Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

At the same time, he subconsciously compared his former anonymous benefactor with Zhu Youxing.

He felt that his anonymous benefactor and Zhu Youxing were the two people he admired most in his life, and they were his guiding lights.

"President, these are the professional-level game reviews that will be published this week. Please take a look."

At that moment, Murakami Kazuo's assistant walked in with documents, and the article written by the professional review editor was placed on Murakami Kazuo's desk.

Murakami Kazuo gave a perfunctory response and then continued to focus on the game's information.

The game has revealed a great deal of information.

First of all, the game itself will have a very diverse dungeon system. The announcement released by Zhuyouxing only mentioned what algorithm this dungeon system uses, and what kind of dungeon and equipment system this algorithm can create in conjunction with AI calculations.

Murakami Kazuo couldn't understand these complex data structures; he was just a game reviewer.

However, there are some professional game developers in the comments section below.

They began actively analyzing the content of the announcement shortly after it was released.

The most significant feature is undoubtedly the new data processing system, which allows for random equipment combinations.

According to these professionals' estimates, the ability to freely customize attributes could allow each player to have a different adventure experience.

There are hundreds or even thousands of ways to play just by combining equipment.

However, this also has some drawbacks, namely that there may be some very powerful equipment combinations and strategies, forming a one-size-fits-all approach to clearing the game, which would make the game homogenized.

We can only hope that producer Takeyusei will make some balance adjustments to the random equipment combinations.

Is it just about the variety of equipment combinations?

That does look similar to dead cells.

Dead Cells has been released for many years now, and the game is quite mature. Moreover, the game development team formed by those three girls has been continuously updating it in recent years.

They are quite persistent in this regard, actively developing more new games while also finding time to add more game content to Dead Cells.

Kazuo Murakami believes that Death Cells represents the pinnacle of this type of random equipment system.

To surpass the indie game Dead Cells, it would probably require a large-scale production and more refined graphics.

However, no game company has dared to make this kind of large-scale roguelike game with randomly generated dungeons so far.

The main issue is cost. This kind of random generation can't be as exaggerated as an infinite world. It still requires manpower and resources to slowly and forcibly build up a large-scale roguelike game.

Another issue is that roguelike gameplay isn't particularly popular yet; it's still mostly confined to a small circle.

But from a purely commercial perspective, The Binding of Isaac is indeed far more powerful than The Dead Cell.

Obviously, Zhu Youxing's own fame is the most attractive aspect.

How fun will this game be when the final version is released?

With these doubts in mind, Kazuo Murakami couldn't help but reopen the demo version of The Binding of Isaac.

This was already the umpteenth time he had opened this demo game.

Recently, he has been playing the game whenever he has free time at the company, mainly because the game is very fast. If it's a speedrun type, he estimates that he can reduce the completion time to about fifteen minutes.

As far as he knows, some top players can speedrun the game in under ten minutes without relying on exploits, which is simply outrageous.

According to Battle.net's refund policy, which requires a playtime of no more than two hours and a purchase date of no more than fourteen days, it's still enough for Murakami Kazuo to play five or six times without getting tired of it.

It's really a bit strange. This game looks like it has very rough graphics, even rougher than Dead Cells, and the character movements are stiff, like a game that has traveled from the 90s. But when it comes to the timing of the game, the smoothness of the movements is still very much in line with the basic standards of modern games.

Oh right, I think I had something to do earlier?

Murakami Kazuo suddenly snapped out of his reverie and remembered that someone had looked for him, but he couldn't recall it for the moment.

Never mind, it shouldn't be a big problem. Just keep playing the game.

With that in mind, he felt at ease turning his attention to the computer, completely forgetting the professional-level game review article his assistant had previously reported.

……

In the United States, at the headquarters in Mikeford, the head of the game development department hurriedly arrived at the office of CEO Myron Case.

As soon as he entered, Myron Case made a silencing gesture; he appeared to be on the phone.

"Yes, that's right. My next plan is to launch a new type of game console that will increase the benefits and discounts brought to us by the Infinite World. I estimate that sales of a million units will definitely be no problem, and sales of ten million units are not impossible. This way, I can guarantee that at least three thousand new jobs will be created."

At this point, Myron Case dared not say any more, for he was afraid that if he spoke too definitively, it would arouse suspicion on the other end of the phone.

After Myron Case's boasting, the person on the other end of the phone seemed quite satisfied and appeared to agree to the deal. Myron Case's mood also improved at this moment.

After hanging up the phone, Myron Case noticed the head of the games department coming in, so he casually took out a cup, took a sip of water, and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Boss, Youxing Electronic Entertainment has released another new game, and they're scheduled to release it in a month. This is another blow to us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Myron Case's hand froze, and the water glass he was drinking from fell to the ground and shattered.

