Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 527 Ubisoft
Objectively speaking, it's quite normal for Apple to suppress StarTap, since the ultimate goal of StarTap is, frankly, to create another game recommendation chart within Apple.

If we truly let the stars roam freely.

It's very likely that in the future, Apple users will no longer look at Apple's charts when searching for games, but will instead go directly to StarTap.

Don't think this is alarmist.

Android is like this now. It's not just Chinese phones; Samsung, Google—basically any Android phone has seen StarTap gradually become a standard for gamers.

Therefore, even though Xingchen has repeatedly emphasized that all its purchases must go through the Apple App Store, meaning that all revenue sharing will still go through Apple.

But for Apple, this is still unacceptable.

When StarCraft agreed to the split feature at the beginning of last year, Apple was genuinely relieved, since StarCraft Games had already accumulated several very popular casual games in the mobile game industry at that time.

When these casual games were first released on Apple's App Store, Apple's App Store even gave them a boost.

But I never expected it.

This year, Xingchen has developed so rapidly.

Especially the recent Starry Night remastered game, the Christmas sale, and the Starry Night event—although most of these three events were aimed at the PC version, their popularity and reputation will automatically expand outwards.

"Should we try talking to them?"

"But hasn't the White House already given us news?"

Don't forget Samsung.

By 18, many things were known to Apple's top executives, and in fact, Huawei's top executives as well.

Perhaps they can maintain stability in the global market even if they do nothing.

Logically speaking, they shouldn't even be discussing this issue.

After all, the development of StarCraft is not just about Apple. Even many analysts claim that StarCraft's development is not a reliable reference. An American scholar once made such an analogy.

It is said that Xingchen was successful.

It's like someone winning the lottery 10 times in a year.

Although this statement was heavily criticized by many Starry Sky fans who believed that the so-called American expert was completely smearing Starry Sky, it was viewed favorably by many industry insiders.

Starry Sky is truly a company that constantly treats "miracles" as a daily occurrence.

The reason is very simple.

Many players believe that making a good game guarantees success, but in reality, just like many great songs in the world remain unknown.

Having a fun game is only the foundation for success, not the equation for success.

Therefore, even Apple, an absolute giant, is inexplicably a little intimidated when faced with a "crazy" phenomenon like Xingchen.

Putting everything else aside, which game company can incubate a casual game with a score of around 7 every one to two months over two years?

"Therefore, our suggestion is to discuss this further."

Phil Schiller didn't say anything, but slowly closed the document and tossed it onto the table.

Outside the window, the California sun shines brightly as always.

But he felt a chill emanating from the distant East.
The California sunshine failed to warm the hearts of Apple executives, but on the other side of the world, at Ubisoft's headquarters in Rennes, France, the atmosphere was as warm as summer.

A silver sea of ​​flashes surged across the press conference venue, and the clicking of camera shutters was incessant.

There were two people standing on the stage.

One is Yves Guillermot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft.

This French man, who has been working in the gaming industry for over thirty years, now had a long-lost, genuine sense of ease on his face.

Just minutes before, he and Chu Chen shook hands tightly and officially announced to the world that Starry Sky Games would acquire 7% of Ubisoft's shares for $500 million.

Don't underestimate this 7%. Ubisoft is a large company with a very complex shareholding structure. Its founders only hold 8.1% of the shares, so StarCraft, with its 7% stake, is technically the third largest shareholder of Ubisoft.

Therefore, the shock to the outside world when the two officially announced the news was unimaginable.

On the one hand, Vivendi's years-long hostile takeover attempt has been a Damocles' sword hanging over Ubisoft's head.

Now, with StarCraft's entry, Vivendi has finally given up completely and pledged to sell all of its Ubisoft shares.

StarCraft, a game company from the East, came to Ubisoft's rescue in an almost "white knight" manner.

Moreover, compared to Tencent's commercialization of Ubisoft's investment in its previous life, StarCraft's investment in Ubisoft has received a much better reputation among players, especially after StarCraft launched its old game remake project last December.

Interestingly, at this time, Ubisoft also had a very good reputation among players.

Under pressure from Vivenda, Ubisoft has really made some changes in the past two years. In 2017, the successful transformation of Assassin's Creed Origins revitalized this annual series.

Subsequently, the continued operation of both For Honor and Rainbow Six Siege demonstrated the French company's strong production capabilities and commitment to long-term service.

In the eyes of gamers, Ubisoft is a company that truly loves games and dares to innovate.

It makes mistakes and has bugs, but it always manages to come up with something new that surprises people.

The humorous reference to "potato servers" carries a complex and endearing sentiment, serving as a unique bond between players and game developers.

It can be said that, apart from Chu Chen, no one could have imagined that a few years later, Ubisoft, without Vivendi as an external enemy, would slide into the abyss at lightning speed due to the loss of control over internal management and the escalating office politics, almost cutting itself off from the world.

Of course, the future is the future, and the present is the present.

For players, it's naturally a great thing that two reputable game companies have joined forces in this way.

For Chu Chen at this moment, Ubisoft, a company full of vitality and bursting with creativity, is also a priceless treasure trove. His purpose in coming here is not just to be a "white knight".

"Thank you to all our friends from the media for coming."

Yves Guillermot cleared his throat, signaling for silence.

"Today marks a new beginning for Ubisoft. We have not only gained a powerful strategic partner, but more importantly, we have found a kindred spirit who shares our vision for games."

His gaze turned to Chu Chen, even though just a few days ago, representatives from Ubisoft and StarCraft were still arguing fiercely in the office about stock price, equity, and valuation.

But this didn't stop Yves Gilles from showering Star with compliments.

"Therefore, I am pleased to announce that, in addition to the cooperation at the capital level, StarCraft Games and Ubisoft will also launch an unprecedented deep collaboration in the field of game development!"

(End of this chapter)