The next day at WindyPeak Games Inc. in Seattle, the mood in Gus Shepard's office was grim.
Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers slouched on the sofa across from Gus, the air heavy with cigarette smoke and disappointment.
"Gus, what do we do?" Jake asked, setting down his coffee mug, worry creasing his face. "It's 5:30 p.m. Less than three hours till the first day's sales lock in."
"Yeah," Luke added, flicking ash from his cigarette. "We're at 2,000 copies—barely half of Cat Leo's first day. How do we explain this to Zoey?"
The gloom was because Who's the Daddy, their second game, was tanking. Hard.
To be fair, 2,000 copies on day one wasn't bad for an indie game on IndieVibe. But Cat Leo had crushed it with 4,800 sales out the gate, setting a high bar—rare even in IndieVibe's history.
With Who's the Daddy as their first joint project, Luke and Jake had dreamed of smashing that record. Now, with three hours left, the numbers were stuck, not even close to Cat Leo's shadow.
"Did we mess up, Gus?" Jake muttered, staring at the dismal sales data. "Sorry if we dragged you down…"
Gus frowned and tossed an orange at Jake. "What, you want me to coddle you now?"
Jake caught it, startled, as Luke snorted beside him.
"Chill, Jake," Luke said, patting his shoulder with a grin. "Don't make it weird. Gus doesn't need your puppy-dog eyes."
Jake shrank back, mumbling, "Just feel like I let the team down."
Gus sighed. Jake was too earnest for his own good. "Listen, man, this is a three-man job. No one's dragging anyone. I brought you guys in to make games, not to play scapegoat."
"We're the backbone of this place," Gus continued. "A triangle—lose one side, the whole thing collapses. So no more 'I messed up' talk, alright, you big sad bear?"
Gus's words, warm but teasing, cut through the tension like a breeze. Luke nodded to himself—Gus's emotional intelligence was off the charts.
Jake perked up, the guilt easing. "Okay… so, what's the plan?"
That stumped Gus. He didn't have one.
Normally, they'd ride the wave of Cat Leo's streamer hype, doubling down on promotion. Marketing wasn't cheap—some blockbuster games sank half their budget into it, or more. But…
"Zoey's weirdly anti-promo," Gus said, frowning. "Before launch, I pitched using Cat Leo's buzz to snag a featured spot on IndieVibe."
"And?" Luke asked.
"She shot it down," Gus said. "Said, 'Good games don't need ads. If it's solid, IndieVibe will come to us.'"
Luke nodded slowly. "Kinda makes sense. Zoey looks like a kid playing CEO, but that's a power move. Keeps us in control. If IndieVibe begs us, we're in a stronger spot."
Gus shrugged. "Sure, but with our numbers? No way IndieVibe's knocking."
Jake frowned. "First day's a bust, and our big plan's dead in the water."
"So we wait," Gus said. "Let the bullets fly for a bit."
Gus was confident in Who's the Daddy's chaotic charm. It just needed a spark to catch fire.
Knock knock knock.
Chloe Quinn's voice came through the door. "Gus, Zoey's called a meeting. Conference room, now."
…
Ten minutes later, WindyPeak's core team gathered in the conference room.
Zoey Parker was practically glowing. Last time she held a sales meeting, Cat Leo's success nearly gave her a panic attack. But now? Her losing streak was back on track.
As Gus, Luke, and Jake took their seats, Zoey kicked things off. "Today's about Who's the Daddy's sales. I'm sure you all know where we stand. Chloe, hit us with the numbers."
Chloe nodded, flipping open her tablet. "As of now, Who's the Daddy has been live for 22 hours. The data's nearly final. We've sold 2,215 copies, totaling $11,075."
Woo-hoo! Zoey thought, barely hiding her grin. Chloe's voice was music to her ears.
Over 2,000 sales was more than she'd expected without streamer hype. Where were these players coming from? Still, it was only half of Cat Leo's first day—a huge win for her Investment Rebate System.
No big streamers meant weak staying power. Zoey's brain ran the numbers: maybe 6,000 copies in a week, tops. That's $30,000 in sales, a $70,000 loss, and—boom—a $700,000 rebate.
She was already picturing her yacht.
But then—ding!
Her phone buzzed. Zoey glanced at the lock screen:
Twitch Alert: Your followed streamer 'Yin' is live. Room: Who's the Daddy Father-Son Chaos with ShuBro