The next day!
WindyPeak Games, as expected, dominated gaming media and forums!
First, the Outlast Whistleblower DLC dropped last night, blowing players' minds!
Compared to the main game, the Whistleblower DLC fleshes out the Outlast universe.
Wallen Parker, once a program security officer at Murkoff Corporation, uncovered the company's dark secrets. Guilt-ridden, he emailed Miles Upsher, a righteous journalist he'd heard of, to expose Murkoff's crimes.
But!
Murkoff's execs (that suit at the game's end) caught wind of Parker's whistleblowing.
They sent guards to nab him, locked him up, and ran brainwashing experiments.
Then Project 179 went haywire. Billy, losing control, used Val Reed to wipe out nearly all the hospital's researchers and security, freeing most patients.
Chaos erupted at Giant Mountain Psychiatric Hospital.
In the madness, Parker broke free.
Meanwhile, Miles Upsher rolled up in his red Jeep.
They escaped at the same time—Miles in the main hospital, Parker in the back wards.
By the time Parker reached the main building, Miles was at the church.
From Parker's view, players see the church ablaze—the fire from the priest's spontaneous combustion.
The two crossed paths countless times, finally meeting at the hospital gate.
The slick dual-timeline design, paired with creepy bosses like the "Groom," obsessed with sex reassignment surgery, sealed the DLC's success.
No surprise there.
Players raved about the DLC's genius while cursing Gus Harper's twisted mind hitting new highs!
Outlast's reviews rolled in—
Tate's Gaming Scoop, 9.8/10: "A masterclass in fear! Blending psychological horror with heart-stopping jumpscares, Giant Mountain is a blind-box nightmare. You never know what's behind the next door!"
Gamers' Hearth, 9.7/10: "Gus Harper, the King of Horror, earned his crown! After redefining psychological horror with Phasmophobia, he seemed to bury jumpscares. Outlast proves they're still the ultimate terror tool. Good luck to rivals trying to match him!"
Global Pulse Media, 9.7/10: "Intense! Thrilling! Unmatched horror! WindyPeak nailed the perfect balance of dread. Outlast dances on the edge of players' limits!"
GameScope, 9.8/10: "No guns is the way to go! Sam Harper gets it. This raw horror experience will spark a wave of innovation in the genre."
Domestic, international, Asian, global—media dropped scores averaging above 9.7!
No doubt!
Outlast's success kicked off a "no-weapons" horror trend, with rivals scrambling to crack WindyPeak's formula.
Some players and devs even claimed, "Only weaponless horror games deliver real scares."
That mantra held until WindyPeak's next horror game flipped the script.
With 1.16 million copies sold in a week, Outlast showcased WindyPeak's dominance.
As the saying goes, one's joy is another's pain.
WindyPeak was popping off with virtual confetti.
Komina? Total gloom.
Yeah, grim.
On launch day, Komina's Silent Hill got some buzz in the public opinion war.
But a week later, WindyPeak's insane sales and stellar DLC stole the spotlight.
Silent Hill? Vanished from the conversation!
That's the worst fate for a game.
Not hate. Not flops. Not getting roasted.
Being forgotten.
Like Jade Sierra said about Prison Break—forgotten means dead. Total failure.
WindyPeak's dump truck roared by, leaving Silent Hill as roadkill.
A shame? Sure.
For Gus, Silent Hill's end stung. He'd loved the IP in his past life.
Sure, WindyPeak could snag the Silent Hill IP for cheap once it's fully dead.
But Gus wasn't interested. Pointless.
Like people, games have one shot at glory.
Maybe Silent Hill's shine was only in his past life.
Big win!
Sweet!
Silent Hill faded, but another Komina bombshell sparked chatter:
Yamamoto Tsuna, Chief Director of Yamamoto Studio at Komina, quit today.
Tsuna, a rockstar producer behind Yakuza and APEX, dropped two hits at this year's Tokyo International Game Festival. As one of Komina's "Three Peak Studios" directors, he announced he's leaving for the U.S. to "pursue further studies." Komina confirmed, wishing him luck.
On the surface, it's a chill split.
But anyone following gaming smells the drama!
"Further studies"? "Best wishes"?
This breakup's messy!
No hard numbers on Silent Hill's losses, but even a rough guess screams big bucks—$80 million minimum, maybe hundreds of millions in direct and indirect hits!
