You're killing it!
Zoey Parker nearly blurted it when Gus Harper asked for all of WindyPeak's cash for Left 4 Dead 2.
But she held back.
What if he meant $100,000,000?
Selling WindyPeak wouldn't cover that.
"Uh… haha…" Zoey laughed awkwardly.
Karma bites.
She used to double Gus's budgets without blinking, but now? She was broke.
"We've got about $7,000,000 liquid," she admitted. "Use that for now?"
So embarrassing.
WindyPeak's system barred betting the farm on one project.
Despite Phasmophobia's $8,850,000 profit ($13,560,000 revenue), only $7,000,000 was free.
Gus nodded. "Works. We'll focus on the $1,000,000 promo video first. Game budget? We'll figure it out as we go."
Any other company would've fired Gus on the spot.
No cost estimate?
"Figure it out"?
A black hole project?
Success or bust—bust meaning bankruptcy.
But WindyPeak?
Zoey loved it.
Lose it all? Perfect for her 100x rebate card.
She'd dip into her rebate stash to keep the company afloat, maybe even thrive, if it flopped.
"My director's finally getting it!" Zoey beamed. "Go wild. Don't sweat failure. Here's all the cash!"
With Zoey's blessing, Gus had no worries.
Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers were sold on second-gen FPS—iron sights, no crosshairs, pure feel.
The project roared forward.
San Francisco International Convention Center, Hall 2, hosted the USEA's first post-New Year expo: the 10th VR Game Design Media Conference.
Boom.
The last VibeX1 pod landed at WindyPeak's booth, labeled "U.S. Digital Entertainment Association's 10th Game Industry Development and Design Media Conference - WindyPeak."
Gus, hands on hips, smirked.
Small but cute.
As expected, their tiny company got a corner booth—less than 100 square feet.
A small LED screen hogged two-thirds of it, with four VibeX1 pods crammed in the rest.
Gus, Luke, and Jake had to stand outside.
Prep time buzzed around them—other booths swarmed with shouting staff, a lively chaos.
WindyPeak's corner?
A ghost town.
Gus sighed, not down but amused.
In his old life, he rolled with giants like Sony and Activision.
Sony's booths were dance-floor huge; Activision's, T0-tier, still massive.
Now?
He plopped on a stool, looking like a street vendor.
Across the hall, Apex Interactive's booth—prime real estate by the entrance—dwarfed ten others.
Don't sleep on the underdog, Gus thought. I'll claim that spot someday.
Luke, done tweaking the LED, grabbed a stool. "Wanna play chess?"
"Nah, cards," Jake chimed in, finishing pod setup. "Three-man Landlord."
The trio sat, hands in sleeves, shivering in the chilly February hall.
Snow blanketed San Francisco outside.
Gus waved them off. "Stop, I'm gonna cry."
His phone rang—Zoey.
"Where are you guys? Chloe Quinn and I lapped the place and can't find you!"
Gus paused. "…That stings."
Sighing, he said, "Head north down the west aisle. We're the end of the line."
Five minutes later, Zoey, in a white cashmere coat with twin buns, stomped up with Chloe.
"So hard to find!" she griped. "Why'd they stick us in Narnia?"
Her heart sang.
Hahahaha!
This 100-square-foot booth was a pre-month-old startup's fever dream.
Compared to Apex Interactive's entrance behemoth, it was a go-kart versus a semi-truck.
Gus wasn't kidding—most remote booth ever.
No one would notice them.
Promotion? Ha!
They'd be lucky not to be mistaken for a janitor's closet.
Zoey had dodged a bullet, rejecting Victor Lang's IndieVibe Tech booth-merge offer.
It sounded great—piggybacking on IndieVibe's massive setup, rivaling Apex Interactive.
But after Phasmophobia's promo misfire (2,085 day-one sales, $93,800 revenue, $2,500,065 weekly), she wasn't falling for it.
Merge? So you can blast my trailer at peak traffic? Nope.
Her 100x rebate needed a flop, not another hit.
She sighed dramatically. "Can we beg USEA to move us?"
Gus shrugged. "No chance. No one swaps now, and it's against rules."
Yes! Zoey cheered inwardly.
"No fix then," she said, pouting.
Gus glanced at the booth. "It's fine. Good wine needs no bush."
"Love that!" Zoey nodded, grinning.
She waved. "Chloe and I are off. You three hold the fort. Big dinner on me after!"
Gus blinked. "Not staying to tough it out?"
"Three stools, three of you," Zoey said, all confidence. "We'll work the crowd outside, draw media."
She grabbed Chloe and bolted before Gus could argue.
Jake frowned. "Gus, why not let them take the booth? It's freezing out there—they'll catch colds."
Gus paused, then patted Jake's shoulder. "Find a simple, honest wife someday."
"Huh?" Jake blinked.
Luke groaned. "Gus thinks you'll get scammed otherwise. Sit down, man."
Meanwhile, outside Gate 2, Yin held a selfie stick, waving at a Twitch-branded phone.
"Morning, folks! Outdoor stream today! Guess where?"
The camera panned to three others:
"Yo, I'm Jada Brooks," said one.
"Morning, brothers! ShuBro here!" said another.
"Hi, I'm Pineapple, ShuBro's biggest fan!" chirped the third.
Chat exploded:
"Ghostbusters duo!"
"ShuBro's out after Paris rain trauma?"
"Look at that hippo vibe!"
"Yin and Jada together? Big deal!"
"What's the event? Twitch's top dogs are out."
"Room name: 'Don't Look at the Room Name' lol."
"It's the USEA VR Conference!"
"Guns of Legends 2 trailer hype!"
"Ford Rally 3 demo, let's go!"
"Fearless Sniper's graphics are gonna slap."
"Golden Wind's here too, per SlickRick's X post!"
"ShuBro and Pineapple got spooked by Phasmophobia. Revenge time?"
"Grab an EMF to find Gus's booth!"
"Just sniff for yin energy, lol."
Yin laughed. "Chill, we'll hit every game. Golden Wind? We're paying SlickRick a visit."
He grinned, teeth gritted, mock-menacing.
Chat roared with laughter.
Media, streamers, critics, and VIPs swarmed the entrance.
Yin and Jada marveled. "USEA's quarterly expo pulls this crowd?"
Jada nodded. "Just media and reviewers. August's USDE in San Francisco will break records."
They flashed invites and entered.
Inside, IndieVibe Tech and Apex Interactive's booths flanked the entrance like titans.
IndieVibe's LED blared Ford Rally 3 promos.
Apex Interactive hyped Fearless Sniper, a first-half 2025 FPS built on the Dream 5 engine—real-time ray tracing, global illumination, micropolygon tech, promising top-tier VibeX1 visuals.