Chapter 1137, The Binding of Isaac, is now available.

"Why is there another new game being released? I remember that Yuxing Electronic Entertainment's game development cycles have been very long lately, at least one or two years before there are any results. Are you talking about that Olympic Games game?"

Myron Case is now very wary of GamerSky.

He needs to know about any slightest disturbance immediately.

He even carefully selected the dates for the release of games by Yusei Electronics Entertainment.

Grand Theft Auto is expected to have results in about a year, while a new Final Fantasy game may take two years, and Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda will also take two years.

The only game that's set to release soon, and which is personally supervised by Takeyusei, is the one about the 2020 Olympics.

However, according to the investigation, this game was a collaborative project and not a key project of Yuxing Electronic Entertainment. It was a product that helped Japan promote the Olympic Games.

This type of game is only novel for a short time and won't have a significant impact.

"No, it's a game that Zhu Youxing himself made, and a demo version is currently being released in the indie game crowdfunding section."

"An indie game? Made by Bamboo Star? Why would he do that?"

Myron Case was unaware of this news, because it wasn't an official action by Yusei Electronics Entertainment; it was a game developed by Yusei himself, and there was no publisher involved.

"His goal is to further promote the influence of indie games and expand the indie game community."

"So, this game is mostly just for fun?"

Myron Case breathed a sigh of relief.

It's just an indie game, so there's probably nothing to worry about.

It was a real scare. That Zhu Youxing guy is really restless; he always manages to pull a fast one on you.

The head of the game department said, "It may indeed be mostly a hobby, but I have played this game, and it is quite interesting."

"That's alright, an independent game certainly won't affect our overall plan."

Myron Case didn't take it too seriously.

He also knew that indie games were ultimately a niche genre.

So far, he has never seen an indie game become so popular that it becomes a trend.

Wait a minute... it seems there really is one.

He remembered a game called Stardew Valley.

The creator of this game is a very mysterious figure and is quite famous in the indie game community, but he seems to have disappeared from the public eye and no longer makes games in recent years.

It seems that the game's sales exceeded ten million, which was also the first time that people witnessed the charm of indie games.

No, probably not. Indie games of that caliber are extremely rare.

His subordinates said that the creator of Stardew Valley was a top genius in the indie game circle, and that such game ideas often came from a flash of inspiration. Even the game creator himself would find it difficult to replicate the glory of Stardew Valley.

Didn't this person later choose to collaborate with others to create a game like Dead Cells?

This also proves that it is difficult to become popular by going it alone.

"Okay, I understand. Just continue releasing the game at your own pace. The company team will give you the full support."

Seeing that his boss had already said that, he, as the subordinate, couldn't say anything more.

However, he also believes that an independent game is unlikely to have a significant impact.

There's no need to adjust the company's original strategy for this one game.

In the past month or two, Mickford has scheduled many major game release events.

They were just trying to gain some buzz while the other game companies weren't making any big moves for the time being.

While Mikefu does have a reputation in the gaming industry, it's not top-tier, so they can only make a quick buck when top-tier companies aren't releasing games.

The previous infinite worlds have already proven that this path is feasible.

……

Kazuo Murakami still finds it very addictive.

Even though he had played through the Binding of Isaac demo to death, and tried almost every single gameplay element, he still felt it wasn't enough.

The Binding of Isaac excels in its equipment combinations, and the difficulty of each level is just right—neither too high nor too low. With a little serious play, you can achieve a great sense of accomplishment in the beginning.

Even when he's not playing the game, he's been thinking about how to build his gear in this game lately, and he'll try it out when he gets back into the game.

At this moment, he felt that time was passing really slowly. How could a month take so long?

I wish it could arrive soon.

There are many people who share similar thoughts with Kazuo Murakami.

Because this is an indie game that raised tens of millions of dollars through crowdfunding, it means that at least a million players have already pre-ordered the game and are just waiting for its official release.

A month may not seem like a long time, but it passes quickly. However, for players waiting for the game's release, it was truly agonizing.

Every day I counted down the days until the game was released.

Because of the fame of Bamboo Star, The Binding of Isaac had an influence far exceeding that of the original game from the very beginning. Not to mention ordinary gamers, most independent game developers also chose to pre-order the game.

This is an independent game personally created by Zhuyouxing, which sets a benchmark.

If it achieves extraordinary success, it means that indie games still have great potential.

Hayakawa Ueto of Surui Electronics also noticed Takeyusei's movements and, unlike Myron Case, didn't misunderstand when he learned that Takeyusei was up to something unusual again.