"Whoa—"
Chloe Quinn caught Zoey Parker clutching the Asian Games certificate like it was her lifeline, wiping it with a look of pure heartbreak. Chloe nodded, all smiles:
"This award's a big deal, huh? Record-breaking, no less!"
"Only a handful of games hit 500,000 copies in a week."
"Our PUBG? Smashed records, broke even on a $50M budget in one week—$55,555,612 in sales! That's freaking huge…"
"Anyway, let's talk business—"
Zoey clutched her chest, waving Chloe off mid-sentence:
"Enough with the praise! What's up?"
No more PUBG talk. One more word, and I'm done.
I'm this close to a heart attack just to freak you out.
"Oh, it's Victor Lang from IndieVibe," Chloe grinned.
"Who?!"
Zoey's eyebrows shot up.
That guy's got the nerve to show his face?
Listen up!
PUBG's insane success—566,894 copies, $55,555,612—ain't just the game's quality. It's the hype train!
And who's driving that train? PacificTech, sure, but IndieVibe's been pouring gas on it!
They went all out!
One day it's a front-page feature, next it's a promo blast, then a full-on ad campaign.
They're spamming big data ads like there's no tomorrow!
You could say Victor Lang and his IndieVibe crew are PUBG's biggest cheerleaders!
Great job, guys!
Made so much cash I'm seeing stars!
And you've got the guts to stroll in here?!
Zoey clenched her tiny fist, eyeing the water gun under her desk.
This guy's always been this bold? Doesn't he know I'm a black belt in chaos?
"Zoey?"
"Zoey!"
Chloe called twice, snapping her out of it. "You free? Want Victor in your office or…?"
"Conference room," Zoey waved.
She didn't trust herself not to whip out the water gun in her office.
"Oh, and grab Gus Harper too."
Zoey was pissed, but not brain-dead.
A big shot like Victor Lang doesn't just drop by for coffee. He's got a mission.
"Zoey! Congrats, congrats, triple congrats! Over 500,000 copies sold across Asia in a week, $55,555,612 in the bank! Broke even in one week, pure profit from here! This calls for a party! Hahaha, here's to crushing it even harder!" Victor beamed, shaking Zoey's hand like he was trying to launch her into orbit.
Screw your party!
Zoey's head spun from the handshake, barely resisting the urge to punt him across the room.
"Haha… yeah…" She forced a smile, lips twitching.
"Sit, Victor, sit…"
Spit it out, man. Say your piece or let one rip, but hurry up. I'm this close to keeling over. Kids these days? Fragile. I could drop any second.
They sat.
Gus Harper and Zoey faced Victor across the table.
"Got a new project, Victor?" Zoey fired first.
Take the lead!
No more money talk!
Gimme a project that'll tank hard.
"Well…" Victor hesitated, thrown by Zoey's directness.
He came to ask WindyPeak to walk into a meat grinder.
Kinda awkward to just say it.
He could've spun some BS: "We're inviting WindyPeak to craft a masterpiece for IndieVibe X2, a win-win for our somatosensory cabin!"
But he couldn't. And wouldn't dare.
Couldn't, because it'd burn his conscience. WindyPeak's been a solid IndieVibe partner forever.
IndieVibe X1's market share jumped from 17% to 20% partly because WindyPeak brought the heat with PUBG and Left 4 Dead 2.
Lying to a partner with fake promises? That's low, even for Victor.
And why wouldn't he dare?
Gus Harper.
Yup.
Even if Victor was a heartless snake who'd scam Zoey, the quirky CEO with her Mickey watch and innocent grin, he wouldn't mess with Gus.
Zoey? Easy to fool.
But Gus? That guy's a gaming industry savant!
His Indie Game Fest speech, "MFGA" flex at the Global Tech Expo, and PUBG's hype at the Asian Games Summit—all scream market mastery.
This "death trap" pitch? Gus would sniff it out in a heartbeat.
So, Victor took a breath and laid it all bare.
From IndieVibe X2's upgrade to inviting WindyPeak for a flagship FPS.
From Nebula Games's three-axe assault (Zenith Studios, Radiant Studios, StarWolf Interactive, $3B–5B total) to the market showdown.
From escort game genres to their $700M–1B budgets.
Every detail, every stake, no sugarcoating.
"…That's the deal," Victor sighed, rubbing his hands, looking sheepish. "I know this pitch is rushed and kinda unfair…"
"I respect your call."
"If it's not right, you can wait till IndieVibe X2's stable to drop your game."
"Won't mess up our partnership."
He glanced at Zoey and Gus.
Both were frowning hard.
Gus's brain was firing on all cylinders.
First instinct? Hard pass.
No way.
Can't win.
This is a suicide mission.
Sure, he's pulled off underdog wins before.
Take Left 4 Dead 2 and PUBG, both with "Qiu" in the name—pure clutch.
Left 4 Dead 2 first.
Rival? Radiant Studios's Fearless Marksman.
1v1.
$10M vs. $100M—a 10x gap.
Early on, despite waving the "MFGA" flag and pioneering second-gen FPS, they got crushed by promo blackouts.
Turnaround came with the Creator's Hub.
From $10M to $100M, they played two aces—second-gen FPS and Creator's Hub—to drop a royal flush and flip the game.
Brutal fight.
Then PUBG.
Cost gap shrank: $50M vs. $200M–300M.
Not 1v1 anymore—an Asian free-for-all.
Everyone scrambled for market share, promo wars raging.
They leaned on "Battle Royale" innovation, the Chinese market's hunger, and PacificTech's promo wind to claw through the chaos and dominate.
Total victory.
But now?
Per Victor, this is a whole new beast.
The cost gap's ballooned—$100M vs. $3B–5B!
