Regarding the subtitle translation of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, UEGame ultimately took charge of resolving the issue. During the final round of bidding, when the offers made by several companies were nearly identical, PixelPioneers Games still chose to cooperate with UEGame, a partner with whom they had already established a strong working relationship.
Although UEGame's reputation overseas had long been somewhat polarized, in two key projects, Resident Evil and Resident Evil Resistance, the company managed to leave a surprisingly positive impression on John.
Not long after the announcement of UEGame's successful acquisition of the subtitle rights for The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, the company quickly delivered an English patch to PixelPioneers Games the very next day.
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After ending his call with UEGame's senior executives and opening his mailbox to find the patch attached, John couldn't help but think to himself that the team could hardly handle English. Still, in the rush of overseeing quality control, he had completely forgotten to assign someone to handle this particular matter.
And yet, the scale of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was daunting, with countless books, scattered letters, and in-game manuscripts all filled with detailed vocabulary. When, exactly, had UEGame managed to prepare all of this?
Staring at the patch file, John's mind was full of unanswered questions. Silently, he downloaded the email, then tossed the file straight into the recycle bin. We don't need your patch. We already have our own. Who knows what hidden issues yours might contain, or worse, if you've slipped in any "extras" of your own?
Later, while reviewing internal company documents, John found that the main strategic initiative at the time was IP development. Armani was spearheading efforts by acquiring a long-established comic magazine rooted in the print media era.
In its prime, this magazine had been at the very forefront of the industry. Yet with the rapid rise of online serialization, the print market shrank year by year, and the magazine had entered the digital scene too late to catch up.
Capital had already carved up most of the market. Even though the magazine once held first-tier status, stepping into the new digital era meant it was nearly impossible to retain that same prestige.
Still, its true value lay elsewhere, not in circulation, but in its powerful web of connections. The magazine maintained strong relationships with well-known cartoonists across the industry.
The acquisition itself had only been possible because of Armani's personal ties to the company's leadership. Afterward, personnel management and restructuring were left in Armani's hands, as John openly admitted that in this field, he could not match his colleague's expertise.
"Honey, look at this news! Gemtechs, Moondustries, and Essence just announced their entry into the VR market!" Luna, seated beside him, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Taken aback, John accepted the phone she handed him. On the screen, the official Weibo accounts of Gemtechs, Moondustries, and Essence all carried the same announcement.
The three giants had simultaneously reposted an official statement detailing VR technology updates and the pricing of upcoming hardware. Multiple local VR hardware manufacturers, alongside several foreign competitors, also revealed their latest devices, with the lowest-priced unit set at just $799. Compared with earlier VR models, often priced at 1,000 or 2,000 dollars, this was a dramatic reduction.
At the same time, telecommunications giants declared that 5G technology had matured and would soon usher the nation fully into the 5G era.
John wasn't sure what ripple effects this would have in other industries, but in gaming, the impact was immediate. The combination of lower VR hardware prices and improved network infrastructure prompted major game developers like Gemtechs, Moondustries, and Essence to roll out VR project announcements on the very same day.
While these companies had dabbled in VR before, it was mostly in the form of technical reserves or small-scale test runs. But now, with cost and network issues seemingly addressed, the two biggest obstacles holding VR back appear to have been lifted.
Media outlets wasted no time publishing bold headlines such as: "The Future of Gaming Belongs to VR."
The timing of this VR storm crushed the rising momentum of Epic Continent, developed by Power Storm and represented by Gain Capital. Online forums lit up with heated debates. Even inside Epic Continent's own player community, discussion of the game itself all but disappeared, replaced by speculation over whether VR would truly dominate the next generation of gaming.
Watching this unfold, Ansoft and Power Storm were left frustrated. Meanwhile, people from Moondustries' game department couldn't contain their satisfaction, smirking as VR news drowned out Epic Continent. Now you finally understand my pain!
"Ding ding ding…" Before John could respond to Luna, his phone buzzed loudly on the table.
Glancing at the screen, he saw the caller ID: Armani. It was clear the call was prompted by the same breaking news.
"Sir, did you see the latest updates?" Armani's voice came as soon as the call connected.
"About VR?" John lowered the phone slightly.
"If VR tech really has matured, this could be revolutionary," Armani replied firmly.
"But the key is whether it's truly ready." John shook his head, then gave a reluctant nod.
"I'll reach out to a few VR manufacturers, see if we can secure prototypes," Armani promised.
Meanwhile, the Big Three, Gemtechs, Moondustries, and Essence, were already moving ahead, leveraging their vast resources and early access to data. Yet for PixelPioneers Games, despite its solid financial standing, the company was nowhere near the scale of those titans who could afford to pour hundreds of millions into speculative projects. The only way to understand what VR truly offered was to test it firsthand.
The real question was whether the performance of this new generation of headsets could fully support demanding VR games. After all, VR and traditional gaming might both fall under the same category, but in practice, the differences were staggering: materials, resolution, frame rates, all demanding far more from developers. And even the most polished software couldn't compensate for weak hardware.
If these cheaper devices faltered under pressure, VR would once again be shelved as nothing more than "technical reserves." For industry behemoths like Gemtechs, investing in VR reserves was no major burden. But for John and the still-growing PixelPioneers Games, diving headfirst into a market not yet proven was a gamble too risky to justify.
Just as in the Cold War of old, the company's current size was not yet sufficient to stand toe-to-toe with the giants, especially when the supporting technology had not fully matured.