Game development begins with destroying Girls' Frontline.

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It's fair to say that STEAM went all out to grab attention this time, and these efforts did indeed garner considerable attention.

The latter half of the press conference focused primarily on STEAM 2.0.

In this discussion, STEAM did not address the changes in platform revenue sharing.

Instead, it described a whole bunch of changes to STEAM 2.0, many of which seemed quite familiar.

This includes UI changes, the establishment of the STEAM Industry Alliance, the organization of STEAM game competitions, and the announcement of a slogan to support 100 companies to achieve success on STEAM in the 2.0 next generation.

Following this round of press conferences.

The media has been full of praise for this year's E3.

At the same time, many media outlets have begun to revisit the debate on next-generation gaming platforms proposed by Spark.

After several months.

This platform war seems to be getting increasingly heated.

It gave the onlookers a real treat.

Originally, many media outlets were not very optimistic about Xinghuo in terms of its platform, but after this E3 exhibition, many media outlets discovered that...

This platform war is not so simple; each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Let's start with the giants.

Microsoft's sudden emergence as a disruptive force seems strange, but upon closer examination, as Microsoft itself has stated, why can't the Microsoft Store, which comes pre-installed with Windows, become the next gaming platform?

Having discussed the specifics, let's take a look at the current leading gaming platform.

After showcasing Half-Life: Alyx this year, Steam proved that its self-developed game capabilities are still sharp. The half-hour game montage, although lacking any major titles, still demonstrated Steam's dominant position.

Finally, STEAM has kept pace with the times and launched a series of industry support policies based on its innovative approach.

It seems to be thriving, but the only problem is whether STEAM can use these support measures to get manufacturers to willingly continue paying the 30% cut.

Further down is Xinghuo.

Relying on the ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) market, and with Spark Engine gradually gaining traction among small and medium-sized manufacturers in China, the media is now focusing on whether Spark Engine will achieve success in the European and American markets in the future.

In addition, Sony, along with several other Japanese PC manufacturers, also have a significant presence in the market.

Although there aren't many manufacturers, this is a PC exclusive.

Can Spark carve out its own niche on the PC platform like Sony did by relying on exclusivity?

In addition, with the news of Spark acquiring a 10% stake in Ubisoft, the future cooperation between Spark and Ubisoft has also attracted much attention.

As for EPIC...

It can only be said that the timing of the press conference was somewhat unfortunate; while others were pulling out all the stops, EPIC failed to keep up.

We'll just have to wait and see if it can bring any surprises when it officially launches in August.

In short, the exciting pre-E3 press conferences of various manufacturers have come to an end.

Then came E3.

No matter how much hype the pre-show PV had, what players were really looking forward to was trying it out for themselves.

The media outlets were already eagerly anticipating it.

After all, seeing pictures and talking about things is never as good as doing them yourself.

Moreover, many things can only be written by doing them yourself.

Lin Li was also really looking forward to E3, after all, he had another big move waiting to be unleashed.

Chapter 513 Penguin's E3 Journey

E3, one of the world's most famous game exhibitions.

Other exhibitions are packed with people on the first day.

The first day of E3 was quiet and deserted.

Because E3 has a distinction between media day and player day.

Although there are differences in the schedule.

However, the design and layout of each booth were clearly set up to accommodate a large number of players.

As a result, the media day, which is only open to the media and manufacturers, naturally appears deserted.

For gamers, it's naturally frustrating to have to wait until the media has had their fill of their content before they can even see them.

But for the staff and media attending the exhibition, E3's media day was clearly a rather relaxed day.

Few players.

The number of visitors is low.

The bigwigs from various manufacturers can also chat in the salon lounge prepared by the E3 organizers.

Despite the high price of E3, the salon lounge isn't all that great...

They simply cut a piece off the exhibition stand, put some sofas, fruits, and drinks on it, and that was it.

You don't like this?

If you don't like it, go talk to someone outside. I've already taken the money.

Hey, that's the kind of attitude the organizers have.

We can only make do with it.

Chen Zhou, along with Ma Xiao, Senior Vice President of Tencent and head of its gaming business, also strolled around the salon.

Throughout the journey, Chen Zhou completely abandoned the stern face and air of a successful returnee from overseas that he had in the WEGAME office.

Instead, he looked exactly like a lackey.

