“GOG and IOI are actually merging?”

Zhu Xiaocai was somewhat shocked.

Fei Huang Studio had basically no business dealings with the GOG project team, so his information on such matters wasn’t very current.

Clearly, this was a big deal!

Actually, back when GOG and IOI were competing as the two giants, many netizens had proposed the idea of a “powerhouse merger,” but such ideas were just thoughtless, irresponsible nonsense. Industry insiders would slightly shake their heads at this, considering it completely unfeasible.

The reason was simple—the risks far outweighed the benefits!

The issue wasn’t whether it could be done, but to what extent it could be done, and what effect it would ultimately have.

From an artistic style perspective, although the two games had similar styles, there were also differences. How could they ensure that combining them would look natural and not feel forcibly stitched together?

From a technical perspective, the underlying architecture and hero mechanics were different. If IOI heroes were placed in GOG, would there be mechanical conflicts? Would strange bugs appear?

From a gameplay design perspective, with so many additional heroes at once, what about balance? How would incompatible hero mechanics be modified?

Problems were everywhere!

Solving these problems would require a great cost, and if not done well, it would seriously affect the players’ gaming experience.

From online player discussions, it was evident that while some players were cheering for Tenda’s greatness, more expressed worry and unease.

“Merge? Is that necessary? GOG is doing fine, why bring in the garbage game IOI?”

“Damn, IOI players are already few, are they trying to force us out?”

“Feels like they just want to consume IOI completely. Have they considered our thoughts? Don’t we IOI players have any rights?”

“We’ve been mocking and despising each other every day, and in the blink of an eye, both houses are about to collapse, forcing us to shelter together from the rain, this…”

Clearly, players from both sides weren’t particularly satisfied.

Because they despised each other!

For GOG players, IOI was clearly the defeated opponent, a lousy game made by foreigners. Many players had already left, and the servers were nearly dead. GOG was already fun enough now, so why let them merge in?

For IOI players, GOG might be impressive and had won, but IOI players just wanted their own small community. Now even their last haven was being dismantled? Forcibly merged into GOG? In such a merger, which would consume which was obvious, wasn’t it?

This was normal, after all, GOG and IOI players hadn’t spared each other from mockery before, each feeling they were higher on the contempt chain, incompatible with each other.

Now they suddenly discovered they were becoming one family?

This was too much!

The key was that there was no choice. If a separate new game called IOG or GOI was released, and players could voluntarily choose, then perhaps everyone would feel indifferent.

But a forced merger without consulting any players would naturally provoke resistance.

Zhu Xiaocai looked at Huang Sibo: “This…”

Clearly, such a thing seemed really unwise and somewhat rash.

But if Mr. Pei made this decision…

Huang Sibo shook his head: “I don’t know what Mr. Pei is thinking either, I can only say… perhaps Mr. Pei is very confident about this merger, so he’s willing to take such a big risk.”

“Looking at the bright side, if this merger is truly successful, satisfying both GOG and IOI players, then this new game will completely break through all barriers, fully capturing the entire MOBA game market, and eliminating any future threats…”

As Huang Sibo continued, his voice grew softer.

Because he also felt that the possibility of this happening wasn’t high, and it was a bit too idealistic.

“Anyway, let Mr. Pei and the GOG project team worry about the game issues,” Zhu Xiaocai didn’t pay much attention to this matter and continued to look at another topic discussed in the department head group: many of Tenda’s departments were under fierce attack!

Of course, the so-called attacks were commercial and the methods weren’t very complex—mainly price wars, customer poaching, astroturfing, and business model imitation.

Price wars were the best method, after all, for most customers, flashy activities weren’t appealing. The only factor that could provoke a strong reaction from most people was price.

Besides this, imitating business models was also important.

Because the reason many of Tenda’s industries had succeeded was that they used unique business models that clearly differentiated them from other similar industries in the market.

So, many companies were figuring out if they could copy the business models Tenda had pioneered in some industries.

For example, some gyms planned to launch “Burn the Boats Cards,” focusing on two directions: first, charging by visit; second, offering discounts for regular weekly gym attendance, making the same amount of money go further.

This model wasn’t completely identical to Tuoguan Fitness’s model, which was quite clever, since completely copying would both look bad and not fit these gyms’ actual situations.

Because Tuoguan Fitness could plan all members’ time and strictly control the number of people in the gym to not exceed its actual capacity.

