Chapter 234: New Game Plans
For twenty-four hours, countless people closely followed the performance of the Nebula Games Platform. After all, could games other than Nebula Games achieve good results on the platform?. This was a concern for all designers in the industry, as well as for the main distributors.
At noon the next day, Alex published the previously collected data online.
In addition to Nebula Games, the best-selling game was Demons and Gods, a new release from a relatively well-known independent studio in the country. It is a side-scrolling action game, whose main mechanic consists of players acquiring various skills and their corresponding improvements as they progress in the game. There are two paths to choose from, and the final result is the choice of skills, improvements, and plot options, which finally determine whether to follow the path of the Demon or that of God.
The game, with a price of $9.60, sold 112,000 copies on its first day, becoming the best-selling game on the Nebula Games Platform.
The second best-selling game is Hobo, a simulation game in which players take on the role of a homeless person and strive to improve their life. Thanks to its online multiplayer mode and its compatibility with live streams, it is a game driven by them. Although its ratings are lower than those of Demons and Gods, it achieved solid sales on its first day, with 71,000 units.
Other consolidated games also performed well, such as Love Dream, a text adventure game that came to the Nebula platform thanks to a small channel. Thanks to its excellent character development and plot, it also achieved first-day sales of 3.1%.
The publication of these figures also caused a stir among many developers. Previously, many game designers kept their distance from the Nebula platform, mainly for fear that, even if their games looked promising, players would only buy Nebula games.
Now, however, all the data clearly shows that the Nebula platform has a solid foundation. While some games have performed poorly, it is likely due to quality issues. Even if these games got distribution channels from Aether Games and NetDragon, unless they promoted them aggressively, their success was practically over.
The designers, who had been undecided, became enthusiastic and rushed to release their games on the Nebula platform. They hoped to take advantage of the early days, when the number of games was relatively low, to ensure a better recommendation.
The main distributors, on the other hand, were devastated, but helpless. At that moment, Nebula Games had incredible confidence. Added to the growing popularity of Minecraft, they had no way to get involved.
Of course, a more significant factor was that the games department had republished the official blog post previously published by Alex. While no public statement was made, the implications were clear.
A week later, the main game distribution channels also announced their content. The original 50% distribution, or even 70% for the channels and 30% for the studios, became a 70/30 split. Even so, many game developers decided to leave. Clearly, with the arrival of the Nebula games platform, the previous dominance of the distribution channels came to an end.
The internet was still buzzing, with players and designers alike discussing the Nebula games platform and the recent channel crisis. However, Alex had been quite relaxed during this period.
Nebula Games had a plan to hire more staff. After all, with Nebula Games' transition to an open platform, the costs of maintaining the community within the game had increased significantly. While customer service, community maintenance, and review of workshops related to refunds could be largely outsourced, subsequent reviews would still be conducted by Nebula Games itself.
Reflecting on something, Alex came into the living room with a soda in his hand. Upon seeing him arrive, Jane and the others, unusually absent from their dark Minecraft rooms, gathered to chat.
Upon seeing Alex, Jane exclaimed excitedly: "Alex! Now other game designers call us 'Dragon Hunters'!". The other employees shared the same opinion. Clearly, the huge impact of the Nebula games platform on the industry had made it difficult for them to contain their excitement.
"Well, everyone, calm down. Listen to the 'Dragon Hunters' thing. We may have changed some aspects of the video game landscape, but remember, for us, creating more interesting games is our most important priority. The platform is just a way to avoid worrying about distributors," Alex said, with a slightly more serious tone as he looked at the crowd.
In reality, it was half a truth. Alex was not happy with the local distribution platforms, but he did not want to completely interrupt them. In a way, the distribution platforms were still essential, offering a platform to designers without marketing capacity.
But the key is that the original 50% split, or even the 70% for the platform and 30% for the studios, is clearly a distorted model.
'Doesn't that mean that the platform doesn't need to generate income?'.
The answer is, of course, no. So Alex had no intention of doing charity work. The 25% commission was the result of extensive internal conversations. With this split, Nebula Games would still make a profit. And with the increase in game sales, profits would only grow.
Alex's goal, from the beginning, was not to eliminate all distribution channels; he simply wanted to offer more game designers a better option. Now he had the resources and skills, and he had his own needs, so he took a step forward. It's that simple.
"Well, don't be so serious. Have fun creating games and getting bonuses. Don't overthink it." Alex smiled at the crowd.
"Besides, weren't you curious about what our next game would be?".
"I'll give you a sneak peek. The new game will use our latest AI technology," Alex said with a smile.
Hearing his words, everyone's eyes widened with curiosity.
"Applying new technologies? When will Alex develop his new game?".
"Yes, yes! What kind will it be?".
Jane, Lisa, and the others were curious. Although Alex had already said it, it would not be long before they held a meeting to approve the project. After all, before announcing the transformation of the Nebula Games Platform, Alex also hinted that his development plans for the future would be large-scale games.
But if he hadn't said it before, it would have been fine. Now that I have said it, it's as if I am being tickled, I can't stand it!.
"Well, I'll give you a small clue. The theme of the new game will be hunting." Looking at everyone, Alex showed a meaningful smile and turned to leave.
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