In early July, the major game developers unveiled their latest blockbuster titles. Overseas, the gaming scene remained relatively calm, with most established studios simply showcasing their newest AAA productions. The domestic market, however, was filled with the unmistakable scent of gunpowder. Almost every major gaming website was dominated by just two advertisements.
Gemtechs and Ansoft.
One was Ansoft's flagship AAA title, "Life of Soul." Its setting was somewhat reminiscent of the JOJO series that John remembered from his memories. In this world, everyone living beyond the frontier possessed the potential to awaken a powerful Life Soul, a spiritual manifestation that fought alongside its wielder. It was a game heavily focused on fast-paced ACT combat.
As for Gemtechs, it introduced its self-developed AAA, "The Empire." Players would find themselves at the end of the Warring States era, stepping into the roles of people from every nation opposing or supporting the rise of the empire.
They could become legendary generals leading armies, fearless assassins to eliminate the King, or influential merchants capable of shaping the empire's destiny through economic power. Of course, as a highly open-ended sandbox experience, players were equally free to stand with the empire itself and conquer the remaining kingdoms.
Judging solely from the trailers and promotional material released by Gemtechs, the project was overflowing with ambition.
Among everyone watching, John paid especially close attention to this game. He genuinely wanted to see how Gemtechs intended to merge so many different gameplay systems into a single cohesive experience.
A game packed with countless mechanics certainly sounded exciting on paper, but actually making every system enjoyable was another matter entirely. More often than not, the final result fell far short of expectations.
Even The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game celebrated for giving players incredible freedom, had carefully refined every mechanic through countless rounds of iteration to create the smoothest possible experience. More importantly, Skyrim always maintained a clear gameplay core.
Yet from everything Gemtechs had revealed about the game, it appeared they wanted every feature to be the absolute best at the same time. That alone was an incredibly difficult challenge.
Naturally, these were the kinds of concerns that only someone like John, an industry veteran, would analyze. Ordinary players had a much simpler perspective. To them, a clash between two high-profile AAA masterpieces was simply exhilarating.
Even the recently released "Snake Eater" DLC for Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain, along with the PC version of Yu-Gi-Oh!, had their spotlight completely stolen by these back-to-back AAA releases.
But before the excitement could settle, players received yet another explosive piece of news. PixelPioneers' next game had apparently been leaked, and the announcement hadn't come from PixelPioneers Games or John themselves. Instead, it originated from an artist working for an outsourced art studio.
A post suddenly surged to the top of the PixelPioneers Game Player Community Forum. The poster claimed to be an artist from an outsourcing company that had recently accepted work on a brand-new AAA project. Based on the company logo shown in the project documents, the client was supposedly PixelPioneers Games. The post didn't just contain text; it also included numerous pieces of concept artwork.
One illustration depicted a nobleman named Ezio in Florence donning the iconic Assassin's hood before leaping from the top of a towering structure.
Another image immediately reminded readers of the famous CG cinematic from Red Alert, where a leader delivered his speech at Notre Dame Cathedral. The poster boldly speculated that the mysterious white-hooded assassin descending from above was connected to that very scene.
According to the theory, PixelPioneers Games' next title shared the same world background as Red Alert, much like how Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain expanded its own universe.
Then, after remaining online for two days, the post suddenly vanished. Even the user's account had been deleted. That single action instantly convinced countless curious onlookers that the leak had to be genuine.
Anyone familiar with internet forums knew that moderators usually removed only the post itself. An entire account disappearing immediately afterward strongly suggested the user had deleted it personally after receiving pressure over confidentiality agreements.
Within hours, discussions exploded across the internet. It wasn't just players who were talking; nearly every gaming website and industry news outlet rushed to report the story. Even major domestic gaming sites prominently featured the report beneath the advertisements for Life of Soul, highlighting just how significant they considered the leak.
Online trending searches reflected the same excitement. The keywords surrounding the leak ranked just below Life of Soul and The Empire, even surpassing discussions about Yu-Gi-Oh! and Snake Eater.
Players eagerly debated every possible detail.
Gaming journalists continued publishing speculation after speculation.
Meanwhile, John sat alone in his office, staring blankly at the screenshots of the leaked forum post displayed in the media's latest article. The more he read, the stranger it felt.
Why did the entire sequence of events give him such an overwhelming sense of déjà vu? This style of marketing... It looked incredibly familiar. Unable to shake the feeling, John immediately contacted Martel.
After listening to John's questions, Martel answered honestly over the phone. "That's right. We intentionally leaked the information. I discussed the promotional budget with Mr. Armani. He said that besides your upcoming AAA project, we also have the Yu-Gi-Oh! esports league, plus our joint VR strategy with Warwick. The initial marketing budget wasn't particularly large, so to guarantee enough public attention before launch, Mr. Armani suggested that we study President John's promotional methods. I have to admit... this trick is absolutely brilliant. As expected of President John."
Hearing those words, John remained silent for a very long time. What was this supposed to be? Had everyone suddenly become marketing geniuses overnight? And besides... Although Martel clearly intended to praise him, why did it somehow sound like he was mocking him instead? More importantly, he didn't remember using this kind of promotional strategy all that often.
After ending the call with Martel, John couldn't help falling into deep self-doubt.
Just as he was convincing himself that he probably hadn't relied on this sort of publicity very much, Armani called. He explained that John should personally participate in the promotion of Assassin's Creed, since Martel was managing the project on behalf of PixelPioneers Games. After all, the game's primary development costs and marketing expenses were still being funded by PixelPioneers Games.
The moment the call ended, John suddenly shot to his feet. That's right! The real mastermind behind all these marketing stunts wasn't him at all; it was Armani. Every one of these clever promotional ideas had been taught by Armani in the first place.
The realization immediately lifted John's spirits. He generally avoided deliberately misleading players. If he hadn't done it, then he hadn't done it. After all, how could someone who believed in showing players genuine gameplay ever intentionally deceive them when the game itself was already progressing smoothly?
With that thought in mind, John casually opened his social media account. He pointed his phone toward the computer monitor, where the latest Assassin's Creed CG trailer sent by Martel was playing. Then he began typing his post.
The recent rumors are true: our new game is indeed in development, and its name is Assassin's Creed. And it's not just concept art anymore; we even have a promotional trailer ready. As for all the other rumors? Keep guessing. Even if you're right, we're still not telling you.