But other gyms didn’t have this capability, as the traditional gym model was still focused on convincing people to get memberships without considering the gym’s actual capacity, cramming in as many people as possible regardless of the number.

Completely copying Tuoguan Fitness’s model had no feasibility at all.

But through the “Burn the Boats Card” model, they objectively achieved similar effects to Tuoguan Fitness.

Although pirated versions couldn’t beat the original, there were still price wars!

As long as the price seemed more economical than Tuoguan Fitness, it would attract groups that were very price-sensitive.

With business model imitation and price wars as the main strategies, supplemented by methods such as street promotion, flyer distribution, customer poaching, and astroturfing, it indeed caused a significant impact on Tenda’s industries.

And there was a crucial factor: many of Tenda’s industries were attacked almost simultaneously!

If it were just one industry, Tenda could handle it with ease.

When one area was in trouble, support would come from all directions!

With a slight coordination from other industries, the suppressed industry would be revitalized, and the enemy who initiated the price war would be the first to give in.

But with so many departments facing pressure, it was difficult to spare energy to take care of other departments.

In the department head group, messages were quickly flooding the screen, appearing chaotic.

It wasn’t that they were at a loss for solutions; on the contrary, each of them could think of several ways to counterattack.

Their problem was that they had methods but lacked resources and coordination!

Previously, when one department had trouble, other departments helped. After a brief discussion, with the core department taking the lead, a comprehensive plan would quickly emerge. Everyone performed their duties, and things naturally progressed.

But now, each department had its own needs. Which needs took priority? Which could be postponed? Which department’s problems should be solved first? Between two somewhat conflicting plans, which should be chosen?

All these required higher-level coordination.

So, these department heads were expressing their ideas in the group, arguing endlessly about who should go first and who should wait.

Huang Sibo found it strange and asked, “Shouldn’t such matters be directly handed to Mr. Pei for decisions? Your discussions seem too inefficient! It would be better to let Mr. Pei cut through the confusion, provide a timeline, and everyone could progress according to it.”

Xiao Peng from Slackin’ Internet Café replied: “You think we haven’t tried? We looked for him immediately! But we can’t find Mr. Pei!”

Huang Sibo was stunned: “That’s not right. Last Thursday, Mr. Pei was still having meetings with us and arranging new game matters. How can he not be found?”

Xiao Peng: “How would I know? But the fact is that he can’t be found. On Monday, several of us department heads went to Mr. Pei’s office, but he wasn’t there.”

“We also sent messages to Mr. Pei and even called, but there was no response at all.”

“We were worried, so we asked Assistant Xin, and then…”

Huang Sibo quickly asked: “And then what?”

Xiao Peng paused for a while before replying, seeming somewhat speechless: “Assistant Xin said Mr. Pei is in seclusion.”

Huang Sibo couldn’t help but show deep respect: “Seclusion? Is he in seclusion seeking a way to break through the impasse?”

Xiao Peng: “…I initially thought so too, but Assistant Xin said that Mr. Pei is in seclusion writing his graduation thesis.”

Huang Sibo stared at the chat on the screen, falling into a long silence.

Damn…

When he first heard that Mr. Pei was in seclusion, he thought it must be for something significant.

Indeed, many major events had occurred recently, such as the GOG and IOI merger, many large companies forming an “anti-Tenda alliance,” and the detailed design of games and movies…

If Mr. Pei went into seclusion for any of these matters, Huang Sibo wouldn’t have found it absurd.

But specifically for a graduation thesis?

What the hell was this?

Mr. Pei was so powerful that many people subconsciously forgot that he was still a senior college student.

But the problem was, with Mr. Pei’s abilities, wouldn’t a mere graduation thesis be something he could write casually, with ease?

Such a trivial matter required seclusion?

Moreover, with Mr. Pei’s current status and position, what if he dropped out of school? Would the CEO of such a giant company really care so much about an ordinary undergraduate degree certificate?

The whole thing seemed strange at every turn, quite absurd.

Huang Sibo was speechless and asked again: “Do you know how long Mr. Pei will be in seclusion?”

Xiao Peng: “According to Assistant Xin, at least until the 10th of next month. However… Assistant Xin also said that even in seclusion, Mr. Pei should still receive external information, just not frequently communicate with us.”

“But we must prepare for the worst-case scenario, which is not getting any help from Mr. Pei.”