The flop tanked Komina's other projects too.
Major fumble! Huge loss!
Someone had to take the fall to calm the board.
Guess who? Yamamoto Tsuna, the scapegoat.
The news shook the global gaming scene!
Why? Komina kicked Gus Harper to the curb, betting on their own Silent Hill team.
"Oh man, Tsuna quit over this?"
"Komina got crushed."
"They brought this on themselves."
"If they'd dodged Outlast and WindyPeak, they wouldn't be eating this loss."
"Giving up Silent Hill early would've hurt less than this PR nightmare."
"Did Sam just solo Komina and take out one of their top dogs?"
"WindyPeak's power is unreal…"
"Komina screwed Gus over on Silent Hill. As a player, I say screw Komina!"
"Well said!"
"Gus took down one of the three big studios!"
"Komina's looking shaky. A few more hits from WindyPeak, and they're toast!"
"Keimasa Kamikoshi's retiring soon, checked out, just chilling in Tokyo."
"Can't wait for WindyPeak to trample Komina at the next Tokyo fest!"
"If another big studio falls, WindyPeak's ready to buy them out."
"Hahaha!"
@SamHarper: Yo, twisted genius! Take out Kamikoshi before he retires! That jerk axed my favorite games!
"Kamikoshi can't just coast into retirement. Make him pay for tanking the industry!"
"Screw Komina! Screw Kamikoshi! Tsuna, you're a legend!"
Tsuna: I'm out, why y'all still coming for me? (crying)
"Haha, down with Komina!"
Players were hyped!
The gaming community buzzed nonstop.
Outsiders saw the drama; insiders were floored.
Not just because Outlast crushed Silent Hill.
It's the "WindyPeak Games" brand clout.
From start to finish, neither WindyPeak nor Gus voiced any shade at Komina.
At most, Gus dropped a smirky emoji online.
That's it.
Yet that was enough to tank Komina, force them to sacrifice Tsuna, and cripple one of the world's top gaming studios!
That player support made partners rethink WindyPeak—a small-to-mid studio, not yet in the billion-dollar club, but with global cred.
…
The world was buzzing!
WindyPeak's office was electric!
Ding!
[Main Project: Outlast (Unlocked)]
[Investment: TBD]
[Settlement period: TBD (+90 days)]
[Rebate rate: 10x (+90x)]
[Current revenue: $0]
[Expected rebate: $0]
[Remaining time: Awaiting lock]
[PS: Investment and settlement time generate post-lock.]
Zoey Parker's funk didn't last.
She'd already banked small wins—$70,000 from APEX and $35,000 from To the Moon's charity run, totaling $105,000.
Not much, but it softened the blow.
Those projects kept her sane.
Without them, surviving PUBG and Outlast's success would've broken her.
Plus!
The new project's live, and she's gotta prep the paperwork!
No time for moping—she's all in, ready to back this game to the hilt.
It's the main project. Profit's a must.
Doesn't matter how much, just make bank to snag that 100x rebate.
"…That's the project pitch."
Gus's voice cut through:
"Everyone's had two days to dig into the plan. It's got hefty storyboards, a bit tricky, but no stress. First time's always rough."
"This is just our warm-up. Plenty more to come."
"We don't fear failure—'cause we don't fail!"
Boom!
The conference room erupted, project team clapping and cheering!
That's wild!
Gus's cocky charm sealed his rep.
Bold yet precise, fierce yet steady.
WindyPeak never lacked vision or worried about projects.
They had two giants:
Zoey Parker, the bold CEO calling the shots.
Gus Harper, the strategic director steering the ship.
The project team's job? Take Zoey's cash, Gus's plan, make a killer game, and soak in players' cheers and rivals' gasps.
"All good here!" Gus said, turning to Zoey. "Ms. Parker, anything to add?"
Zoey eyed the game poster behind him.
"One request," she said.
Everyone grabbed pens, ready to jot it down.
Her ask? Simple. Four words:
"Don't hold back spending."
Bam!
Sparing no expense is WindyPeak's vibe!
Zoey doubled down, embedding that mindset.
As WindyPeak grows, game budgets will skyrocket—$100 million, $200 million, maybe $500 million.
When that day comes, she won't hear "budget's too big."
WindyPeak bets big!
The global stage awaits! Time to chase epic goals!
Game on!