Chapter 173. Entertainment Invitational! (14/22)
The four-day Schicksal Game Expo wrapped up in a lively atmosphere, and Apex went live right at noon on the second day after the expo ended.
This time, Xander Masato held nothing back on marketing and promotion.
Gensokyo may lack in other areas, but it has the most cash flow.
With the money-printing machine that is Pokémon constantly churning, it feels like they'll never need to worry about development funding for any future game.
It was also the first time the folks in the PR department got to spend like this.
Each of them threw themselves into the work with all their might, savoring the joy of being the client.
For the concrete PR plan, he referenced the method used when Apex Legends launched in his previous life—and pushed it even further.
He had his people contact most of the major live-streaming platforms and signed one-month short-term deals directly with those platforms.
During that month, any stream in the games category broadcasting Apex would have its airtime counted.
Concurrent viewers, gifts, danmaku, and other metrics would be tracked, with commissions paid out based on the final figures.
Because of that, on the day after the Schicksal Game Expo ended, players opened their streaming apps to find that half the games section was broadcasting a title they'd never even heard of.
They clicked into their favorite streamers' channels in confusion.
A next-gen FPS.
Battle royale.
Evo Shields.
And that armor-shatter sound that practically sets off fireworks in your skull.
Watching their favorite streamers cheer with joy, seeing them slap the table in excitement when they discovered new tech, curiosity was instantly kindled—so they clicked the big, bold game button under the stream.
Apex, launch!
Of course, they also bought ads across social platforms, funded creator bounties, and reached out to well-known short-video creators for promo clips.
Within just a few days, gamers realized that the only thing they seemed to see online anymore was a single game.
The big, sweeping promo blitz shoved every other game's visibility to the bottom.
Oh, wait—Pokémon doesn't count.
You don't beat up your own family, right?
Traditional FPS publishers, in particular, were forced to swallow their complaints.
They were already despairing at the game's quality, and now you're advertising like this?
What, is your money blowing in on the wind?!!
In no time, Apex's name recognition surpassed even the promo pushes of "you-know-which dream" and "you-know-which star" from his previous life.
Favorite streamers were playing Apex.
The news talked about Apex.
Even a quick break for short videos—still Apex everywhere.
Sure, some players would be put off by overexposure.
But even more would be drawn in by curiosity.
After all.
Apex is actually fun.
No cheaters.
No trash servers.
No five red ping buffs permanently squatting in the top right the moment you load in.
Pair that with a matchmaking system backed by advanced AI algorithms, and it took only a few days for the game to explode among players.
And as the one and only battle royale of its kind, the fresh gameplay practically monopolized most FPS players—while also attracting a lot of newbies—expanding the overall FPS pie.
Granted, Gensokyo gobbled up a big chunk of that expanded pie.
But that shift still offered a bit of comfort to the FPS publishers who'd been steamrolled overnight.
Battle royale, huh?
If they can't innovate, they can still copy, can't they?
The biggest traffic share has already been seized by Gensokyo, and judging by quality it'll be hard to surpass.
But that doesn't stop others from getting a sip of the soup.
With less attention, they'd simply go niche and cater hard to specific audiences.
For example, make every character a cute anime girl and tack on a dating system.
Flirt with the girl and then control her to shoot—wouldn't that instantly hook the otaku crowd?
Or ditch Apex's comic-like art style and go all-in on realism.
Build a true-to-life map, put in real-world firearms, even mirror the real-world stats.
Perfect simulation like that would attract a mass of enthusiasts, too.
Or maybe…
Everyone had their own ideas.
It was just a race to see who could ship first and scoop up whatever broth remained.
Xander Masato couldn't be bothered to care.
He was still overseeing the promo impact and compiling lessons from this large-scale campaign.
Situations like this would only get more common in the future, so they needed to get proficient.
Sitting in the office, Xander Masato studied the numbers while Bronya flipped through the financial reports.
Noticing the spending in those few days pouring out like floodwater, she couldn't help clicking her tongue.
"Money really does flow like water."
"Mm?"
Kaguya glanced over curiously.
Catching her look, Bronya pointed at the screen and sighed.
"Our promo spend is about to surpass development costs.
And it's only been a few days."
"That's normal."
Hearing Bronya's sigh, Xander Masato looked up.
After tossing out that casual reply, he stood up from the ergonomic chair, stretched, and rolled his stiff neck.
He swayed over behind Bronya and leaned down, resting on her shoulders.
"What's wrong, heartache already?"
He teased her cheerfully, and Bronya muttered back under her breath.
"It just feels like we didn't put the edge where it cuts."
Feeling the warmth against her, Bronya clasped the hands that had draped down her shoulders and gave them a firm, gentle squeeze.
"The world doesn't lack good games.
With nearly ten billion people, even if only a tiny fraction become game designers, the ideas and inspirations they spark are countless.
What many of them lack is simply a way to put their game in front of players—and promotion is exactly for that."
With that, he lowered his head to nuzzle Bronya's soft cheek, then smiled and went on.
"Besides, don't you want more people to play our games?"
"…I do."
"Then there you go.
And this is just pocket change in the ledger.
The big bill is coming out of Anti-Entropy."
Planting another kiss on her cheek, Xander Masato straightened, patted Bronya's head, and said, "We're no longer that tiny studio that couldn't even scrape together dev funds.
Show some Gensokyo-boss energy, Duck Boss~"
"What Duck Boss?
That sounds awful!"
She shot Xander Masato a glare.
He just laughed and moved over to tease Kaguya instead.
Compared to Bronya, Kaguya was far easier to fluster.
Her cheeks quickly flushed red, and she went limp, leaning softly into Xander Masato's arms.
"In such a good mood today?"
