"Komina?" Zoey Parker leaned back in her boss chair, picking up the fax from her desk, looking a bit surprised.
She knew Komina.
After all, they were a world-class digital entertainment giant spanning East and West.
Of course she'd heard of them.
In Asia, they were top dogs.
Zoey had only dug into this after jumping into gaming as WindyPeak's president.
Logically, a small fry like WindyPeak wasn't even on Komina's radar.
Zoey was puzzled why they'd reach out.
"It's for Gus," Chloe Quinn, reporting in, said.
Komina wanted Gus by name.
Zoey: …
Three seconds of silence.
Zoey gritted her teeth: "Those Komina folks won't quit! I'm calling Dad! This time, I'll…"
"They want to collaborate," Chloe cut in.
"…show 'em what a steal looks like!!!"
Zoey plopped back down.
"Chloe, finish next time?"
Chloe shrugged: "You cut me off."
"Fair…"
Zoey scratched her head, dropping the fax: "What kinda collab?"
Chloe flipped her notebook: "In two and a half months, early November, the Tokyo Game Fest—one of the big four international game expos—kicks off."
"507 devs worldwide are in, Japanese ones taking half the spots."
"And Komina, the local boss, is all-in."
"With somatosensory cabins blowing up in Asia, Komina's pushing 80% cabin games this year."
"They're set for shooters, racing, sports."
"But they wanna branch out."
"Like—"
…
"Horror games."
Two weeks ago.
Komina's Tokyo HQ boardroom.
Tetsuya Moriya, gaming division head, spoke: "The somatosensory cabin market's exploding."
"As a global leader in gaming and cabins, Komina's gotta own Tokyo Game Fest."
"Director Uesugi's got shooters, racing, sports locked."
"But let's push beyond—diversify our cabin lineup."
"We're all-in on cabins this time."
"So, I say we dip back into horror for cabins."
Execs exchanged glances, nodding.
"Moriya's got a point…"
"Horror and cabins vibe hard in Asia…"
"Fest's cabin-heavy. Horror fits."
"Right time…"
"Expands our portfolio…"
"But cabin horror flops hard—bad reviews, low interest. That's a hurdle…"
"We got no solid horror IP ready…"
As execs piled on the challenges, brows furrowed.
Komina's president, Keizo Kamikoshi, 58 and lean but tough, prioritized profits.
He ran Komina simple: Profitable projects get backed—cash, staff, the works. Losers? Cut fast.
Duds? Dumped, no mercy.
Horror? Komina tried five cabin horrors.
Two profited, one broke even, two tanked.
Investments high, overall loss.
Sunk cost, or bad luck?
Moriya dusted off an old plan for their fourth op.
Keizo skimmed the fax, eyeing Moriya: "You think this IP's got legs?"
"Not before," Moriya said.
"But now? Perfect timing."
"Oh?" Keizo raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Moriya pointed to the plan's keywords: "Adventure, horror, psychological fear."
Yup!
In this world!
Silent Hill, horror gaming's milestone, never launched!
By chance, it became a scrapped Komina project.
Moriya revived it because of those words—psychological fear!
As gaming head, Moriya tracked industry shifts.
Like WindyPeak's "psychological fear" revolution!
It matched the scrapped Silent Hill pitch!
"WindyPeak proved it works. Even with cabin horror slumping, they nailed critical and commercial wins."
Moriya flipped his notebook: "Based on data, WindyPeak's multiplayer horror Phasmophobia…"
"Broke even in a week, monthly profits doubled investment."
Moriya knew talk was cheap. Profits spoke to Keizo.
Horror from WindyPeak? They nailed it!
Psychological fear? WindyPeak pioneered it!
Profitable!
Keizo's eyes lit up, taking a breath: "That's the dev that snatched Asia's crown with $50 million, crushing rivals?"
"Yup," Moriya nodded.
"They tested it, succeeded. We can follow."
"Team with WindyPeak, bring their key guy as special Chief Game Director for—"
…
"Team with us? And want me as special guest director?" Gus smacked his lips in Zoey's office.
Komina's invite.
Tsk.
Gus was surprised.
WindyPeak's size and buzz shouldn't blip on a global giant like Komina's radar.
But after snatching Asia's crown against heavy hitters?
Maybe not so surprising.
Still…
Gus had a gut bias against Komina.
Not for any wrong—they hadn't crossed WindyPeak.
Just the name echoed a dev from his old life, "Ke"-surnamed, he wasn't fond of.
Unfair bias, like judging this world through past-life lenses.
Gus grinned, noncommittal.
"What terms?" Gus asked.
"Co-develop," Chloe said. "At November's Tokyo Game Fest, Komina's reviving an IP called Silent Hill for cabins…"
"Hold up," Gus cut in.
"Secretary Quinn, what IP?"
"Silent Hill," Chloe repeated.
"Komina says it's a shelved project. Dug it up—has psychological horror vibes."
"Why? Heard of it?"
Hiss!
Gus's heart raced!
Heard of it? More than!
In his old world, Silent Hill rivaled Resident Evil, a horror gaming milestone!
Here, it existed—but got axed!
Coincidence? Or fate?
Gus couldn't help chuckling.
If Komina hadn't canned it, psychological horror's crown wouldn't be his.
"Phasmophobia" wouldn't have claimed the throne.
Now!
Komina knocking, reviving Silent Hill, inviting WindyPeak to co-dev, with Gus as special Chief Game Director!
Them asking him for Silent Hill?
Players are in for a treat!
Time to show what real psychological horror is!
But!
It's Komina's IP, not WindyPeak's. Gus's bias lingered.
Details needed hashing before any deal.
Games? Sure.
But how? Think hard.