Penguin Games Division, Zhao Yi Studio.
Ever since Zhao Yi had been turned away at miHoYo's doors half a month ago,
he had been pushing his own game project forward at full throttle.
As for whatever game that "new boss" at miHoYo was making—
he couldn't care less.
In his eyes, with a small, rickety studio like miHoYo,
there was no way they could make anything of substance.
Even if they changed bosses, so what?
In the domestic gaming industry, only Penguin and Pig Farm were real players.
Every other studio was just trash, lucky to even sip the leftover soup.
So when Durandal rejected him, he had been furious—
and utterly dismissive.
For more than two weeks after returning, he'd stewed in resentment,
secretly swearing that when his game launched,
he'd make Durandal and the others regret it.
His plan?
Wait until the new boss at miHoYo went bankrupt,
then swoop in to "save" them from disaster
and win the beauty in the process.
Heheheh… perfect plotline.
Even in the unlikely case that Honkai Impact 3rd didn't flop hard,
he could still crush it under Penguin's weight.
In his calculations, miHoYo's new game was destined to make no waves,
and bankruptcy for its boss was inevitable.
Except…
To his shock, Honkai Impact 3rd launched on the exact same day as his game.
And not only that—
it completely steamrolled his title,
burying its popularity into the abyss.
An entire day passed without a single trending topic about Penguin's new release.
The trending lists were monopolized by Eden and Honkai Impact 3rd.
On TapTap's new game rankings, Honkai Impact 3rd was miles ahead,
leaving all other titles in the dust.
Day one, 24 hours: 50 million downloads.
The second place game barely scraped 10 million.
As for Zhao Yi's project… it was sitting in 8th place.
That kind of number couldn't even compete with second place,
let alone challenge Honkai Impact 3rd.
The results immediately drew upper management's attention.
Since Penguin had entered the gaming industry,
they had never suffered a defeat this humiliating—
and to lose to an unknown small studio, no less.
Still, given that Eden had siphoned away much of the traffic
and Zhao Yi's uncle had helped shield him,
he wasn't punished too harshly—
just got a dressing-down from his uncle.
"Damn it… lucky break for you,"
Zhao Yi gritted his teeth, seething.
"But I'm not giving up…"
Yes, he had an uncle in high places,
but his position wasn't purely nepotism—
to stay here, he needed to show some capability.
And Zhao Yi was capable, and far from stupid.
Seeing Honkai Impact 3rd's launch numbers,
he naturally began analyzing it.
After a full day of playing and breaking it down,
he had to admit—miHoYo's new boss was sharp,
a genuine operations genius.
The success wasn't just Eden's doing.
First, the game had a crystal-clear target audience:
the "ACG" crowd.
By coincidence, neither Penguin nor Pig Farm had a single game
with an anime-inspired style.
That new boss had spotted the gap,
moved fast,
and taken a huge bite out of both giants' market share.
Just that alone was enough to turn heads in the industry.
"Anime-style… why didn't I think of that before…?"
That thought lit a spark in Zhao Yi's mind.
Aside from the anime aesthetic,
Honkai Impact 3rd's other major draws were:
storyline, beautiful girl characters, and visual style.
Art style? Not an issue—
Penguin had the resources to match or exceed that easily.
That left story and pretty girls…
"If we just license a popular anime and directly adapt it into a game…"
Zhao Yi shot to his feet, elated.
Grabbing his phone, he dialed his uncle.
"Xiaoyi, what is it?"
"Uncle, I've got a great idea…"
He laid it all out in detail.
On the other end, the middle-aged man nodded to himself.
"You've got some ability after all. But… that approach won't work in Penguin."
"Eh? Why not?"
"Upper management is well aware of the online criticism we get,
and they have thought about changing…"
His uncle paused.
"Your recent project was actually a test from them.
The results are clear—original titles still can't compete with copycats.
We have massive traffic;
there's no need to take the risk of originality.
And your idea requires buying adaptation rights from anime IP holders—
the upfront cost is too high.
The directive from the top just came down:
focus on Honkai Impact 3rd, copy it.
No need to think—miHoYo already blazed the trail.
Our job is to quickly produce Honkai Impact 4. Got it?"
Zhao Yi smacked his thigh.
"Right! Why didn't I think of that… I get it, Uncle. So next—"
"Next, have your entire studio join my side of the project.
Hand off your current game to someone else for operations."
Hanging up, Zhao Yi's lips curled in a smirk.
"miHoYo… your good days are numbered."
Sure, miHoYo had used the ACG audience
to take a huge bite out of Penguin and Pig Farm's share.
But this was Penguin.
The infamous copycat judge—
give them two weeks,
and their massive teams could "reproduce" a similar game.
Then, with Penguin's massive traffic push,
crushing a small studio would be child's play.
"Looks like the higher-ups have already tried talking to that miHoYo boss…"
"Heh~ turning down our acquisition was giving you face.
You didn't take the hint—don't blame us for what comes next."
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