Chapter 592: Three Keywords (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

After nearly a month, Chen Xu returned to Nebula Games with his team.

During this period, online, besides the two Witcher DLCs, 'Hearts of Stone' and 'Blood and Wine', which attracted countless players, many major game developers, who had previously avoided Nebula Games' Resident Evil Village, also began to exert their efforts after the New Year.

FOW's new title, Lost Curse, which had previously been delayed, achieved some commendable results. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it was considered a relatively excellent game.

However, NetDragon's new title captured the attention of many players. Relying on a blonde loli character's antics, it could be said to be a textbook example of a successful game delay. Its inherently good quality also won over many players, which injected a boost of confidence into NetDragon, as for the past two years, NetDragon had been called an 'Internet Bitch' by many players.

Mainly, they hadn't been able to release new titles, constantly rehashing various old games. This new release was certainly a good change.

However, in addition to these new releases, many players were also concerned about the competition for various awards this year.

Starting from the beginning of the New Year, a large number of game review media began to announce their Game of the Year awards. Different game review media had different rules for evaluating games, and their award ceremony times also varied, with some concluding as early as late December and others much later.

Moreover, the specifications for different awards also varied. Some were like large gala ceremonies with various performances, while others were merely symbolic, sometimes not even including plaques or trophies.

Regardless of the scale, this year's two main contenders were The Witcher: Wild Hunt and FOW's Wasteland 1978.

For some major award ceremonies, players generally stayed in front of their computers, watching the live streams. Although it had nothing to do with them, it was still fun to watch the excitement.

However, many players soon noticed something surprising.

“Eh… Mr. Chen didn't even attend this Game of the Year award ceremony?!”

“Yeah! Even Chen Xu, the official representative designer of the Game Department, didn't show up! Isn't Chen Xu the honorary representative designer of the Game Department?”

“Not just Chen Xu, Alex from FOW didn't attend either!”

“I can guess why Alex didn't attend; it's quite tragic, thinking that Wasteland 1978 could outshine all others, only for The Witcher: Wild Hunt to suddenly appear in the second half of the year. If it were me, I wouldn't go either!”

“Bro upstairs, don't imagine things; it wouldn't even be your turn.”

“Damn it, can't I dream?”

“Bro, that dream is a bit too luxurious for you. I think you should just imagine it in your head; you might not even dream it.”

Just as players were discussing why these Game of the Year award events saw both Alex and Chen Xu, the award recipients, absent and replaced by senior executives or employees from their companies, a small rumor suddenly began circulating online. It claimed that both Chen Xu and Alex were deeply engrossed in developing new games.

Seeing this news, many players' initial reaction was disbelief, and it didn't garner much attention. After all, similar rumors popped up at least eight or ten times throughout the year.

Of course, there was some rationality to it. While Chen Xu usually attended the official annual events, he typically skipped those hosted by third-party media in previous years. But this time, he even skipped the Game Department's event.

However, soon after, even more significant news broke: players captured photos of Chen Xu and his team in Boston. From the leaked photos, it was clear this wasn't an ordinary company trip, as the places they visited weren't well-known tourist attractions. So, it was highly likely that this was a real-world location scouting. At this point, many players also recalled the development of Assassin's Creed.

Were they going to showcase the scenery of Boston or Massachusetts this time? Many players frantically left comments on Chen Xu's official Weibo, asking if it was true.

And facing these enthusiastic players, Chen Xu no longer kept it a secret.

He directly and openly announced new information.

'Virus, Apocalypse, Bonds…'

Apocalypse, virus, bonds?

Looking at these three keywords released by Chen Xu, many players were bewildered. They seemed familiar! Reflecting on the previous 'Village,' didn't this perfectly align with the Resident Evil IP? So, was this new game still a Resident Evil sequel?

After Chen Xu's official Weibo released the information, it quickly spread across various gaming forums, both domestically and internationally. Players who loved Resident Evil celebrated excitedly, expressing their eagerness. They also speculated whether the new game might explore Rose's story and whether Ethan was truly dead.

Although in the official game's storyline, Ethan appeared to have perished with the Mold entity, the final easter egg cutscene showed Rose and the agent's car stopping on a distant highway, with a figure standing beside the car. Many players speculated if that figure was Ethan. Perhaps these questions would be answered in the new game?

Besides the excited players, numerous game designers in the industry were also very surprised. Everyone had not expected Chen Xu's next game to likely still be a horror title, seemingly a Resident Evil sequel. After all, Nebula Games usually wasn't keen on continuously releasing sequels, apart from franchises like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which had a rapid release schedule.

But then again, even if it wasn't a Resident Evil sequel, releasing a similar genre game in such a short period felt unusual.

………………

The gaming world was bustling, and Chen Xu within Nebula Games was also filled with emotion.

“I didn’t originally intend to make grand promises, but players keep forcing me to! The game's folder hasn’t even been created yet.”

Chen Xu shook his head, looking at the trending topic ‘Nebula Games New Title’ which had risen to the top of online headlines. Nebula Games had always been criticized by players for being a master of 'making grand promises'. From the earliest actual gameplay demonstrations to later promotional trailers, then to just releasing concept art and a simple game title with a background description, and now, only a few keywords.

“Then why are you deliberately teasing the players, Mr. Chen?” Ruan Ningxue and others next to him were speechless listening to Chen Xu.

Nearly a month had been spent on actual location scouting. During this time, everyone had also been discussing the game's art direction. Currently, the overall style has been basically decided, and now it's mainly about the actual output performance. But putting that aside, the only things that could be shown to players were pretty much just these few keywords. And they couldn't say too much.

“There’s no helping it; the players demanded it so strongly,” Chen Xu lamented, though the smile never left his face. “Alright, everyone, pack up your things. Let’s head to the meeting room, and I’ll briefly explain the new game’s content.” Chen Xu stood up and said. Compared to previous games, The Last of Us would require many changes and considerations when adapted for Huanyu VR.

(End of Chapter) <>