CHAPTER 24 - PIRACY FAILURE

Inside NetPack's Headquarters.

During the lunch break at NetPack's office, employees gathered around chatting as they ate.

"Everyone saw that perfect playthrough of Silent Hill, right? I seriously didn't expect anyone to clear it like that!"

A senior employee let out a sigh, "Not only are the graphics top tier, the story design is brilliant too!"

"Yeah, this game is insane. If you ask me, Silent Hill might just take 'Game of the Year', even though it's technically still in beta. Nothing else compares." another employee added.

The Game Awards, is the gaming industry's highest honor, often dubbed the Oscars of gaming. It's co-sponsored by giants like Sony and Microsoft itself.

"I wouldn't be so sure," another voice interjected. "Is there even another title this year that can challenge Silent Hill?"

"What about the next game from New World Studio?" someone suggested.

"Oh right! Didn't our project team try to reach out to New World for a collaboration?"

"They did," came a reply. "But New World turned them down flat. Said they had no interest in working with us."

"No surprise there. With a game engine that advanced, why would they let anyone else take a slice of the pie?"

While the group debated, a young employee sat quietly at his desk, typing away. He hadn't joined the conversation.

Suddenly, he jumped up with excitement. "Guys! Someone from New World just contacted me. They said I'm one of the top 50 players who completed the game perfectly!"

"They're sending me their new game, 'Subnautica'! For free!"

The office instantly erupted with surprise.

"Whoa, you actually made the top 50?!"

"Great, John! You've got skills!"

"Quick, inform the Director!"

Moments later, the director burst into the office with a team in tow. Although the promising exclusive rewards for top 50 players, had been announced on Natalie's stream, NetPack was well aware of it. They had even encouraged employees to compete.

Sure enough, John had done it.

"How is it?!" The director asked as he stormed into the room.

"The new game is downloading now," John said, grinning. "It's called Subnautica."

The director frowned in thought. "Must be ocean themed... Pirates, maybe?"

"Director is sharp!" John flattered immediately. "That's what I thought too."

The director nodded, pleased. "Good job, John. Go pick up your bonus from Finance later."

"Thank you, Director!" John beamed.

A few minutes later, the download completed.

"Director, want to try it first?" John offered.

"Of course." The director geared up in the company's full-motion VR suit. "Let's see what kind of quality New World can really deliver."

He muttered as he suited up, "If it's mostly outdoor scenes, this game might actually fall short. Outdoor environments are much harder to render well than indoor ones."

Industry veterans knew this well, many games excel in tight indoor environments, but falter when transitioning to large, open spaces.

Secretly, the director was hoping the game would flop. After all, in this business, competitors were still competitors.

But the moment he entered the VR platform, he fell silent.

The employees watched in confusion as the director stood completely still, unmoving.

After half a minute, someone cautiously asked, "Director? What's going on?"

The question seemed to pull him back to reality. Slowly, he removed his helmet.

Tears streamed down his face.

The entire office was stunned. No one dared to speak.

Finally, the director said quietly, "It was beautiful?"

"First, this game's realism. It's even better than Silent Hill."

"Second... I feel powerless. Our team may never be able to surpass New World."

"They're like a mountain standing in front of us..."

The employees murmured in disbelief.

"Try it for yourselves," the director said, waving a hand wearily.

One by one, the employees stepped onto the VR platform to experience it. And one by one, they all fell silent too.

The entire office was filled with a heavy, suffocating atmosphere.

It was like being a casual gamer in a competition watching pro tear through all their strategies. An overwhelming sense of helplessness.

But the director clapped his hands and broke the silence. "Enough! Don't lose heart. We may be behind now, but we can still learn from them."

"Let's do what we did before, split into teams. One group plays and documents the game experience. The other analyzes the files. Anything valuable, we extract."

"Even if it's just a small bit..."

Everyone got to work.

First up, make copies of the game for internal use.

"Wait a second," the director said. "Doesn't Subnautica have an activation code?"

"Nope," John shook his head. "You just open and play."

"That's strange..." The director frowned. Most unreleased titles have strict anti-piracy protections.

Would New World really release a high value beta like this with no safeguards?

"Darren, check for hidden anti-piracy measures!" the director ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

Darren, a spiky haired tech wizard and former black hat hacker, got to work. If anyone could crack this, it was him.

But minutes later, Darren frowned.

"Director... I didn't find any anti-piracy code."

"What? New World just gave it away like that?" the director muttered.

But before he could dig deeper, something happened.

A dialog box suddenly popped up on Darren's screen.

"I'm very disappointed in you."

Underneath it, a smug emoji stared them down.

Darren's heart sank. "Oh no..."

A second later, the entire game folder refreshed, Subnautica was gone.

Deleted.

"Director..." Darren turned pale. "The game's... gone."

"WHAT?!"

The director lunged for the mouse and frantically searched. Nothing. All gone.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!"

"There was a hidden Trojan," Darren admitted. "As soon as we tried to duplicate the files, it activated and wiped everything!"

"Didn't you say there wasn't a Trojan?!"

"It was too well-hidden! I've never seen something like this. I couldn't detect it..."

"You useless-!"

"Give me one more shot! Maybe I can recover it!" Darren begged.

But after another round of frantic typing, he slumped. "I'm sorry. It's completely gone."

"Check the cloud. Is it backed up?" the director shouted.

"Nope. Nothing there either."

The director nearly fainted on the spot.

They had just gotten their hands on the game, and lost it within minutes.

"I didn't expect this... Microsoft's tech is getting scary," the director muttered.

"Uh... Director," someone said awkwardly. "Didn't New World say their whole team was indie?"

"You believe that?" The director scoffed. "No way a indie team could make something like this. If this isn't Microsoft's work, I'll retire and give you my job."

No one dared argue.

After a long pause, John hesitantly asked, "So... about that bonus... I still get it, right?"

Meanwhile, all the big tech companies were watching 'Subnautica' closely. But none of their employees had cracked the top 50. So their next plan? Buy a copy.

Microsoft was first. They contacted the top ranking player known as PureWhite, offering cash in exchange for a copy.

But PureWhite immediately refused and hung up.

Then came NetEase, Sony, JetWing... all with the same offer.

PureWhite declined them all.

He was now a loyal fan of New World after Silent Hill, and the devs had clearly told him not to share the game. He wouldn't betray that trust.

Meanwhile at Microsoft...

"The guy said no," the staff member reported. "Even offered cash, he wouldn't budge."

"Stubborn..." the exec muttered. "Fine. Track down another top 50 player."

Eventually, they found someone willing to sell. The price: $10,000.

A steal, considering the game hadn't launched yet.

But the moment that player tried to make a copy, the same message popped up.

"I'm very disappointed in you."

And just like before, game deleted.

"WHAT?!" the player shouted. "My game's gone!"

The Microsoft rep understood immediately. "Looks like New World installed a Trojan. File tampering triggers a self destruct."

"What now?!" the player panicked.

"Let's sue them," the rep said calmly. "Say they infected your PC."

"WHAT?!"

"Why not? The court might take your side. You get justice, we get New World to show up in court. Win-win!"

"I'm not suing! That's insane!"

The player had already promised New World he wouldn't leak the game. Now they wanted him to betray that trust and play victim?

Forget it. He still had some dignity.

"Well, then there's nothing more we can do," the staffer replied coldly.

New World had planned for all of it.

1396 Words.