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The launch of Gundam content once again brought a massive influx of new players to Infinite Realms. The global concurrent player count hit a new historical high after Transformers, stimulating the nerves of every content provider on the platform and making countless competitors green with envy.
Moreover, Gundam achieved excellent reviews and unanimous praise from players. The mechs it created were deeply beloved.
Soon, as Alex expected, Infinite Realms officially reached out with an invitation to adapt official content—directly granting them development rights for Level 100 official content.
After all, no one turned down money. And Gundam's money-making potential was clear to everyone.
In addition to the official content development, Infinite Realms requested to jointly develop a comprehensive monetization plan with Stormwind Entertainment.
In fact, Stormwind had prepared a product plan early on. But Infinite Realms clearly had even higher revenue expectations for Gundam—they were more aggressive than Stormwind had been.
After discussions, both parties formulated a pay-to-win and equipment system designed to maximize income and extract more from players' wallets.
Under this system, eighty percent of mechs and warships needed to be obtained through a gacha model—loot boxes.
But obtaining mechs and warships was just the beginning. The subsequent monetization systems surrounding them were even more... aggressive. Absolutely ensuring players would happily spend money.
For example, the same mech or warship would be divided into quality tiers. Even top-tier mechs like the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam would have at least three different quality levels.
Quality could be improved through subsequent "upgrades"—but this upgrade process was itself a money-burning endeavor.
As for maintenance costs for mechs and warships? That was an even more bottomless pit.
Less than half a month after the Gundam experiential content went online, the full series of Gundam items officially landed in the Infinite Realms mall.
Countless Gundam fans worldwide began the gacha war.
In just one day, Gundam merchandise created a myth: $20 billion in single-day revenue across the entire Infinite Realms platform.
And of course, it also created many new legends about lucky and unlucky players.
One wealthy player spent nearly $30 million to obtain the first Freedom Gundam in Infinite Realms.
This record was quickly broken by another wealthy player who dropped over $50 million for the second Freedom Gundam—but its quality was only the lowest tier.
Of course, the unlucky highlighted the fortunate. Someone spent less than $5 million to get a medium-quality Freedom Gundam, immediately attracting bids from numerous whales.
However, those who could spend millions on gacha boxes for a Freedom Gundam were mostly true fans who weren't short on money. They were naturally reluctant to sell a prize they'd fought so hard to obtain.
With the contributions of countless devoted fans, Gundam created one myth after another in Infinite Realms, shattering historical records left and right.
But the Gundam craze also triggered another unprecedented phenomenon.
On the day the full Gundam item series launched, sales of Apex Games' mech items plummeted. Sales in categories like interstellar warships were also significantly impacted.
Even more alarming: a large number of already-sold Apex mechs were being resold on the secondary market, and their transaction prices were steadily falling.
All these signs confirmed what Apex had feared most.
Their mech empire seemed to no longer exist. Their era was quietly fading away. The mech item market in Infinite Realms had completely transformed.
As time passed, Gundam-derived items rapidly encroached on Apex's original market share. Apex's mech sales continued declining. Player-to-player transaction prices had already dropped to less than half their original value.
The sense of crisis forced Apex Games to act. Since Gundam's launch, the company had held consecutive meetings to discuss countermeasures.
But clearly, the tide had turned. Returning to their peak was impossible. The only feasible path was preventing their market from being too severely cannibalized by Stormwind Entertainment.
Price reductions, promotions, increased gacha drop rates—these measures were inevitable. But they weren't long-term solutions.
The real question: how to create a brand-new IP that could compete with Gundam. How to design mech types that conformed to current mainstream aesthetics.
"Is there no anime work similar to Gundam on the market right now?" Billy Newell asked. "Not even from Japan?"
"There's no IP that can currently compete with Gundam," Kristof replied. "But there are some follow-up manga works. The most outstanding is a Japanese series called Starfield Armor. The plot is excellent, and the mech style is very close to Gundam's aesthetic."
"Adapting a mature manga IP is indeed the fastest route," Mike Pierce said thoughtfully. "But there's also risk of failure. I think the more this situation develops, the more we should stay calm and consider originality and transformation.
"If we follow the Gundam trend, we're essentially admitting we're inferior to Stormwind Entertainment. It's an act of compromise. Surrender. That will seriously affect our position in players' minds.
"Moreover, player aesthetics change over time. They once loved the mech styles we created. Gundam will also have its day of becoming outdated.
"So I believe what we need most now is to create a blockbuster IP based on market changes while combining our own strengths and characteristics. Even if it can't bring us back to the peak, it can at least allow us to share the market with Stormwind. If they can create Gundam, we can do it too. I believe our team has that strength."
He spoke earnestly.
The last time their company had followed a trend—chasing the Iron Man aesthetic after Avengers—it had increased mech sales, yes. But it had also seriously damaged the company's image.
It was as if a goddess, once untouchable and revered by players, had suddenly compromised herself. The great, unapproachable image had vanished in an instant.
And falling from grace could happen terrifyingly fast. After Avengers, Apex's position in the mech category within Infinite Realms had begun to waver.
Now, Gundam had completely amplified that vulnerability. Apex's mechs had completely fallen from the altar.
"I agree with Mike's idea," another executive said. "We cannot destroy our image again. We must prove with strength that our position in mech content and mech items is still unshakable."
"We must take a stand. Confront Stormwind head-on."
Everyone agreed with Mike Pierce's proposal.
If they chased quick success again—followed the Gundam trend, compromised, bowed to the market—they would completely fall from grace.
They would utterly disappoint their original fans.