Although Ichin and Ruri were both skilled players, they still couldn't hold out under the crossfire of two enemy squads. After downing two opponents, both of them were knocked out in succession — joining Eriri in becoming loot boxes on the ground.
"Ahhh! We died just like that?!" Eriri wailed through the headset.
Ichin chuckled. "Landing and dying instantly — that's normal. You've gotta be mentally prepared for that kind of thing in games like this. Let's spectate a bit; watching how others play can be useful too."
Since only one 60-player match slot was open for this internal test, they couldn't start a new game yet. So, Ichin's squad switched to spectator mode.
Coincidentally, one of the two squads that had dropped with them at the Airbase happened to be Umiko's team — made up of Umiko, Sakura Nene, and Aoba. Ichin decided to spectate Umiko's squad directly.
After watching for about ten minutes, Ichin couldn't help but sigh.
"As expected of Umiko — her aim and awareness are both top-tier."
Ruri nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's really good."
Eriri muttered under her breath, "If I had better gear, I could've done the same."
Ichin and Utaha silently ignored her comment.
As time went on, the number of players left on the map kept dwindling. By the time the third ring closed, only four full trio and one duo remained.
When multiple teams converged around a supply drop, nobody backed off — a massive showdown erupted right there.
After an intense fight, both Nene and Aoba were downed, leaving only Umiko standing. Wielding a Mastiff shotgun looted from the drop, she managed to clutch a 1v2 reversal and secured the win.
That first round gave everyone a solid feel for the game. The moment it ended, people were impatient to start the second match.
Some were already chatting with their teammates about grinding ranked once the game released.
PUBG's player base had remained huge in recent years, but now that their own studio was developing a similar game — and one with equal or even higher quality — it was only natural that everyone wanted to support Apex.
From morning until late afternoon, the entire day was devoted to Apex internal testing. The office was full of shouting, laughter, and chaos — no one wanted to stop. It wasn't until 6 p.m. that the session finally ended, after which everyone decided to have dinner together in the company cafeteria.
After ordering her food, Eriri came over to Ichin's table.
At the long table sat Ichin, Utaha, Aoba, and the others.
Taking a seat, Eriri said, "You know, even though it was just a test, there weren't really any major bugs. It was actually super fun! Ichin, once Apex launches, how about organizing some regular offline tournaments within the company?"
"Hm? Internal competitions?" Ichin raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "That's actually a pretty good idea. We could definitely make it a regular thing — everyone here loves games, and it'd be easy to organize. As for prizes, we don't even need cash — just stuff like limited-edition games, gaming gear, or PC parts like graphics cards."
The idea made sense.
Even though everyone worked with passion, long hours could wear people down. Hosting casual tournaments like Eriri suggested would be a great way to relieve stress and build camaraderie.
Outdoor activities, on the other hand, weren't very realistic — hardly anyone at the company exercised regularly. It'd be more practical to just encourage them to use the company gym once in a while.
Between bites of his burger, Kō Yagami said thoughtfully, "But if it's only Apex, won't that be a bit limiting?"
"That's easy to fix," Ichin laughed. "It doesn't have to be just our own games. For shooters, we'll use Apex. For sports games, we can do FIFA or NBA 2K. For fighting games, Tekken, Street Fighter, King of Fighters, or even Super Smash Bros. would work. Racing games too — Mario Kart, for example."
When it came to picking games for tournaments, the possibilities were endless.
"Ooh! Mario Kart!" Eriri cheered, raising her chopsticks. "I vote yes! I'm super strong at that one!"
"I think a King of Fighters or Street Fighter tournament sounds great," Ruri said seriously while sipping her vegetable soup. "It's been ages since I last competed in a fighting game."
Not to be outdone, Kirino Kousaka chimed in, "Yeah! Fighting games! I've been practicing seriously — I can totally beat you this time, Kuroneko!"
As the table grew louder, nearby employees overheard the conversation and eagerly joined in the discussion, voices buzzing with excitement.
Seeing how lively everyone was, Ichin made up his mind — the company would hold these offline tournaments once every quarter.
Four times a year, each time featuring one or two different games.
He recalled that a few years ago, several Chinese tech companies had organized an industry-wide Dota 2 tournament, which reignited the community's enthusiasm for the game.
While Dota — or MOBA titles in general — weren't that popular in Japan, Ichin figured they could do something similar with other genres.
If multiple game studios collaborated on such an event, it would definitely be a lot of fun.
Normally, game developers make games for players to play — but if the developers themselves became the competitors? That'd be something fans wouldn't stop talking about.
The more Ichin thought about it, the more excited he became. He immediately shared his idea with everyone.
Hazuki smiled. "You really do dream big, huh? But honestly, it's worth a try. Maybe not this year — time's a bit tight — but you could start by reaching out to a few studios, see who's interested. And later, we could even livestream the matches, bring in some professional commentators."
Kō added enthusiastically, "Oh! And how about putting developers up against top-tier pro gamers?"
"…Right." Ichin's lips twitched as he looked at her. "Good idea, Kō. In fact, maybe I'll invite one of the top Dark Souls PvP players to have a little match with you sometime?"
"Uh—right, almost forgot we're game developers too. Heh… pretend I didn't say anything."
Kō shrank back into her seat and went back to eating quietly.
In any case, that casual dinner conversation sparked something in Ichin's mind.
His urge to make it happen grew stronger than ever — but he knew he couldn't act on it just yet.
First, he needed to finish developing the Dark Souls DLC, then launch Apex smoothly.
After that, he could finally turn his attention to these new plans.
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