Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Has The Game Flopped?

Jiang Qingyue clenched her fist, nearly smashing her controller against the computer screen.

This was the product of 8 hours of her hard work!

This was her first time encountering someone so infuriating in a game—if she were any less composed, she’d have given up and gone to bed already.

Jiang Qingyue’s first thought was to track down this person. But trying to find someone in a game that’s practically single-player was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

And the system had already notified her:

Player: Demon God, has exited the game.

Jiang Qingyue threw the controller onto her desk.

She resisted smashing it against the screen. Even though she was considered well-off among her peers, her genuine VBOX controller alone cost 419 yuan, and her recently upgraded 2K monitor was nearly 3,000 yuan. Smashing either would be a waste, and Auntie Jiang would surely feel the pain.

“Phew…”

“Calm down.”

Just as Jiang Qingyue removed her headset, preparing to get up and calm herself down, her phone rang.

“Hello!”

Jiang Qingyue gritted her teeth as she answered the call.

“Qingyue, why the grim look? Who dared to mess with you?”

Li Mengyue’s amused voice came through.

Jiang Qingyue briefly recounted the ordeal to her best friend.

“I was worried you wouldn’t enjoy this… what do you call it again?”

“Sandbox game!”

“Oh right, sandbox game! I didn’t expect you to get so into it, playing for so long. So, have you found any transformation opportunities in this game?”

“Are you missing the point here? I need you to help me condemn that Demon God player! So despicable!”

“Alright, alright! It’s just about time for dinner. Want to grab something to eat?”

“Absolutely. You pick the place, and we’ll talk when we get there!”

Jiang Qingyue clenched her fist. In-game grudges should stay in the game, bringing them into real life would ruin the fun.

30 minutes later, Jiang Qingyue arrived at a restaurant called Qinglan Villa by the coast.

Li Mengyue had already reserved a private room and ordered food, just waiting for her to arrive.

As Jiang Qingyue sat down, one dish after another was served.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Jiang Qingyue said, “You always treat me to meals. I should be the one paying this time.”

Li Mengyue smiled and shook her head.

“We’re best friends, right? You provide me with emotional support, and I pay for the food. Seems fair, doesn’t it?”

Jiang Qingyue couldn’t argue, just feeling lucky to have a wealthy friend like her.

“Hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”

Li Mengyue had ordered Hangzhou-style dishes, which she loved from her years growing up in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

“Sure, let’s eat and chat!”

Jiang Qingyue didn’t hold back and started digging in.

Growing up in a modest household, she wasn’t picky and ate whatever her host provided.

As they ate, they chatted nonstop about My World. The game’s sales had slowed. Despite selling 20,000 copies within 3 hours of its release that morning, by 6:00 pm., only around 30,000 copies had been sold in total.

Jiang Qingyue fully understood the game’s mechanics by now.

Is it hard? Not really. As long as you’re playing carefully and avoid things like digging into lava or provoking creatures, there’s no real risk.

At night, groups of zombies might spawn, but in single-player mode, you can sleep through the night. As long as you protect your respawn bed, you’re safe.

Even if you die, you respawn immediately at your set point.

The only hassle is losing your items on death, if you die too far from the respawn point, retrieving them before they despawn can be exhausting.

Another thing is, this game really eats up time. Jiang Qingyue had spent 8 hours and only managed to build a single glass house.

If she wanted to construct her dream garden castle, who knows how long it would take.

She thought having some like-minded friends to play with could enhance the experience.

Glancing at Li Mengyue, she doubted her friend would be interested. But while she might not have many friends, she had fans!

“Although that ‘Demon God’ is infuriating, isn’t this perfect for content? Make a video out of it—maybe this could be the gateway to your transformation. With the buzz around this new game, who knows, you might even make it to the Top 100 creators!”

Li Mengyue suggested with a grin.

That comment reminded Jiang Qingyue of her frustration. Her hard-earned seaside house!

“Oh right! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Her eyes lit up immediately.

Food done, Jiang Qingyue rushed home. As a media studies senior and experienced creator, video editing was second nature to her.

The next day, Ye Xiao stared at her dashboard, scratching her head in frustration.

After 2 days on the market, the game had sold 50,000 copies—a figure any other developer would be ecstatic about.

For a game with a production cost under 300,000 yuan, priced at 88 yuan, selling 50,000 copies had netted them over 4 million yuan.

With a 70-30 revenue split on Huaxia’s platform, Ye Xiao’s take was around 2.5 million yuan in pure profit.

Yet Ye Xiao felt dissatisfied.

They’d topped the new release chart thanks to Gu Group’s advertising, but the growth was slowing.

One reason was that Binhai City had been saturated with ads, everyone interested had already bought the game. Those who hadn’t likely wouldn’t.

Another reason was that, while the game had gained some traction, it hadn’t broken into the mainstream.

Without that “breakthrough” effect, My World would remain stagnant, with organic word-of-mouth spread being too slow.

Without some sustained popularity, My World might just be another average success rather than an iconic game.

“Yunchu, is the game not selling well?”

“We’ve sold 50,000 copies so far!”

Shen Yunchu explained to Ye Youran.

“Then why does Xiao Xiao look like the game flopped?”

“I have no idea!”

Shen Yunchu shrugged.