"Next Monday, Phantom Dream will release the announcement. There are still two days left."

The atmosphere in Golden Wind's conference room was currently heavy and tense.

Shen Miaomiao sat at the head of the table, her small face dark as water.

And on her left side, Gu Sheng's expression was equally grave.

You need to understand.

Their first wave of perfect reviews for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" had just been released, with both sales and reputation achieving great success. They should have been celebrating, even having a team-building feast wouldn't have been excessive.

But now.

All of Golden Wind's executives, including the chief directors of their three major studios, were all present, but not for celebration.

Because—

This was information Moriya obtained from Komera's upper-level channels, with credibility exceeding eighty percent.

Actually, engine price adjustments had long been within Gu Sheng's expectations.

After all, with the development and progress of the game market over the years, the continuous emergence of excellent new works, and the iterative updates of motion-sensing pods, the entire game market was expanding, and many large and small manufacturers were making huge profits.

As an engine manufacturer, Phantom Dream would naturally correspondingly increase the usage prices of their engine platforms.

When one prospers, all prosper.

Since everyone was earning more, Phantom Dream naturally wanted a bigger share, which was understandable.

But the problem was!

This time Phantom Dream's price adjustment policy wasn't simply about "getting a bigger share"!

According to the situation Moriya learned about.

Starting from the beginning of next year, both of Phantom Dream's major engines will implement modified price charging policies.

Note, it's modification, not adjustment.

The original charging strategy was completely abandoned, replaced by a new generation of charging standards.

First, Phantom Dream 5.

As a motion-sensing pod game development engine, Phantom Dream 5 has always held a quite high market share. Currently, Phantom Dream 5's charging strategy is: if total game revenue exceeds 1 million dollars, you need to pay 5% licensing fees, or directly pay 2 million dollars for a one-time license buyout at the beginning of game development.

According to Gu Sheng's previous speculation, even if Phantom Dream 5 increased prices, at most it would just increase the one-time license buyout price from 2 million dollars to around 3 million dollars, with everything else unchanged.

However.

This time, Gu Sheng miscalculated.

There was no "everything else unchanged," but rather "everything changes"!

After the charging modification, Phantom Dream 5 will be completely free in the future!

But!

When games developed using Phantom Dream 5 exceed 200,000 installations, for every game, as long as one game download occurs, Phantom Dream Group will charge the development company 0.5 dollars in "runtime fees."

Note, it's not "purchase charging," but "download charging"!

When a certain user buys "Call of Duty" and downloads it for the first time, Golden Wind has to pay Phantom Dream 0.5 dollars.

Afterwards, if this user deletes "Call of Duty" to free up space after completing it, this money isn't refunded. And when they want to revisit "Call of Duty" and redownload the game next time, Golden Wind has to pay Phantom Dream another 0.5 dollars.

One download, one charge.

That is to say!

If this user repeatedly downloads "Call of Duty" over 120 times, then "Call of Duty" priced at 60 dollars per copy will start causing losses for Golden Wind.

This is the "Phantom Dream 5" engine.

And as the mainstream non-motion-sensing pod game development engine "Fantasy 3," naturally following this charging policy change, has also made adjustments.

Previously, the charging rules for the "Fantasy 3" engine were: users with annual income below 100,000 dollars could use the personal version completely free; exceeding 100,000 dollars required purchasing the enhanced version for 40 dollars per month; and if exceeding 200,000 dollars annual income, you needed to purchase the PRO version for 150 dollars monthly, 1,800 dollars yearly.

It was monthly billing.

But after modification, "Fantasy 3" is all upgraded to the PRO version, free for annual revenue below 200,000 dollars, but if exceeding 200,000 dollars, charging is also calculated per download, charging 0.2 dollars per download, or paying 2 million dollars for a one-time work authorization buyout.

Without a doubt!

When first hearing this news, Gu Sheng even thought Moriya was joking!

He even joked, "Mr. Moriya, April Fool's Day is still over four months away, preparing this early?"

