Redemption by pure luck, you’re still winning big!"

"Right! I’m definitely playing the VR version of this new game! Mr. Chen’s VR titles are all major productions, and even ports like Monster Hunter: World have been profitable!"

"True. The PC version has classics like To the Moon and Undertale, which are freebies, but aren’t cost-effective price-wise."

Players excitedly discussed the event.

Many had already made up their minds: they’d play it on both PC and VR!

So what if they had to beat it twice? No big deal!

Of course, the VR version was a must-clear.

As for the 30,000 reward slots, most players didn’t hold high hopes—after all, while 30,000 sounded like a lot,

with global players competing, who could guarantee they’d make the cut? But the other benefits—those were available to every single player!

After clearing the game, the purchase amount would be fully refunded as tokens. They’d also receive a random VR game—even if they already owned it, it could be converted into tokens equivalent to the purchase cost.

And forget everything else—88 Yuan for a VR game? Even if you just wandered around admiring the scenery, it’d be worth it!

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