CHAPTER 74: NEW GAME ANNOUNCEMENT

[A.N Fixed some plot holes like the New World games being free, also Sekiro arc will be coming soon]

These days, even while Tony buried himself in developing new games, he still found time to check what players were saying about the New World platform.

He genuinely wanted to hear feedback, good or bad, about its future development. Maybe someone would suggest something worth improving.

But after scrolling for a while, Tony realized something odd.

People weren’t really discussing the platform’s future at all...

Instead, nine out of ten posts were about Tifa.

From her face to her figure, from her voice to her personality, every detail had been dissected under a microscope. Some threads even speculated, quite seriously, that Tifa had a hidden favorability system. Supposedly, once a player’s affection level was high enough, new interactions would unlock.

If Tony wasn’t the actual developer, even he might have believed it.

Sure enough, players thirst is the world’s strongest driving force.

Most male players, however, weren’t satisfied. They accused him of making Tifa too untouchable, someone they could only admire from afar but never truly interact with.

Hot searches popped up with titles like, ’Kneeling and begging for Tifa interactions: Day 1’

Some even stormed Natalie’s Twitter to ’politely’ suggest he fix the bug where Tifa can’t be touched.

Tony could only laugh. They didn’t want interaction. They just wanted to cop a feel.

Even the viral post [Players Beware: I Was Kicked by Tifa!] caught his eye.

Yes, Tony had coded that function in. But it only triggered if a player chased Tifa relentlessly for over three hours.

Three. Hours.

He never thought anyone would actually meet that condition. What kind of maniac had that much free time?!

And yet, the post’s author had the audacity to claim it only took a few minutes.

Sure, buddy.

What shocked him more was how many replies were begging to know how to get kicked by Tifa.

So many people... willingly chasing a boot to the face.

Tony rubbed his temples. Maybe the reason he and his player base didn’t always see eye to eye... was because he wasn’t nearly perverted enough.

In truth, he had considered giving players a genuine ’benefit’ one day. But in the current climate, there was no way. The platform was rated for all ages, atleast until he could make seperate platforms.

If he really allowed full interaction with Tifa, the platform wouldn’t get banned, but it would lose lots of players due to age rating.

Just as he was feeling both amused and helpless, Natalie’s voice rang out from downstairs.

"Tony! Tony! Someone’s looking for you!"

Tony waved her off. "Didn’t I say? We’re rejecting all offers from tech companies."

"This one’s not an tech company," Natalie said.

He glanced up. "Then who?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Disney!"

"They said they want to make a movie with you!"

Unlike gaming giants, whose names didn’t impress her much, Disney was a household name. She’d grown up watching their blockbusters and famous animated films.

In her mind, if Disney was contacting them, it was basically the start of a celebrity career.

"You don’t even like Disney much anymore," Tony said suspiciously.

"They’re still Disney," she replied quickly. "And they sounded sincere, said they wanted to discuss a collaboration with the head of New World."

"No. Reject them," Tony said flatly.

"Huh? Just like that?" Natalie blinked.

"Yeah. They’re probably looking for me to do special effects for one of their movies."

It wasn’t hard to guess. The worlds he created in-game looked so real, it put most CGI to shame. Even though Hollywood’s visual effects were already advanced, they still couldn’t match the immersion of his work.

In that sense, it was natural for film studios to target him.

But Tony wasn’t interested. He’d rather make games than movies.

"Oh... alright then, I’ll turn them down," Natalie sighed, and went to give Disney their answer.

"Hey, wait a second!" Tony suddenly called out, stopping Natalie just as she was about to leave. "Sis, if you want to be a star... how about making a cameo in my game?"

Natalie froze mid-step. "A cameo? What do you mean?"

"Simple," Tony explained with a grin. "I’ll scan your face, design an NPC that looks exactly like you, and drop you right into my game."

Her eyes lit up instantly. "Wait, seriously?!"

"Of course. It’s not even that hard to do," Tony replied with a nod.

"That’s amazing!!!" Natalie actually jumped in place, clapping her hands. "Tony, I’m in! I want to be in your game!"

She knew just how big New World had become. If she could appear in one of its games, she’d practically be famous overnight.

"In that case," she continued excitedly, "can I be a beautiful princess? One with countless admirers... and a perfect happily ever after ending?"

Tony gave her a deadpan look. "Dream on. There’s no such character in any of my planned games."

"...Then how about a normal woman who lives a peaceful, happy life?" she tried again.

He shook his head. "Still no."

"...What if the story just ends well?" she asked, her voice losing confidence.

Tony didn’t answer, but the faintly regretful look on his face said enough.

Natalie groaned, waving her hands as if to ward off bad luck. "Forget it then. NPCs in your games have miserable lives. I’ll pass before you cast me as ’Pod Woman #2’, you wouldn’t even need my face scan, just record a few of my tragic screams."

"..."

...Alright, fair enough. He really couldn’t argue with that.

"Fine, it’s up to you," Tony said with a shrug. "Oh, and one more thing, post on your Twitter that New World will be holding a launch event this Saturday night. I’ll be on stage personally to announce the next game."

Major AAA titles always had big reveal events. The only reason Subnautica didn’t have one was because Tony had been focused on breaking into the market quickly. But now that the platform was established and growing stronger, it was time to give his games the full AAA treatment.

"Wait, what?!" Natalie’s jaw dropped. "You’ve already finished your next game?!"

"Not yet," Tony replied. "But this is just a press conference. I’ll probably only show a trailer."

"Ohhh." She tilted her head. "Which city’s hosting it? Have you contacted the organizers?"

"What organizers?" Tony chuckled. "It’ll be online—right on the New World platform. Every player who’s downloaded it can attend."

Her eyes widened and she smacked her thigh. "Genius! I didn’t know the platform could be used like that!"

"Heh, there’s a lot more it can do," Tony said with a smirk. "Now go post the announcement on your Twitter, while I go do it on the New World website."

"On it!"

A few minutes later, Natalie’s Twitter post and New Worlds announcement went live.

"Breaking news! This Saturday at 9 PM, the Owner of New World will be holding a live game conference to unveil the next New World title! Want to join? Easy, just log in to the platform on time with your VR headset, and you’re in!

The internet exploded.

"Holy crap! He is holding a press conference inside the game platform! That’s insane!"

"What a great idea!"

"Wait, New World is already announcing another game? Subnautica came out less than a month ago!"

"My gaming god! This joining method is too cool, I’m in no matter what!"

"Hurry up and tell us what the next game is!"

"Yeah, yeah, but also... please fix the Tifa interaction bug already!"

Even as players buzzed about the announcement, and continued pestering him about Tifa, the hype for Subnautica still hadn’t died down.

That very night, popular content creator TenderTomato dropped a video.

[How Many Easter Eggs does Subnautica hold? I Found a Living Ancient Leviathan in No Man’s Land!]

1314 Words.