Chapter 422: Chapter 264: A Little Greed Doesn’t Count as Greed! (Happy New Year to All)

"Star Emperor 2" is not just a sequel, nor just a game.

To be precise...

Since its predecessor, this game has been deeply intertwined with many PC hardware manufacturers, forming a mutually inclusive ambiguous relationship.

So, this isn’t just a game, it’s a bond that connects Tianba Studio at one end and many hardware manufacturers at the other, maintaining the relationship between both parties.

Because of this, when Tianba Studio officially announced that this year they would be making a second-generation sequel to the fighting game "Star Emperor", the first to show up wasn’t the fans of the previous game, but...

AMD: Excited! "Heart"

NVIDIA: Love you! "Heart gesture"

Daren Shuo: Awesome, finally get to play the super cool "Star Emperor 2"!

That’s right!

As if it was pre-arranged, the official accounts of major hardware manufacturers almost simultaneously arrived in the comments section, leaving their most sincere blessings.

The netizens were dumbfounded.

No...

Where did these guys pop up from? Tianba Studio announced a sequel, and we old players haven’t said anything, yet these unrelated official accounts are joining the fun?

"What do you mean unrelated? I’m an investor in ’Star Emperor 2’, I spent money on the game, can’t I come take a look?"

The manufacturers, hit with rounds of questions from netizens, were quite defiant, showing proof of transfer and stating that they also invested in the game. They asked what’s wrong with showing some presence in the comments?

"Wow! They actually invested?"

"Let me see... why are there so many investors? There are at least a dozen or twenty companies on this thank-you list, right?"

"It’s not about the quantity; it’s about how intimidating the list of ’Star Emperor 2’ investors is, isn’t it?"

"Absolutely! I even saw Microsoft and Sony... how did these two console manufacturers also get mixed in?"

"Console makers are at least somewhat related to PC hardware, but I didn’t expect Sang and Huazi to squeeze in too..."

It’s terrifying!

"Star Emperor 2", as a sequel game, didn’t attract much attention initially, after all, it’s a sequel, and everyone knows how those go.

But this time, looking at the long list of "thank-you enterprises" presented by Tianba Studio, almost the entire gaming circle was shocked.

Bro, what are you up to?

You’re making a game, a sequel at that, is it necessary to call in so many guest stars? And all these guest stars are heavyweight!

Outsiders, unfamiliar with the "Star Emperor" game situation and who haven’t watched the GAL League, are utterly confused at this point.

This list is widespread!

Almost right after Tianba Studio posted the announcement, the list was quickly screenshotted and spread across the entire internet.

As a result, netizens are all curious about what kind of game this actually is, and why there is such a luxurious lineup of investors?

Look at this list, it brings together famous tech giants and internet giants from around the world, and their combined market value is enough to shake the stock markets of A-shares, H-shares, and U.S. stocks.

It’s not an exaggeration to say...

If you consider the market value of all the companies thanked in "Star Emperor 2" as GDP, it could compete for one of the top few spots in the world.

Why is that?

Netizens can’t figure out why all these companies are flocking to invest in a game? Although the investment isn’t much, just a few million US dollars from each, it’s their number that counts!

The investment amount was estimated by everyone from the financial reports released by these publicly listed companies, since these companies are mostly public, any fund flow exceeding tens of millions of US dollars must be disclosed to investors and shareholders.

At almost the same time, all technology and internet publicly-listed companies had a note about "fund allocation of unknown destination".

The unknown destination is a joke.

These companies all stated that this money is specifically allocated to Tianba Studio for the production of "Star Emperor 2", so there is no issue with the destination being unknown.

But to many investors and shareholders, this investment, which seems "meaningless", is utterly perplexing.

Isn’t it okay if you just invest in a game? After all, money lying in the account can’t breed, and a few million US dollars isn’t a big deal.

But the problem is, why would you invest in a game without expecting returns, as if you’re doing charity work?

Players are exclaiming, while shareholders and investors are angrily criticizing the management team.

Isn’t a few million US dollars money?

You could just use this money for advertising, donations to build a reputation, or at least it’s okay if the CEO embezzled it, so why give it to Tianba Studio for free? Is Chen Ba your dad?

Perhaps being quite criticized, many companies’ management had to come forward to explain why this money seems like a "charitable donation".

"Chen Ba isn’t my dad, and we’re not doing charity, but this money really is a kind of donation without expecting returns..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Please look at the long term. The reason why we are willing to invest in ’Star Emperor 2’ is to expand the influence of the GAL League!"

The management teams were almost in tears from grievances.

They truly had no ulterior motives, nor did they put Chen Ba on a pedestal, and "Star Emperor 2" isn’t a meaningless investment, but a strategically planned long-term investment.

We can’t just look at immediate gains and losses!

Judging by the present scenario, they indeed seem like silly fools who gave a sum of money to Tianba Studio for nothing.

But once "Star Emperor 2" is made, isn’t the GAL League the one that benefits the most? And as the participating teams of the GAL League, won’t they also benefit from it?