No more melee. It's 1v3.
As IndieVibe's only FPS team, WindyPeak faces three giants with a 50x budget gap!
Victor's right…
Gus smacked his lips.
This is a death sentence.
But!
"Escort masterpiece" is tempting as hell!
IndieVibe X2 isn't just domestic—it's gunning for global markets!
If WindyPeak's game hitches that ride, it's a massive boost.
PUBG already hit 500,000 copies in a week across Asia, dwarfing Left 4 Dead 2's 150,000 domestic copies.
What if they go global?
Gus was pumped.
He didn't wanna miss this.
But what game could stand tall against those odds?
Gus was all logic, crunching numbers.
Zoey? Her brain was simpler.
Let's tank it!
Victor Lang's a real one!
Pitting WindyPeak against Nebula Games's three titans!
Man, Victor, how'd you cook up this wild plan?
Look at WindyPeak's budget—pennies compared to their nine-figure war chests. When costs gap that hard, it's no contest.
Against their titans, we're the kid brother of kid brothers.
Their three axes will shred Gus's jeans and slap him silly!
This is a dirty play. If I didn't have my loss-reward system, I'd chuck a brick at you.
And "it's unfair to you"?
Unfair?!
Hundreds of millions vs. us as cannon fodder.
Win? You cash in. Lose? IndieVibe's hands are clean.
You and that snake Ethan Caldwell go to the same school of shady, huh?
Is this the kind of talk a carbon-based lifeform spits out?
Zoey was speechless but held her tongue.
This was a golden chance to lose big.
"Gus, yo, Gus?" Zoey nudged him, seeing him lost in thought.
"What's your take on Victor's pitch? Got the chops to make an IndieVibe X2 FPS banger?"
Gus raised an eyebrow.
Dang, you really went there?!
Her question wasn't "Can we win?"
It was "How fast can we crash?"
$100M vs. $3B–5B? Insane!
One-on-three?
Look at their lineup: StarWolf Interactive holds the fort with old-school FPS.
Radiant Studios and Zenith Studios go on the attack.
Radiant's cooking second-gen FPS and battle royale, ready to brawl.
Zenith's spinning single-player stories, hooking the narrative crowd.
So!
To pull a 1v3, WindyPeak needs a killer story, a competitive edge, and something to topple PUBG's Battle Royale and shake StarWolf's classic FPS throne!
Not impossible!
Gus could stitch together the Call of Duty Trilogy, toss in tactical team modes, and cap it with Warzone. He'd knock all three titans off their horses, sip warm coffee, and call it a day.
Problem is…
That'd cost more than all three of their budgets combined!
Where's the cash?
Even if they had it…
Gus checked his emotional value system.
250,000 points.
By next month's project start, maybe 900,000.
Call of Duty Trilogy? 5M points.
With Warzone? 7.5M.
Pipe dream.
Gus wavered.
900,000 points? Fast growth, but a drop in the bucket for a blockbuster.
Can't even afford Call of Duty's core.
He sighed, deflated.
Before PUBG, emotional value shortages dogged him.
Staring at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Titanfall 2, he felt stuck.
Wait a sec…
Titanfall 2?
Holy crap!
Gus sucked in a breath.
If he recalled right, Titanfall 2 costs 1M emotional value and $100M–200M.
Out of reach before.
But now…
Gus's eyebrows shot up.
What's the vibe now? Still dueling old-school titans?
Time for a new flavor.
Check out my big gun.
All three of you are going down!
Three titans vs. Titanfall!
"Alright, I think—" Gus started, rubbing his chin.
"Yup, sounds good, we're in!" Zoey cut in, nodding.
Gus: Huh?
Did I miss a frame? What? Time skip? Stand attack?
I didn't even finish!
Zoey had been watching him like a hawk.
Gus's frowns, sighs, and hesitations screamed constipation-level stress.
Zoey knew.
This was a done deal!
She watched five more minutes.
His scowl didn't budge.
Jackpot!
She waved her hand.
Enough talk. You'd just say, "Too risky, pass."
I'm locking this in.
"Uh… what?" Victor blinked, stunned as Zoey nodded after staring Gus down.
He thought Gus's grim face meant this was dead in the water!
Figured Gus would nix this crazy pitch—totally fair.
But nope!
Zoey clocked Gus's frown, saw his gears grinding, and just said, "We're in"?!
We?
You mean you, right?
Gus was gonna say no, wasn't he?
But Zoey's the boss!
If she's game, who's Victor to argue?
He shot up. "Thank you, Zoey! Happy to team up!"
Like he feared she'd back out, Victor thrust out his hand, relief washing over him. "Don't worry, Zoey. IndieVibe and WindyPeak will only get tighter!"
His words were cryptic.
He knew WindyPeak was walking into a buzzsaw.
So he tossed her a lifeline: Even if you crash, IndieVibe's got your back. You won't bleed out.
Zoey waved it off fast.
Don't make this harder, man.
"We appreciate the support," she said.
"We're sorry our little shop can't match your escort mission's scale. We'll do our best."
"Hope you don't think we're slacking."
"Whoa—" Victor laughed, flattered. "No way, Zoey! You're making me blush!"
Gus watched their corporate love-fest, fuming.
Yo.
I'm right here.
You two playing nice while I'm a potted plant?
You were just staring at me—how am I out of the loop?
Gus cleared his throat. "Victor."
"Hey, what's up, Gus?" Victor turned, nervous Gus might derail things.
But Gus didn't mention the escort deal. Instead: "Indie Game Fest coming up?"
"Huh?" Victor blinked, thrown. "Uh… yeah?"
"Can we join?" Gus asked. "We're still a small-to-mid-size studio."