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"That's fantastic news!" Marcus leaned forward, clearly trying to extract more drama. "Alex, you must be aware that ET Games just launched 'Street Heat,' which has been getting excellent reviews. They could be serious competition. Are you confident about winning this championship?"
Alex smiled diplomatically. "Honestly? Winning isn't really the point for me. I just want to bring something genuinely new to players who love racing games. Make competitive racing actually fun to watch and play."
He wasn't taking the bait. No point creating manufactured beef with ET on a livestream.
But chat didn't care about diplomacy—the discussion was already explosive. Thousands of viewers were speculating wildly about what Stormwind would create, what kind of innovation could possibly top Fast & Furious.
"No way he can surpass F&F, right? That's already peak racing content"
"He literally said he's innovating the GAMEPLAY though. Different approach"
"Alex said racing comps are boring to watch - he's obviously setting up for whatever his game does differently"
"If he's confident enough to say it on stream, it's gonna be good. I'm hyped"
"Stormwind taking another championship ez"
"Don't jinx it lol"
"ET Games shaking rn. Stormwind OWNS racing content"
"Idk, ET is huge. Street Heat looks genuinely good. If Alex doesn't deliver something special, could go either way"
"WHEN IS IT DROPPING I NEED TO KNOW"
The news that Stormwind was entering the competition spread through the gaming industry within hours. Industry insiders weren't particularly surprised—it was the obvious strategic move.
Stormwind had established dominance in racing content. Of course they'd capitalize on this opportunity.
But Alex's specific wording had people talking:
"I hope to bring some brand new gameplay to players who love racing and make racing e-sports events both fun and exciting to watch."
That phrasing was... interesting. Provocative. It implied Alex had actually solved the fundamental problem plaguing racing esports.
Everyone was intensely curious what exactly Stormwind would reveal.
ET Games Headquarters
"New gameplay? That makes racing esports exciting?" Mike Pierce's eyebrows were practically knotted together as he paced his office. "What the hell could he possibly have come up with?"
"Morrison doesn't strike me as the type to bluff," Derek said thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "His comments show he's genuinely analyzed the fundamental problems with current racing content. I actually agree with his assessment. But I genuinely can't figure out how you'd improve the spectator experience."
"This ISN'T bluffing?" Mike's voice rose. "He's acting like he can single-handedly save racing esports! Positioning himself as some kind of savior! That's not bragging?"
"Maybe he actually did innovate something," Derek said carefully. He wouldn't underestimate Morrison's creative talent—the guy's track record spoke for itself.
"But what innovation is even possible in racing gameplay?" Mike couldn't wrap his head around it.
Fast & Furious's success came primarily from its excellent storytelling and original vehicle designs. In terms of pure gameplay mechanics, it was still fundamentally traditional racing—just executed really well.
Morrison had already pushed racing gameplay to its peak with Fast & Furious. What innovation could possibly exist beyond that?
"Looks like we're facing a serious opponent again," Derek said with a rueful smile. His worst fear was coming true.
"Don't panic," Mike said, though his confidence sounded forced. "Innovative gameplay is a double-edged sword. If players love it, it's legendary. If they hate it, it's suicide. High risk, high reward."
But even as he said it, Mike's brain was spinning, trying to figure out what Morrison could possibly be planning.
His mind was racing, but he genuinely couldn't imagine what new gameplay mechanics could exist.
Radio Silence
After the livestream appearance, Alex disappeared again. Stormwind's official social media went dark on the new racing project. The most recent company news was from ten days ago—a post about a team-building event.
The only business update was a brief mention two weeks prior that the next Fast & Furious chapter would be releasing soon.
Nothing about the competition entry.
The internet's appetite was thoroughly whetted. For over ten days, gaming forums were filled with speculation about what innovation Stormwind would deliver. Nobody could figure it out.
Everyone was desperately waiting for Stormwind's competition submission, but day after day passed with nothing. It was like watching grass grow, waiting for it to bloom and bear fruit.
Some people started questioning whether Alex had been bullshitting—whether the whole livestream appearance was just marketing hype for the Fast & Furious update.
Others argued that Alex was perfectionist, meticulously polishing the new content to ensure it lived up to his bold claims.
The reality was much simpler and more embarrassing.
Alex had been completely swamped with Iron Man and Captain America post-production. Both films were crucial to the Avengers launch strategy, so he'd been personally overseeing every edit, every VFX shot, every sound mix to ensure maximum quality.
On top of that, the Avatar film was in post-production too, and Marcus Morrison wanted Alex's input on key scenes.
Alex had been so buried in film work that he'd completely forgotten about the racing game he'd announced on national television.
The game itself was finished—had been for over a week. He'd told Nathan to have it ready for final review when he got back from the film studios.
Then he'd stayed at the studios for eight days straight.
Fortunately, Nathan had been monitoring social media and seen the growing speculation. He'd called Alex to ask when he'd be back to approve the final build.
That's when Alex remembered.
"Oh shit."
That Evening – Stormwind Studios
Alex rushed back to the office, running on coffee and adrenaline. He spent three hours playing through the complete racing game, testing mechanics, checking balance, reviewing presentation.
It was perfect. Exactly what he'd envisioned.
At 11:47 PM, he posted on social media:
"Sorry everyone—been completely buried in film production and totally forgot. My bad. The new racing game 'Death Race' submits to Infinite Realms for review tomorrow. Thanks for your patience."
The internet absolutely lost its mind.
"HE FORGOT??"
"This man announced a revolutionary racing game on livestream then FORGOT ABOUT IT"
"'Oops my bad' energy is unmatched"
"DEATH RACE LETS GOOOOO"
"That title goes hard ngl"
"'Sorry I forgot' is the most Alex Morrison thing ever"
"Film production?
"This man is BUSY busy"
"TOMORROW!! FINALLY!!"
The post went viral immediately, racking up thousands of shares and comments within minutes.
Mike Pierce saw it at midnight and didn't sleep the rest of the night.
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.