Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch C.381 369: Lining up to give money to Cloud Dream_2

The surface world's landscapes, items, and creatures were nearly completed, and work on creating the Hell and End dimensions was underway.

Additionally, a team was working on refining the crafting system developed by Lincoln to ensure it was seamlessly integrated into the game's style.

As for mods, although they were still in planning, Little Chun noted that once the most complex parts were complete, creating mods based on the existing game would be much quicker.

Even if many new elements like magic, monsters, bosses, and mechanics were added, it'd still be simpler than creating the base game from scratch.

Lincoln assured, "No need to hurry; we've got plenty of time."

He was also concerned about Little Chun's physical condition, fearing she might overexert herself.

Nevertheless, Randall mentioned that she seemed rather stable in recent months, with no signs of deterioration like before.

Randall believed that a person's mindset and emotional state might have an impact on their health to some extent.

After saying this, he repeatedly thanked Lincoln, which made Lincoln feel a bit awkward.

—After all, he should be thanking them for their hard work, not the other way around.

Fortunately, both Randall and Little Chun had achieved financial freedom because of Lincoln's generous rewards, so no one could accuse him of lacking a conscience.

Next, Jerome reported on the work being done by the International Affairs Department that everyone was interested in.

Izumo and Baekje were on the right track, and as long as there were no unexpected obstacles, the market share, user base, and profit would continue to steadily grow in the foreseeable future.

All Cloud Dream needed to do was pay attention, monitor, and conduct strict audits.

Progress was also being made rapidly in Southeast Asian countries.

It was estimated that Mirage Consoles would be available in these countries from mid-November, accelerating the growth of the player base.

Lincoln clapped his hands to commend Jerome and the staff of the Marketing and International Affairs Departments for their achievements.

Of course, this applause merely symbolized the recognition, as their compensations and bonuses next month would better reflect it.

Especially the bonuses, which could amount to a significant sum!

After reporting on these "important matters," Jerome briefly mentioned the collaboration with domestic brands.

Previously, talks with more than ten partners had concluded.

Unexpectedly, these partners discovered that Metropolis and Night City were connected!

This realization made them understand that Cloud Dream's games were different from other games.

Almost all other games had only brief periods of popularity; then, they quickly faded, becoming something tasteless yet slightly hard to let go of.

However, Cloud Dream seemed to be different!

If the "Speed Chase" Night City could be connected with Metropolis,

Would future blockbusters also be integrated with the existing maps?

If so, wouldn't that mean that the "lifespan" of these maps could extend far beyond just a few years?

As Cloud Dream developed more games and attracted more players, wouldn't these maps become more and more prosperous?

Before, they had carefully considered the popularity of "Assassins' Alliance" before placing advertisements, finding that it had declined somewhat after a month or two.

So, when "Speed Chase" was released, they instinctively shifted their focus to Night City.

Even if it meant spending twice or thrice as much, larger and longer-lasting traffic was the ultimate goal, right?

If every new game released by Cloud Dream were connected with the existing maps, the virtual environment world as a whole would have a never-ending stream of "living water." At that point, the maps' lifespans could exceed years!

And their storefronts would no longer be limited to just one game, but would be located in the ever-growing "virtual world" created by Cloud Dream.

In fact, the residents of this "virtual world" were not only from Daxia!

—There are already users from Izumo and Baekje, and in the future, there will be users from all over the world!

What does that mean?

It means advertising directly to users all over the world!

The value of that is simply incomparable!

Of course, this is just a future possibility, and it may not necessarily come true, so risks are inevitable.

But when they think about the person leading everything is Lincoln, a genius who created a business miracle in just four months, they can't help but feel: It's totally worth a gamble!

The only problem standing in their way is—the collaboration has already been discussed, and contracts have been signed.

And it's only signed for one year...

During the negotiations, it was they who thought Cloud Dream's asking price was too high, so they cut the collaboration time in half to lower the price.

After all, they felt that with Cloud Dream's development speed, the game might have no players in just one year, and everyone would have moved on to new games by then.

Looking back at the negotiations, they wish they could slap themselves twice.

But giving up is not an option, they start contacting Jerome again, hoping to talk and sign for more years.

As it is now, Cloud Dream's asking price is indeed high, but if they had signed a five-year or ten-year contract, it might have been a great bargain when looking back!

However, by this time, the brands that realized the huge commercial value of the virtual world were not just them.

All the brands with strength and vision were aroused by the imagination activated by the connection between Metropolis and Night City.

As a result, the employees of Cloud Dream's marketing department were bombarded with countless, enthusiastic emails and phone inquiries.

These brands lined up to send money to Cloud Dream like they were crazy, all to achieve long-term cooperation.

All marketing department employees suddenly entered an unprecedented state of busyness.

"So this is the current situation." Jerome summarized. "Shall we lift the restriction on long contracts?"

"Of course not." Lincoln shook his head resolutely without thinking.

He's no idiot!

"Stick to the old rules, maximum two years. Take it or leave it. Anyway, every time we expand a city map, we'll raise the price. Let those who want to hesitate, keep hesitating."

"Understood." Jerome nodded, unable to help but sigh in his heart—

People with plenty of money do talk tough.

The reports of the employees were all very earnest, but Lincoln's replies gave a sense of cutting through the Gordian knot.

No matter what issue was brought up, he solved it in just a few words, without even having time to ponder and hesitate.

It made everyone start to wonder: Is the boss really so confident, or just disinterested in what's going on and wants to finish the meeting quickly to slack off ...

Not until Samuel began reporting, mentioning the newly emerged topic on social networks—"The Battle for the First Completion of 'Speed Chase' between Izumo and Daxia players"—did Lincoln suddenly fall into contemplation.

Everyone looked puzzled at Lincoln.

Earlier, Fred, Randall, Little Chun, Jerome... no matter who reported, each topic was undoubtedly related to Cloud Dream's development and was important.

Yet, Lincoln had been casual all along.

How could a social networking topic about the battle for a game's first completion make him think so seriously all of a sudden?

That level of topic popularity is not a big deal for Cloud Dream, right?