Yuki Kamikawa's jaw dropped. Her spur-of-the-moment idea for Miles Upshur in P.T. had sparked Gus Harper's vision for a full game—Outlast. She glanced at Muneki Sato, who mirrored her shock. As P.T.'s core creators, they felt the weight of Gus's genius.
Gus explained: if Outlast succeeded, Miles would anchor WindyPeak's horror brand, weaving into future titles. He outlined the plan, assigned tasks, and asked, "Any questions?"
The team, buzzing with confidence, vowed to crush Komina. Only Sato hesitated, raising his hand. "Director, what's the budget for Outlast?"
As a seasoned planner, Sato knew budgets drove planning—balancing cost and visuals. Gus hadn't mentioned it, nor had Jonah York, the planning lead. Had they forgotten?
The room froze, then erupted in laughter. Sato blinked, confused. Even Gus chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Sato stammered.
"Nothing," Jonah said, patting his shoulder. "In most companies, it's a serious question."
"So, WindyPeak's different?" Sato asked.
"Damn right," Jake Rivers grinned. "We don't do budgets."
Sato's jaw dropped. Yuki looked stunned. "No plan?"
"Exactly," Gus said. "How much do you think Outlast on IndieVibe X2 needs?"
"Thirty million? Fifty?" Yuki guessed, looking at Sato.
"More," Sato said. "P.T. cost $3 million. Komina's Silent Hill will run $100–140 million, with heavy outsourcing—$1.5–2 million alone. To match them, we'd need $60–80 million."
Gus nodded, thoughtful. "$100 million's too low. IndieVibe X2's full sensory tech demands big spending. We're short-staffed, so outsourcing's a must—pricey, since they miss our bonuses. Plus, Zoey wants a simultaneous launch with Silent Hill. We don't know their timeline, so we rush, piling on overtime and outsourcing costs."
Sato frowned. Quality and speed cost money. Even with lower U.S. salaries, matching Komina meant at least $100 million.
"So?" Sato pressed.
Gus shrugged. "Spend what it takes. I'm too lazy to count pennies. We've got $675 million in the bank. Worst case, we don't go bust. Just make the game."
Sato nearly choked. Spend what it takes? What kind of budget was that?
Laughter filled the room. Jonah chuckled. "Zoey's rule: make the best game possible. Money's secondary. We're a gaming company."
Sato's scalp tingled. A studio prioritizing quality over budgets? Zoey Parker, beneath her youthful vibe, burned with passion for games, trusting her team completely. No wonder WindyPeak churned out hits like PUBG ($50M), Titanfall ($170M), and P.T. ($3M). Her vision fueled their fire.
"Sick…" Sato nodded, eyes blazing. Joining WindyPeak was his best move. His passion, dulled at Komina, reignited.
"Alright!" Gus clapped. "Outlast is greenlit. Let's roll!"
WindyPeak's Outlast and Komina's Silent Hill kicked off silently. Komina delayed announcements to milk P.T.'s hype. WindyPeak developed in secret to avoid Komina's interference. An arms race began.
Players, however, weren't quiet. A week after the Tokyo International Game Festival, X buzzed with demands for a Silent Hill sequel. "Why no co-development news?" "Did they split?" "Is WindyPeak shelving it?" "Did Komina ditch Sam Harper?"
Speculation exploded. Then, a #SilentHill post dropped a bomb: "Komina's developing Silent Hill solo, Tsuna Yamamoto directing. Sam Harper's out—Komina's hogging the IP. Two P.T. leads, planner and artist, jumped to WindyPeak."
The post, buried in noise, gained traction when Tetsuya Moriya, Komina's managing director, liked it. He unliked it a minute later, but screenshots spread. Hours later, Pew, with 89 million Twitch followers, confirmed it with a Komina insider. "Yuki and Sato joined WindyPeak," the insider said.
Silence. Then, Pew's stream lit up with a bold message: Fxxk Komina.