Thank You,
Knight Teir: "Jacob", "Ralfs Abele", "Lucas Varnas", and "Joel Vincent"
For Becoming A Member On My Pa'treon. The Emperor Protect.
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Martel's official addition to PixelPioneers Games had been all but finalized, with only a few remaining details to negotiate between Martel, John, and the representatives from Gemtechs. As for the potential acquisition of Social Tap, John was still deep in discussion with Armani.
"The company's situation might not be great," John mused, "but Social Tap is an established name in the indie gaming scene. Its distribution network is solid. If we want to buy it, we shouldn't expect to get it for anything less than tens of millions of Dollars."
John's understanding of Social Tap's true state, however, was limited.
"While it's well-known, its actual profitability is low," Armani explained matter-of-factly. "Their focus on indie games has saddled them with high publicity costs and steep buyout fees. The Binding of Isaac, Octopath Traveler, and Outlast helped them accumulate some capital, but their pivot into new ventures drained those reserves. They're stretched thin."
Armani's tone carried the weight of a thorough investigation, his words precise and confident.
"They have plenty of games and copyrights under their umbrella, and while those seem valuable, for us, their real worth lies in their established distribution network," Armani continued, his expression calm but sharp.
"If we strip away their game copyrights, their valuation might hover around a hundred million," Armani added after a pause. "Of course, that's based on what they're showing us. Any hidden assets or liabilities could change everything."
"Buy it if it won't hurt the company," John replied after a moment of thought.
Armani hesitated, letting out a sigh. "Mr. John, have you really never taken a close look at the company's financial situation?"
"Huh? Of course I have," John chuckled, waving off the question. "I mean, it's my company, after all."
"Last month, Gemtechs wired over the revenue from The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Add in Resident Evil Resistance and the other titles, and after taxes and employee bonuses, our net profit reached one billion. Even after acquiring Plotbound Media, funding multiple projects, and covering operational expenses, we still have over one and a half billion sitting in the account, for you to spend as you see fit, President John."
Armani's voice carried a mix of pride and disbelief. That much money, just sitting idle in the bank, was an absurd waste. You could easily indulge, buy a sports car worth tens of millions, a villa worth hundreds of millions, but John had only picked up a high-end apartment and replaced two cars. That was it. Could such a restrained man really be this wealthy?
John's shock eclipsed Armani's. Those numbers left him stunned. Do I really have that much money? Neither he nor Luna had been paying much attention to finances. Their daily life was modest: eat whatever they liked, buy clothes on a whim, maybe pay for a year-long streaming subscription… and that was about it. Apparently, nothing extravagant at all.
"We should build a proper motion capture studio," John said thoughtfully. "And a dedicated music recording department."
After Armani's departure, John sat in silence for a long time before Armani's voice echoed in his mind: "No problem, but I don't know much about this. You'll have to handle it, General John."
Armani had left with a faint smile.
Me, handle it? John thought, baffled, though he kept his composure. "Have Martel take charge of this," he'd said aloud. "I'm swamped with projects; besides mobile games, Red Alert and the GDD already have me buried."
Armani had nodded without hesitation and exited the office.
John stood up then, curling his fist tightly in disbelief. When did I become this rich? It all felt surreal.
The conversation with Armani kept replaying in his mind, making it impossible to concentrate on work. Instead, he opened the latest financial reports and stared at the endless columns of expenses and revenues, utterly bewildered.
How did we even make this much money? Resident Evil Resistance started as a buyout game and was later made free. Then came The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, where John had convinced Gemtechs to run a limited-time sale.
Yes, there were microtransactions in the multiplayer mode, but everything could be unlocked through grinding. Unlike other games in the same genre, where unlocking everything could take thousands of hours, or even tens of thousands in UEGame's recent space epic, PixelPioneers titles could be fully unlocked in 50 to 100 hours.
Compared with Gemtechs, Moondustries, and Essence, John felt his studio truly deserved its reputation as a beacon of integrity in the industry. Player reviews backed that belief. Their paid content existed solely to sustain operations, not bleed players dry. So how on earth had it turned into this river of profit? It was… almost mystical.
John sat there, lost in thought.
That night, John and Luna lounged in bed, their dog curled up between them, playing a co-op game on the same screen. John sighed and recounted Armani's words from earlier in the day.
"Do whatever you want," Luna said casually. "Let's keep one or two hundred million, maybe buy a few more houses."
"That's a great idea!" John's eyes gleamed with sudden excitement.
Luna stared at him blankly.
"Since we've brought in so many new hires lately, and there's no dormitory near the industrial park, why don't we buy a building and rent it out to employees at a low rate? It'd save them money, too!" John said with a grin.
Luna was stunned, her mouth slightly agape.
"We're already building a motion capture studio, funding new projects, and collaborating with the comic division. Armani's right, keeping all that money in the bank is pointless. Rent in this area, especially near our offices, is outrageous. Charging employees just a hundred or two a month would be practically nothing."
After a pause, Luna's expression softened, and she smiled faintly. "If it makes you happy, do it."