Chapter 587: Nebula Games is Too Experienced (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

News of The Witcher's two DLCs attracted the attention of many players.

Even though it had been online for some time, many players still found it hard to forget the events the White Wolf experienced in The Witcher: Wild Hunt.

However, while many players were looking forward to it, they were also very worried. After all, Ethan Winters had just died in Resident Evil Village, and then The Witcher's DLC was released right after. Players were quite afraid of encountering Chen Xu's double dose of tragic plotlines.

Even though Toussaint looked magnificent and beautiful during the previous promotional direct presentation.

Yet, the more beautiful the appearance, the more dangerous it might be!

Anticipation mixed with worry – this was the shared emotion of many players.

Compared to ordinary players, many gaming industry developers were also quite conflicted at this time.

For example, FOW from Zeus.

After being acquired by Zeus, FOW had money and talent. This year, they even produced Wasteland 1978, which made them quite complacent, feeling they could make a big splash at the Game of the Year awards. However, they ran into The Witcher: Wild Hunt, a monster-level existence.

Nevertheless, they still made a huge fortune, and continuously releasing new titles was a natural course of action.

But now FOW's internal team faced a dilemma: whether their next new title should be launched as scheduled.

The original plan was to launch their next new title on Christmas Day, with promotional plans already drafted and initial warm-up promotions already begun.

However, they didn't expect Nebula Games to announce the release date for The Witcher's DLC in advance, and it was exactly five days before theirs.

This made them very conflicted.

If the timing had been a bit earlier or later, it wouldn't have mattered, but this specific timing was very subtle.

Secondly, it was because it was The Witcher: Wild Hunt. If it were any other game developer, it would just be a game's DLC, so why not just go directly against it?

But the previous popularity of The Witcher: Wild Hunt forced FOW to consider.

Internally, they were divided into two factions.

“The Witcher: Wild Hunt is indeed excellent, but the quality of our new project, Lost Curse, is also quite outstanding. Moreover, Nebula Games' release is only DLC content. How rich can DLC expansion content be? It can't possibly offer dozens of hours of gameplay like a full game, can it?” Grayson, the lead creator of FOW's new project, Lost Curse, said with great confidence.

In his view, this was an excellent opportunity.

Although The Witcher: Wild Hunt was incredibly high-quality, and its Game of the Year award was practically a given this year.

But this time, the opponent was only releasing an expansion. And while his developed Lost Curse wasn't as good as the previous Wasteland 1978, it had received relatively high evaluations from internal company reviews and closed media tests.

In this situation, he felt like they could win by just going head-to-head!

If they couldn't beat the main game, could they not even beat a DLC?

Listening to Grayson's words, several executives from other departments in the company nodded, showing expressions of interest.

However, someone quickly refuted him.

Alex, the core designer who previously developed Wasteland 1978.

Thanks to Wasteland 1978, his influence within FOW was now considerable.

“We could fight, but there's no need. The Witcher: Wild Hunt has accumulated a massive following. As long as the quality isn't too bad, extremely high popularity and massive sales are inevitable. Moreover, given Chen Xu's wicked sense of humor for tormenting players, this DLC will likely end with the White Wolf's death. If that's the case, you should understand what that means,” Alex said, shaking his head and analyzing.

In his view, the risk was still too great. Although it wasn't his project, his identity was now more than just a simple designer.

Listening to Alex's words, Grayson frowned but still nodded, agreeing with Alex.

What did the death of a player-controlled protagonist mean?

It meant that either the character and the game would be elevated, becoming an indelible cherished memory for players.

Just like Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Resident Evil Village, which launched not long ago.

Or, the protagonist's death would be worthless, even a bit frustrating, leading players to turn from love to hate and fiercely scorn the game.

But the opponent was Chen Xu, it was Nebula Games!

Nebula Games was too experienced in this regard.

How many protagonists had they killed over the years? They knew exactly how to kill a protagonist in a way that players would remember, not revile.

In this situation, if these two DLCs truly ended with the White Wolf's death.

If Nebula Games made Geralt the White Wolf heroically sacrifice himself for Ciri or Yennefer, just like Soap and Roach in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Alex couldn't even imagine how much buzz that would create.

“Let's delay it until New Year's... And that promotional model Nebula Games and NetDragon Games used before was great. Put out the handsome guys, beauties, and hot girls from the game, and do an apology stage play, make it more vivid and engaging.” After discussing for a long time, Alex finally made the decision and concluded.

Chen Xu didn't know what was happening at FOW. At this moment, he was having the office apply for the necessary procedures for everyone.

“Mr. Chen, are we going on a trip to Boston this time... no, are we going to Boston for location scouting?” Yang Xin looked very excited.

Previously, Chen Xu had hinted at some new project content, but what it was exactly remained unknown.

But now they were told that everyone would be going to Boston for location scouting before the New Year, which clearly indicated a game with a modern or recent historical setting.

After all, unlike historical cities like Florence, Boston had a history of less than four hundred years.

“Not just Boston, but also Pittsburgh, and the University of Eastern Colorado...” Chen Xu said with a smile.

“But Mr. Chen, what type of new project is it, really!” Ruan Ningxue was brimming with curiosity, and Meng Zuo and Qin Yi beside her also perked up their ears.

“Family bonds, apocalypse, zombies.” Chen Xu rattled off a few keywords.

“Ah!? A Resident Evil sequel? Is Chris going to be the protagonist?” Meng Zuo was startled.

“They're releasing a sequel so quickly?” Qin Yi scratched his head.

“You'll know when the time comes,” he said with a smile.

The related procedures were not complicated; once settled, Chen Xu took his team directly to Boston for location scouting.

Meanwhile, news of FOW's new title being delayed had also been announced online.

A three-minute stage play, for which FOW had tried every possible method to bring out all the decent-looking characters from the game.

The main content was 'The game is delayed, I'm very sorry.'

It must be said that when it came to game delays, ever since NetDragon used a blonde loli to gain a huge wave of traffic, various game developers with a bit of capital, even when delaying games, started to get creative.

After all, compared to cold, black text on yellow paper, this delay method seemed to show a bit more sincerity.

As for being scolded for using it too often?

It's as if they weren't criticized before for regular text-based delay apologies.

However, although FOW's public announcement stated that the game needed more time for refinement.

Discerning players clearly understood that this was evidently to avoid The Witcher's DLC.

This also gave many players greater anticipation for Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone.

What exactly would the two DLCs for The Witcher: Wild Hunt be like?

Would these two DLCs really end with the White Wolf's death, as players had previously speculated?

This question lingered in the minds of many players.

As for the best way to answer it, it was none other than to experience it firsthand.

As time progressed day by day, the two DLCs unlocked.

Around the world, regardless of time zones, players who had experienced the charm of The Witcher: Wild Hunt unlocked and entered the DLCs immediately.

(End of Chapter) <>