Chapter 114
Game distribution platform and subsidiary of Surface, Stream, was a massive corporation commanding 30% of the global game distribution market.
But compared to its scale, it wasn't exactly held in high regard.
Because they were perennial second place.
First place belonged to Crown, which had devoured 55% of the distribution market.
Crown was the traditional powerhouse of the game distribution market.
Since the PC era, Crown had occasionally unleashed discounts from 50% all the way to 90%, using insidious methods to pry open the wallets of users who didn't even play games, and at one point completely dominated the PC gaming market.
And they are acknowledged as the most successful of the existing companies in adapting to the era of virtual reality.
While companies in other fields lost markets to Surface's subsidiaries, Crown proudly maintained the industry's top spot, a fitting assessment.
Amid this, a certain manager from perennial second-place Stream Korea was editing a report.
"We lost again this time."
Surface is the absolute company that monopolized the virtual reality market.
With overwhelming technology, capital, and the advantage of being the first mover, they easily pushed aside traditional powerhouses.
But one cannot devour every market.
"Ah, I wish the parent company would just make it so that no one could make VR games without distributing through us, Stream."
Like that would ever happen.
If they obstruct fair competition, they'd get hit with antitrust beams from courts around the world.
The company would be torn to pieces and lose major influence.
From Surface's perspective, it would be like getting run over by a speeding truck while trying to pick up loose change on the street.
In that case, it's much better to just leave Stream be and ignore it.
"So basically, we're the abandoned child."
But that's not to say Stream is lacking in any way.
No matter how abandoned a child may be, parents are still parents, and their parents are a chaebol.
So at least globally, Stream fought to snatch Crown's market share without any shortage of funds.
Korea was among the regions where they performed best.
Crown's market share in Korea: 45%.
Stream's: 40%.
A mere 5% difference.
"I want to win."
Game distribution platforms compete through exclusives that can only be purchased via that platform.
Exclusives most directly influence a platform's market share.
"Who makes, supports, launches, and pushes the better, more fun game."
By doing so they secure users, then launch another game to keep them using their platform.
This is what they do, and the manager, Han, very much enjoyed his job.
Because he was someone who genuinely loved games.
That's why he believed distribution companies had a responsibility to help developers attempt various experiments for the advancement of the industry.
And he had been working that way.
"But the results aren't exactly stellar."
The company had a lot of money and high reinvestment rates, so he was able to support various game companies in his own way.
But ultimately, to prove his method was right, he needed to defeat Crown and produce results, and like the title they released a week ago, the results so far hadn't been great.
"Monster's game was released today, wasn't it."
A game that had received a budget after countless meetings and persuasion: Two Heads are Better.
Now that it had been released, all he could do was purely pray that it did well.
Just then, the phone rang, and Manager Han's face displayed reluctance as he hesitated.
Should I answer it.
Or not.
[Kim, Deputy Manager at Crown]
It was his college classmate and friend who worked at rival company Crown.
Sigh.
"Hello?"
- Hey, Seungcheol, how's it going these days?
Asking even though he clearly knows.
"Haha. Well, so-so? That one you guys released a week ago was decent. Congratulations."
- Oh, that? I worked on that from the planning stage to the end. Hahaha. Can't miss this Super Week, can I?
Super Week my ass.
It's just a period after the battlefield ends, with no buzz at all, making it the time when packaged games sell relatively best.
During such a period, his friend only brought typical games that sell just moderately well.
"Is that so? Congratulations."
- Yeah. If this goes well, I might get promoted to department head.
He felt a slight pang in his gut.
- I saw the game your company put out today too. A two-player co-op game? Isn't two-player a bit of a barrier?
The very reason his boss had worried and refused support came out of his friend's mouth.
- Plus, I heard you mixed horror into the beginning. Hmm. Seems a bit iffy.
How did he even know that?
The game had just been released, to the point where even the tutorial should barely be over.
He had clearly done some digging.
Though it was only natural.
In fact, since college, his friend and he had often butted heads slightly due to differing views.
And that had become amplified as they ended up doing the same work in the same industry.
"The game turned out well. You'll see once you look."
- I know. Since you're the one who chose it, of all people. But as you know, artistic merit and commercial success tend to go separate ways. You need to quickly get promoted to deputy manager yourself. Since the industry isn't long-established and promotions happen fast, you can't stay a manager forever.