Enough to show how utterly ridiculous this so-called [runtime charging] standard was!

In Gu Sheng's view, this fucking wasn't even a lion opening its mouth wide anymore, but eating people without spitting out the scraps!

Are they crazy? Phantom Dream?

Once such charging standards are changed, how much market outrage will it cause? Do they have no foresight at all?

However!

Moriya's words awakened him, making him suddenly realize—

Currently Phantom Dream 5's market share in motion-sensing pods is 45%, while Fantasy 3's market share in non-motion-sensing pod markets reaches 38%.

Whether motion-sensing pods or non-motion-sensing pods!

Phantom Dream's engines in the market can enough be called "industry leaders"!

And an industry leader, even if they go crazy, blinded by profits, greedily wanting to harvest the global game development market.

As the harvested party, what can us manufacturers say?

Change engines?

If you don't use it, there are plenty who will.

Do you really think someone will share your hatred and stand with you?

What everyone thinks is definitely—I hope nobody else uses it, only I use it, so I can monopolize the currently most comprehensively powerful engine on the market. This way, even if some profits are harvested from me, while I'm making huge profits, it won't matter much.

Gu Sheng didn't even need to think!

When the news is announced, manufacturers will definitely curse while using it.

Who has more backbone than whom? Engines harvest manufacturers, won't manufacturers harvest users?

Anyway, the wool comes from the sheep's back, let's see who's stronger.

So, it can be predicted that Phantom Dream's move not only won't cause their own collapse, but might even cause their stock price to rise in the short term because of making loads of money!

Moreover!

The situation isn't this simple!

This price change isn't a decision Phantom Dream's higher-ups made on a whim, slapping their heads!

Because right below this new price change rule!

There's additional extra content—

["According to 'transaction exchange rates and relevant policy regulations,' the runtime fee for manufacturers registered in Huaguo using 'Phantom Dream 5' is 7 yuan/time (approximately 1 dollar), and the development runtime fee for 'Fantasy 3' is 3.5 yuan/time (approximately 0.5 dollar)"]

All regions globally are 0.5 dollars and 0.2 dollars!

Only manufacturers "registered in Huaguo"!

Prices doubled!

1 dollar and 0.5 dollar!

Transaction exchange rates and relevant policy regulations?

Where is the exchange rate where 0.5 dollars = 7 yuan?

And where do policy regulations stipulate that manufacturers registered in Huaguo must pay double the engine usage fees?

Clearly.

Now Phantom Dream's targeted policy is precisely aimed at game manufacturers registered in Huaguo, to curb Huaguo's game industry development.

Not only choking Golden Wind who has been using the Phantom Dream 5 engine, but also preventing more manufacturers like Golden Wind from emerging.

At the same time, it's also making an example of Huaguo, creating price comparisons to appease other manufacturers' resistance to the charging policy changes.

Killing three birds with one stone!

Phantom Dream's move of differential treatment is clearly intended to abandon the Huaguo game development market.

After all, the Huaguo game development market isn't comparable to the game sales market. For Phantom Dream, Huaguo region's revenue has never been very high, so abandoning it doesn't seem regrettable.

Most crucially!

"This differential treatment targeting Huaguo manufacturers, oh no, manufacturers registered in Huaguo, must have someone secretly supporting Phantom Dream,"

After confirming the situation, Gu Sheng quickly realized:

"Such targeted measures definitely don't appear from nowhere,"

"But whether Komera or CloudPower, clearly neither has the strength to lobby Phantom Dream,"

"Then, there's only one possibility—"

Vivendi.

Everyone wasn't stupid; after Gu Sheng said this, they quickly had the answer in their hearts.

But!

Knowing it, what can we do?

Will you continue using the Phantom Dream series engines?

Obviously not.

Because according to internal information, for this Phantom Dream charging policy reform, to detect the download installation numbers of their engine games, they specially created a patented data model for "fairly" detecting game download numbers.

