They wanted to make a trashy game, but how come it sold like hotcakes again?

Chapter 44 The Dragon King Returns!

While Tangren Games' Team One was working day and night on the underlying architecture of "The Legend of Zelda," Team Two, responsible for "Fall Guys," experienced an unexpected surge in popularity.

"Quick, quick! Grab him! You useless old immortal, why are you grabbing me? Grab that blue one over there!"

"Don't push me! I'm going to fall! Holy crap! Half the city, my ass!"

Accompanied by the two brothers' heart-wrenching screams in the live stream, the popularity of Fall Guys skyrocketed on various live streaming platforms.

Initially, many players didn't like it, thinking the game was childish and like a crude web-based game.

But this is the first time in this world that such a pure, fun, variety show-style multiplayer brawler game has appeared.

When players discover that the game not only allows them to trip and sabotage each other, but also that the bouncy, comical physics of characters falling are extremely comedic, winning or losing suddenly becomes unimportant. What matters is "playing mind games."

In Hao Zheng's live broadcast room, there were even more dramas of "brothers turning against each other".

"Wan'er, don't grab me! The finish line is just ahead, let go! Let go!"

Hao Zheng was controlling a Fall Bean dressed in a hot dog skin, desperately trying to move towards the finish line, but was being held back by a Penguin Fall Bean controlled by Lin Wan.

"Sorry, Brother Hao! There can only be one champion! Get down here!"

Just as the two were still arguing, a Fall Bean character dressed in a panda costume walked past them and stepped into the finish line.

The live stream chat was filled with comments like "hahahahaha".

"Good friends on the surface, but fragile at the slightest touch."

"Fall Guys: A hardcore game that tests the limits of friendship and human nature."

"I initially thought 58 yuan was too expensive for this game, but after seeing how much fun they were having yesterday, I couldn't resist buying a copy for all four of us in the dorm. We almost got into a fight last night."

The power of social media viral marketing is terrifying. One person buying a game often means they'll get several friends to buy it too. In just fifteen days, Fall Guys' sales exploded exponentially.

On its seventh day of release, sales surpassed 500,000; on its fourteenth day, sales surpassed 2 million! And it continues to dominate the top spot on global best-selling game charts!

Inside Tangren Games' CEO office, Ren Wei looked at the report handed to her by the finance department, her lips curling into an uncontrollable grin. She pushed open Tang She's office door and slammed the report onto his desk:

"Tang She, you're amazing!"

Tang She, who was listening to the sound effects of Zelda while wearing headphones, was startled and took off his headphones, looking somewhat confused:

"What's so amazing?"

"Fall Guys!" Ren Wei's eyes sparkled.

"I initially thought you were just sending those newbies from Group Two to do this small project to give them practice. I never expected this game's revenue generation to be even more terrifying than when Three Kingdoms Kill first launched!"

"Two million copies, at 58 yuan each, after deducting the platform's commission, we'll net over 80 million yuan! Most importantly, the development cost of this game was less than one million! This is practically a money-printing machine!"

Ren Wei paced excitedly around the office:

"With this money, the initial development funds for Zelda and the budget for expanding the workforce will be more than sufficient! I'll contact headhunters right now and poach every engine expert I can find on the market!"

More than 80 million? Tang She never thought this game could make so much money. How did a game with a low rating become a national party game for testing friendship?

Tang She switched to the game platform to check the reviews of "Fall Guys" and found that the positive review rate was as high as 91%! It was considered "very positive"! The negative reviews were basically all flooded by players.

"A smooth feel is definitely more satisfying! What's the point of precise control if everyone's so accurate? What's the fun if everyone's perfect?"

"Tangren Games updates really fast. Although there were relatively few maps at the beginning, they basically release a new map every day."

Players not only tolerated the game's flaws, but even regarded them as its unique features! This "Dragon King Returns" talent is truly outrageous.

-----------------

Having finally finished his work, Tang She stood up and stretched. It was completely dark outside the window, and only a few offices in the building still had their lights on.

To fulfill the promise of making Zelda in 350 days, every employee at Tangren Games worked hard, and he was no exception.

He reached for his phone on the table, intending to hail a taxi home to rest, when he finally saw a message from Ren Wei:

Call me when you're done.

Tang She was slightly taken aback. Instead of dialing Ren Wei's number, he walked out of his office and knocked on Ren Wei's office door.

By this time, most of the company's employees had left, leaving only a few from the technical department still working tirelessly on the engine's functionality.

Ren Wei saw Tang She outside the door through the transparent glass, then smiled and waved for him to come in and talk.

"Is there something you need?" Tang She asked, while Ren Wei had just stood up from her chair and was stretching her stiff body.

"I'll talk about my business later. It's so late, and everyone's still working overtime. Go ask them what they want to eat; I'll treat everyone to dinner today."

Tang She naturally had no reason to refuse, so he nodded and went out to inquire. The answers he received were surprisingly consistent: they wouldn't eat it.

"Brother Tang, don't ask anymore. Everyone is busy with their work and has no time to eat."

In the end, it was Xiao Li who answered his question.

"Wait, when did you guys become so dedicated?"

"It's different."

This time, the person answering his question wasn't Xiao Li, but a new employee hired during the production of Pokémon.

"Even if it can't bring us anything, we want to witness its completion with our own eyes!"

"This is a revolution. When I'm old, I'll be very proud to tell my grandson, 'Grandson, you didn't know, did you? I was involved in the production of Zelda.'"

This time, the answer came from an older employee, or more precisely, a long-serving veteran. He was hired when my senior colleague first started the company, and then he worked on three games—the same three games she initially created.

He eventually couldn't handle the pressure and ran away, but after his senior finished working on "Three Kingdoms Kill," she took the initiative to invite him back.

The others said nothing, but it was as if they had said everything. Their eyes were fixed on the screen in front of them, and everyone was looking forward to the birth of this "child".

"Oh well, never mind you guys. I'll go get a few induction cookers and have them send over some meat, vegetables, and hot pot base. You can cook whatever you want then."