Giving unsolicited advice now.
- I've even heard that your evaluations have been a bit dangerous lately, you know? That you don't fail often, but you never land a huge hit either.
Manager Han muttered internally.
Annoying brat.
His friend was from the camp that believed in just making safe, decent choices, the 'the good is as good as it gets' faction.
That's why they clashed.
- Well, it's not really my place to say, but I'm just sorry that even though you started two years late, I got promoted to deputy manager first.
As if he's actually sorry.
"Yeah, yeah. So why did you call?"
- I see you're running ads right now. Just wanted to congratulate you on snagging that streamer.
Aha.
In that moment, Manager Han realized the reason for his friend's call.
He'd come to pick a fight after losing that streamer.
"Thanks."
- Yeah. I heard you paid near maximum, but is there some other trick to landing them?
"None. They just said it looked fun."
On the game community Adventure, if a post on an uninteresting topic makes it to the top ten, a regular user can simply not look.
But those in the industry are different.
They must scrutinize every single post that appears on Adventure to gauge trends.
That's why no one would be more aware of the fact that an incredible talent had emerged than them.
Well, or maybe the users of For the Hyeop?
Manager Han smiled subtly as he spoke.
"I heard you guys wanted to grab that streamer too."
- Huh? Well...
"I heard you matched the amount to the max as well."
Incidentally, Manager Han had done his own digging on his friend.
- That's true. But we didn't bid higher. Just because you secure a streamer doesn't mean everything works out. You know that, right?
He clearly called to say that.
Frustratingly, it was correct.
Even for a buzz-worthy streamer, saving a game is nearly impossible.
Advertising through streamers is only for raising awareness.
For a game to become a huge hit, it needs to become a topic of conversation.
And for a game to become a topic and be on everyone's lips, to borrow industry parlance, it's said to be a gift from heaven.
In other words.
- If just snagging a good streamer made games smash hits, would the incomes of big-time streamers really multiply several times over? Heh. Right?
What his friend was saying was this.
You got that streamer?
But it probably means nothing?
The loser who failed to secure Seojun had clearly come for a mental victory.
And with that, Manager Han completed his own mental victory.
"Sure. Let's grab a meal sometime."
- Yeah. Hanging up.
Like proper Koreans, they ended the call.
A meal promise, my ass.
"Ah."
He glanced at the clock before beginning to wrap things up and prepare to leave.
He had an actual meal appointment.
"Anyway, Crown has been paying special attention to streamers lately. Is it because of that?"
From what he's heard, they're preparing something like a partner program where game companies can start new releases earlier or receive various support in exchange for not playing their rival's (Stream's) exclusives for a set period.
Regardless of whether streamers can hit it big, the streaming market had grown enormously and was clearly a market that must be secured, so Stream would surely jump in as well.
If that's the case, competition to secure streamers will become fierce in the future.
Thinking he still wasn't sure, he called the CEO of the developer, Monster.
"Hello?"
- Ah, Manager. I'm about to arrive in front of the company.
"Haha. Take your time, CEO. Anyway, how's the game's reception? Are you watching the promotional stream? I just finished work, so I couldn't tune in yet."
- Yes, hmm. It seems just so-so for now.
"Haha. Still, don't worry too much."
The word so-so was not good.
Most games get buried without ever becoming a topic of conversation. Just so-so.
However.
Manager Han smiled subtly.
They had something they believed in.
The very highlight of this game.
The chase scene.
"It'll do well. That's because..."
That chase scene was truly, truly terrifying.
- I'm not too worried either. Cheonma-nim will handle it somehow.
Ah.
It seems he believed in something else, not the game.
He'd joined the demon cult.
He felt slightly disappointed.
"Hahaha... I'll see you in a bit then."
For reference, in the past,
he had been a user of the great, prestigious righteous factions.
* * *
Seojun says calmly.
"It's not doing anything, it just went away."
The bizarre-looking doll that had been staring at them through the gap had vanished without a sound.
Its exact appearance hadn't been made out.
Because it had pressed its face too close, the light hadn't reached it properly.
Anyway.
Seojun turned his gaze and stared intently at Taewoo.