With a smile on his face, he offered water and praised her.

That's what makes Chen Zhou act this way.

This Ma Xiao is no ordinary person.

Who is he?

Let's put it this way, the whole of 2018.

Ma Xiao is the only newly appointed senior executive in Penguin's General Office, which is the highest concentration of power within Penguin.

This is also the highest-level personnel change since Tencent's organizational restructuring this year.

There are several reasons why Ma Xiao was able to get into the General Office.

Signing contracts for "CrossFire" and "Dungeon Fighter Online" marked the beginning of Ma Xiao's career at Tencent. The revenue generated by these two games after their launch made Ma Xiao's path to advancement very smooth.

Penguin then underwent reforms.

IEG, or Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group, was established.

The four major studio groups—TiMi, Photon, Aurora Studio, and Magic Cube—have gradually become dominant forces in their respective fields.

Ma Xiao's career advancement stalled, and his work remained focused on agency and strategic M&A investment, reporting to Ren Yu, president of IEG.

During this phase, Ma Xiao also performed well, with achievements including investing in Epic for 12 years.

However, as Tencent began to pursue self-developed technologies and achieved success with a series of self-developed projects such as Honor of Kings and QQ Speed, the situation changed.

Ma Xiao, who was not in charge of any particular studio, has gradually become marginalized.

Ma Xiao herself has no intention of making any more progress.

But unexpectedly, last month...

every dog ​​has his day.

Ren Yu, the current president of IEG, is moving to the newly established PCG, which is the Penguin Platform and Content Business Group, to compete with Douyin.

Ren Yu is gone, someone has to take over.

Logically, the person in charge of TiMi or Photon should be promoted.

In reality, no matter who is chosen, it will inevitably provoke resentment from the other side.

Finally, considering factors such as qualifications, abilities, and balancing the interests of all parties.

Ma Xiao won the qualifying match.

This happened in July of this year, which was last month.

Upon entering the general office...

As is customary, Ma Huateng was to give instructions regarding his work.

During the conversation, Ma Huateng repeatedly mentioned the two development opportunities of game going global and game platforms, and then focused on discussing Spark.

For penguins.

Game revenue has actually been pretty good in recent years.

The new leader should prioritize maintaining the status quo.

However, the success of Douyin has made Ma Huateng more worried about the other businesses of Tencent Group.

"Now, Tencent is not afraid of other companies challenging our track; what it fears is others taking unorthodox approaches to overtake us."

In Ma Huateng's view, Douyin is a typical example of overtaking on a curve, rapidly squeezing out Tencent's market share by entering a market that Tencent did not have.

He was very scared.

Fear that Xinghuo will become the second Douyin.

So Ma Huateng pulled aside Ma Xiao, this "veteran," and spoke earnestly to him.

"Ma Xiao, you have to help me keep an eye on the mobile game business and the platform."

Carrying the hopes of Ma Huateng.

Ma Xiaoxin takes office.

After taking office, even long-time veterans inevitably feel a bit proud, which is only human nature.

Moreover, his appointment coincided with the E3 expo.

Although he was not involved in the preparation of the entire exhibition.

But he still personally led the team to E3.

At the salon.

Ma Xiao demonstrated his abilities.

He himself came from an investment agency background and traveled frequently for work, so he was very familiar with a large number of manufacturers overseas.

Salons in such settings are exactly where he feels at home.

He and his team visited executives at many large companies, and many of these executives knew this investor from Tencent. They got along quite well.

Chen Zhou wasn't originally part of Ma Xiao's team, but after seeing Ma Xiao this morning, he was like a stray dog ​​seeing feces, licking it up along the road.

If it were someone else...

Ma Xiao may not accept it.

But Chen Zhou has some connection with him.

First of all, he is now the president of IEG.

To some extent, he was Chen Zhou's direct superior.

Secondly, he comes from an investment background, as does Chen Zhou. The two had collaborated on some projects before, where they were in a superior-subordinate relationship and weren't exactly strangers.

In addition, Ma Huateng had given instructions, so he also took WEGAME's affairs to heart.

I took him on a tour of the site, which was also a way of helping my former underling connect with some resources.

The two walked around the salon for a while, then sat down.

We drank coffee and started talking about serious business.

"You said you wanted to hold a crazy fun festival in October? But you feel like the lineup isn't quite there yet?"