After washing his fingers with clean water, Xander Masato toyed with Kaguya's tongue, then turned to Bronya and nodded lightly.
"Yeah.
Apex's performance exceeded my expectations.
I thought next week's Entertainment Invitational would be a lifesaver in the snow.
Looks like it's just icing on the cake now."
One hand slipped under her hem, tracing lightly over Kaguya's warm, flat belly, making the girl shiver again.
"As of just now, player registrations have passed one hundred fifty million, and peak daily concurrents have hit twenty million."
"How many?!"
His hand had already reached her chest, but Kaguya forgot to be shy.
Bronya's eyes also went wide.
"Fresh numbers.
They'll be inflated since it's a new game, but holding a daily peak around ten million shouldn't be hard."
"Pervert," Bronya muttered softly.
"Mm.
Even I didn't expect it to be this strong.
I thought around ten million concurrent would be the ceiling, and we broke that right out of the gate."
He lowered his head toward Kaguya's neck, inhaled the girl's fragrance, and bound her tightly in his arms.
"Hey, this is the office.
Control yourself!"
Seeing his motions getting bolder—and knowing she could never truly refuse him—Bronya reminded him with annoyance.
"Relax.
No one's coming into this office…"
"Princess, I have… a… re—"
A wild Reisen appeared.
The wild Reisen witnessed a steamy scene on the office chair and was greatly shocked.
The wild Reisen fled.
Xander: "…"
Nope.
That stings the face a little.
He fastened the front clasp and drew his hands out from under Kaguya's hem.
Seeing Bronya struggling not to laugh, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he sneered, "We're having rabbit tonight."
"Mm… okay."
Kaguya's thoughts were still hazy.
She kept nuzzling lightly against her husband.
She didn't quite understand why he'd stopped, but since he said so, she nodded obediently.
The Entertainment Invitational's planning was basically set, so of course it still needed to go on.
Icing on the cake is always a good thing, and it can help strengthen player cohesion.
Speaking of cohesion, Xander Masato figured Gensokyo should build its own game community sooner or later.
But that could wait until after the event.
No rush now.
That evening, Xander Masato had Seele buy a lot of rabbit meat and made a huge platter of spicy rabbit heads and diced spicy rabbit.
Kiana shouted, "Rabbits are so cute—why would you eat rabbits?" even as she ate three bowls of rice through tears.
According to a certain anonymous Seele, Kiana was very satisfied with dinner and would like to have it again next time.
A week passed quickly, and the day of the Entertainment Invitational arrived in a flash.
As for the venue, they stuck with St. Freya Academy.
The stadium with the finished roof—the one slated to host the Pokémon World Championships in the second half of the year—would do nicely for a trial run.
The Entertainment Invitational would run for two days, but the actual competition would be held on the second night.
There would be four matches in total: three random-rules fun matches and one official battle royale.
The rest of the time would feel more like a joyful mini-con for Apex players.
Besides bringing in and training cosplayers specifically to interact with players, they also prepared exclusive event-only merch.
Each piece of merch corresponded to an Apex in-game challenge.
Only by clearing the challenge could you get it for free—no amount of money would buy it.
As a result, every PC at the event was mobbed, and waves of cheers rolled on without end.
Play cleanly and you'd draw gasps of admiration, filling your vanity to the brim.
Play poorly and everyone would still laugh in good fun; with a red face, you'd join the merriment soon enough.
All in all, players were very satisfied with the two-day event.
It was obvious that every activity here was designed just for them: the faithful cosplays, the dueling ring, the little stage plays, the giveaway Pikachu plush with an Apex logo on its belly, and those delightfully silly merch challenges.
Players are actually a simple bunch.
If you care about them and treat them seriously without brushing them off, they'll generally return the favor.
Of course, digging your own grave and getting flamed doesn't count.
By the afternoon of the second day, as facilities were gradually stowed and the competition stage was hastily dressed, players were both reluctant and excited.
They still didn't know who the guest competitors would be.
No one knew what tricks Gensokyo would pull.
The game was only half a month old, so naturally there were no "pros" yet.
Judging from the schedule, this event was purely for hype and fun.
Evening came.
Those who had drawn tickets for on-site viewing had already taken their seats in the stadium stands.
The unlucky ones without tickets refused to leave and gathered in the plaza outside, watching the giant screen mounted on the exterior.
When the minute hand hit twelve, the lights inside the stadium went thunk and cut out, and the crowd's chatter died with them.
In that hush, anticipation stretched to the limit.
Soon, a resounding drumbeat shattered the darkness.
The hanging screens blazed to life.
With a blood-pumping rhythm, the Legends began to appear in the CG one by one.
Surrounded, Octane jammed a Stim into his chest without hesitation.
Bullets ripped the sky.
A voice in the void turned Wraith's figure ethereal in an instant.
Pathfinder fired his grapple and, with a cheerful quip, shoved his muzzle straight into an enemy's mouth…
Each Legend's signature line rang out in turn, and the cosplayers playing them took the stage, performing each Legend's iconic moves on cue.
Abruptly, the pounding drums cut off, and the music stopped dead.
The audience, fired up to a boil, hadn't even begun to roar when the spotlights suddenly converged on the entrance to the competition stage.
A moment later, a graceful girl stepped slowly into the light.
A pure-white, resplendently elegant gown gathered her lovely figure.
Her brilliant pink hair was neatly combed and draped down her back.
She looked so beautiful.
A thin veil sheathed her slender arms and shoulders, and a finely wrought pink gemstone necklace was merely a foil for that rosy skin.
She was like a fairy far removed from the dust of the world, now alighting gently upon it.
The crowd fell silent, watching Elysia walk unhurriedly to center stage.
She stood there, picked up the microphone, and waved sweetly at the audience with a smile.
"Hi, did you miss me?~"
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