But, if nothing unexpected happens, this data model's calculations will be a black box for all manufacturers except Phantom Dream.

Never mind whether your data model is accurate or not, whether it could be directly destroyed by maliciously competing manufacturers using VPNs, like Guangyao maliciously inflating Nuyan's download data.

Just talking about the core operating principles of this system, a black box data model controlled in Phantom Dream's hands, completely non-transparent, do they really need to solve data security issues?

Anyway, whether you inflate me or I inflate you, ultimately loads of money will flow into Phantom Dream's hands.

And!

Looking deeper.

If it really is as we suspect, that this charging standard adjustment ultimately has Vivendi supporting Phantom Dream behind the scenes,

Then who can guarantee that Phantom Dream won't, under Vivendi's instructions, directly secretly modify data, doubling the calculation of our game download numbers?

If we continue using Phantom Dream.

Without a doubt, our company's lifeline will be controlled in their hands.

The electronic contract is right there; if you want to use it, you have to sign it, legally effective globally. When lawsuits reach the ends of the earth, Phantom Dream will still be in the right.

But if we don't use it?

We currently have no other engines to use.

The reason Phantom Dream dares to play like this is precisely because they've accurately assessed themselves as one of the world's most advanced engines, the most comprehensively capable game engine.

If you downgrade compatibility now, not only do you need to relearn engine operations from scratch, but the final effect presentation will most likely not reach Phantom Dream's level.

Moreover.

Today it's American Phantom Dream causing trouble.

You stop using it, fine.

But tomorrow it might be Neon's Phoenix, Malaysia's Surging, Poland's Pride.

As long as the engine isn't in your hands, you'll always be led by the nose like fish on a chopping block!

[We need to have our own engine]

Although saying this is very difficult.

The investment in self-developed engines is absolutely not a small amount.

Moreover, during this long period, they will fall into the extremely awkward and suffocating situation of "having no engine to use"!

But!

This step now must be taken.

Whether they're willing to take it or not, whether they can take it or not!

This step!

"...We must take it!"

In the conference room.

Shen Miaomiao's expression was grave, her words firm and resounding.

Actually, if we get to the bottom of it, Phantom Dream engine changing charging strategies, specifically targeting Huaguo manufacturers led by their Golden Wind, is absolutely beneficial for her system.

Increase then!

I'm afraid you won't charge?

I wish I could help you put more effort, best to directly bankrupt us with one game, directly inflate it twenty billion downloads, I'll instantly become super rich!

But.

Over so many years, even though Shen Miaomiao has been obsessed with losses, and repeatedly failed, suffering greatly.

One thing has never changed—

[What I give you is yours, what I don't give, you cannot take]

This money I can willingly pay out.

But you can't use despicable methods to force me to pay.

I can willingly be the sucker.

But if you really treat me as a sucker?

You're looking for trouble.

Actually, all along, under the influence of her family environment, one thought has been deeply rooted in Shen Miaomiao's heart.

Although saying this is somewhat dark, even a bit extreme and absolute, and quite arrogant.

But the fact is—

99% of the world's problems can be solved with money.

The fundamental reason they can't be solved is not enough money.

And now.

What Shen Miaomiao lacks least is bottomless funding gaps.

Because her system exists above bottomless pits.

If the loss gap formed by engine development costs is [infinite], then the funds Shen Miaomiao holds are that [infinite] + 1.

Choke my neck?

Have you weighed how much you're worth?

Little bastard, given two days of good treatment and you don't know how to behave anymore.

Fuck!

It's just an engine!

Develop! Must develop!

Thinking this, Shen Miaomiao extended her small hand, with the momentum of a monarch ruling the world, grasped Gu Consort's slightly cold hand, and gave him a determined look.

Beloved Consort! This time! We must lose happily!

Gu Sheng: ?

However!

Just as the two were still exchanging looks—

Buzz buzz—

Suddenly, Gu Sheng's phone on the table vibrated.

Turning it over to look:

[CDEA - Chairman Jiang Yingcai]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com