"So how long is this guy going to stay like this?"
Meanwhile, Taewoo, without moving a muscle, thought to himself.
I'm doomed.
It was the first word that came to mind after his brain, momentarily paralyzed, began functioning again 30 seconds later.
The next word was this.
I let my guard down.
The horror element the developers mentioned is in Chapter 1, and what he thought was no big deal was probably the tutorial.
They say people freeze up without even screaming when they're too shocked?
Taewoo had keenly felt the truth of that statement today, and as a result.
- Hey?
- What are you doing?
- This guy's frozen solid lololol
- The moment the doll appeared, this bastard let out a tiny "heup!" and got scared. I clearly heard it lololol
- Could it be he scares easily?
- Now that I think about it, he's never played a horror game. Let's check with the boss later.
The viewers pieced together the situation with the accuracy of a jigsaw puzzle.
And Seojun, grinning, watched him with an expression that said he was waiting to see what excuse he'd come up with.
Taewoo's eyes darted around, avoiding Seojun's gaze.
Dammit.
What kind of excuse was he supposed to make here?
His heart was still pounding heavily.
Unable to find words to say, Taewoo remained frozen, and Seojun took the initiative.
"Ah, you're asking if this is a horror game? The devs did say the first chapter would have a bit of a horror vibe."
- Aha
- Added horror flavor? I actually like that
- Oh, boss's horror game!
- Could it be the boss scares easily?
"I don't scare easily, but someone else seems a bit different?"
"...What are you talking about."
Taewoo squeezed out the words and moved his body.
But maybe because the tension in his completely stiff body had released, Taewoo collapsed on the spot.
Thud.
- Lololololololol
- His body's creaking?
- He didn't just creak, he fell over lolololololol
- How scared were you, seriously! Lolololololol
Things are truly beyond repair now, aren't they?
And above all, since Chapter 1 is only just beginning, the future is pitch-black.
Nevertheless.
"I said it's not."
If he admitted it now, he might be forced to play far more horror games in the future, so Taewoo's pride wouldn't let him.
- What do you mean it's not?
- From now on, all penalties include horror games lolololol scaredy-cat
- Lololololol Being startled? Admitted. Freezing up? Admitted. But your legs going weak? Senior center lololololol
- You're screwed for the future lololol
Of course, no one believed him.
Taewoo rubbed his face in despair and imagined the future.
How many times will I be dragged into games now?
And how scary will they be?
That was his biggest worry.
No, seriously, things jumping out suddenly are insanely terrifying!
"Hey, if you're this much of a coward, why did you even take on this ad?"
Now he's speaking as if it's half a foregone conclusion.
Taewoo finally gave up and confessed.
"Because I didn't know! I didn't know it would be this scary!"
- Taewan-yong lololololol (playing on the name Taewoo and Wanyong, meaning spineless)
- Tae-jeong-jae lolololol (play on his name and a character)
- Because I didn't know I'd be freed this early! (parody of a famous line)
- He has two holes lolololol
Seojun laughed heartily with the viewers for a good while.
"So, is your heart okay?"
"It's not that bad."
"Then, want to take the lead?"
The only way forward was the dark passage straight ahead.
They had already confirmed earlier that they couldn't enter the building through the wire fence.
"No."
"Then I found an empty box over there, want to check it too?"
"Yeah, I won't look at that either."
The chat became spammed with "Scared?"
"No, if something jumps out again, I'll genuinely die of a heart attack. No. It's just that there's no need to look."
Is that so.
Seojun once again fully enjoyed laughing at him with the viewers before moving forward.
[What was that earlier?]
[I don't really know. Isn't he the factory manager?]
[What? No matter how poorly I could see, that doll was drawn so frighteningly? I didn't draw it like that though?]
[You just didn't draw any more of it.]
[That's because you kept telling me to redo it.]
Synthesizing the conversation so far.
"You could just consider both protagonists in this game Taewoo 1 and Taewoo 2."
Developers who couldn't stay centered, constantly fighting, and eventually fell apart.
They had entered the unfinished game to settle their karma.
"It seems the empty spaces are filled in differently from what they had planned."
Huddled up, Taewoo walked with Seojun as they conversed leisurely with the viewers down the passage.
Before long, something emerged from beyond the dark shadows.