I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 366 - 134: I See You, You Just Don’t Want to Improve!_2

Chapter 366: Chapter 134: I See You, You Just Don’t Want to Improve!_2

Last year, when "Hollow" was newly launched, there was once a speedrunning craze that swept the nation.

After that, there wasn’t much else happening.

The reason the scene didn’t take off is mainly because the mechanics of major games weren’t exactly balanced.

For developers, modifying game balance for the sake of competition would conflict with selling powerful cards, wouldn’t it?

Immersed in this atmosphere of Blue Star, Ke Jin also almost forgot about it for a while.

"This thing is really a money-burning weapon!" Ke Jin’s eyes sparkled as he quickly began to calculate.

First of all, the event would have to be an offline tournament.

Because renting a venue for an offline event would be a significant expense.

Secondly, there would have to be prize money for the offline tournament.

Then, reimbursing competitors for their travel and meal expenses wouldn’t be too much, right?

Players who come to the event, they’re all here to support us.

Look how cold it is outside, giving out a hot drink to each person, some sweets too, that wouldn’t be too much, would it?

For the staff maintaining the normal operation of the tournament, a little pay raise and some bonuses wouldn’t be excessive, right?

All these miscellaneous expenses, when you add them up...

At least 10 million dollars in expenses could be cut!

With this in mind, Ke Jin immediately called a brief meeting with the company’s executives.

He briefly discussed his decision to organize a tournament.

As soon as he finished speaking, he received widespread support from the senior management.

"Great! I agree!"

"I actually wanted to ask Mr. Ke to host a tournament for ’Pubg’ before, but considering there was no precedent and fearing we’d mess it up, I didn’t dare speak up."

"Looking at the informal speedrunning event for ’Hollow,’ a proper competition can expand the game’s reputation and inspire players’ passion for the game. I support it!"

"However, maybe the prize money is a bit too high... With a 10 million dollar investment, the champion could end up with a million dollars, right?" Gou Chehua added hesitantly at the end.

In Ke Jin’s view,

a prize of a million dollars for the champion had already become quite common on Earth.

Previously, there were many events where the champion’s prize exceeded a million dollars.

The prize pools for CS and Dota were even heftier, with each tournament averaging several tens of millions, and that currency was in dollars.

A million RMB in rewards?

That’s like throwing pennies to beggars, isn’t it?

But Blue Star inhabitants haven’t seen such grand events; playing a game and winning a million in prize money?

How novel!

They’ve never even heard of it!

So, when Ke Jin mentioned the million-dollar champion reward,

The executives were all a bit taken aback.

My goodness, winning a game and getting a higher income than slogging away for a year at work...

Could this be...?

Ke Jin observed everyone’s reactions and tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop.

His mind was working at lightning speed.

He wasn’t satisfied with a total prize pot of 10 million.

It was too little.

But a total prize pool of 10 million already got a big reaction from his own employees.

Ke Jin wasn’t a ruthless dictator and as the company grew bigger, the need for the executive staff also increased.

They were the veterans who had followed the number one player right from the start and had built the empire together.

Sometimes, even as the person with the highest authority, Ke Jin had to consider the feelings of these executives.

After pondering briefly in his mind,

Ke Jin looked up and said,

"Then let’s make it 20 million, 20 million for the tournament funds."

"Ah?" Amid the executives’ surprised looks, Ke Jin explained, "I thought about it, ’Eternity’ was first launched in Korea, after all. Games have no borders, and holding a tournament just in China might upset Korean players. Our number one player will eventually go international, facing the world, so we need to think bigger."

"So, I’m planning to expand this competition into a China-Korea exchange event, inviting Korean players to China to participate as well."

"Since we’re aiming to go international, the rewards can’t be stingy, or it might give foreigners the impression that we cannot afford the prize money."

"Aside from the venue, equipment, and reimbursement for players’ travel and meals, we also need to hire commentators and get in touch with live-stream platforms for real-time broadcasting of the event, plus publicity for the competition. These could cost us several million."

"If we only invest 10 million, the remaining two to three million, after we divide it up for solo and trio prizes, players won’t be left with much in the end."

"So, 20 million it is."

After the analysis,

The surprise on everyone’s faces quickly vanished.

What replaced it were pairs of bright eyes.

"Woah, Mr. Ke is a visionary!"

"This scale... I was just wondering if 20 million was too much, but it turns out we’re including Korean players too, then indeed we can’t be too shabby."

"Moreover, once the topic touches on China vs. Korea, domestic attention will definitely be high. Having a smaller prize pot might actually make us seem a bit petty."

"That’s reasonable!"

"Exactly because there has never been an event of this scale, let alone an official international tournament, we should set an example! Mr. Ke truly has a broad vision."

"We were the ones being too narrow-minded. If this tournament is successful, it will definitely bring many benefits to the operation of ’Eternity’ afterward."

"This place wouldn’t be what it is without Mr. Ke!"

Whether the executives were laying it on thick with flattery or truly sincere,

Ke Jin’s goal had been achieved.

At least his reasoning was convincing enough and didn’t come across as a snap decision.