Just as netizens were watching with great interest, the video progress bar quickly reached the end. At that moment, a promotional poster for the game Counter-Strike popped up.
The poster featured phrases like "First-Person Shooter Battle" and "Realistic Battlefield Experience." It also included a highly immersive image of a standoff between "terrorists and counter-terrorists," making it incredibly enticing for anyone to play.
When it comes to new media soft advertising, no one is more experienced than Mavi. After all, in his previous life, the internet was flooded with ads—pop-ups while watching videos, ads when downloading resources, and sometimes even being forced to watch a three-second ad just to open an app…
But there was no denying that Mavi's promotional strategy was highly effective. Very quickly, many netizens flooded the comment section, asking where they could buy the game and why they couldn't find it online.
"Streamer, where can I buy the Counter-Strike game you recommended? I can't find it anywhere!"
"The game is probably still in the promotion phase and hasn't been released yet. But man, that scene where the tank gets blown up was amazing! I've rewatched it 40 times!"
...
Just two hours after Mavi's C4 Explosion video was uploaded, it had already garnered over a thousand comments and more than 30,000 views. Compared to the American rich kids who had copied his video style, Mavi's content was at least a hundred times more popular! Many people were green with envy just watching it...
Two Days Later
Blizzard's president, Mike, called Mavi to inform him that the pre-sale website was almost ready.
"Chairman Mavi, the pre-sale page for Counter-Strike is in its final testing phase. It should be officially available by 8 PM the day after tomorrow."
"Got it," Mavi replied lazily, lying on his sofa.
With 200,000 game CDK (CD keys) priced at $28 each, the pre-sale alone would generate a whopping $5.6 million—all before the game was even completed! And once the game officially launched, the profits would only skyrocket further.
Moreover, Mavi wasn't worried about selling out. After all, Counter-Strike had been a phenomenal success in its original timeline, selling over three million copies! Back then, you could walk into any internet café and see a crowd of people playing CS.
Aside from its enjoyable gameplay, another reason for its success was the lack of good games in the year 2000. There simply weren't many fun options available.
"Chairman Mavi, don't you think 200,000 copies might be... too much?" Blizzard's president, Mike, was not a reincarnator like Mavi. Given Blizzard's struggles in recent years, he lacked confidence.
"Stick with this number. It might not even be enough," Mavi said, speaking through his satellite phone.
In this life, he had truly made a name for himself. Instead of envying rich kids back in China like in his previous life, he had become someone even those rich kids envied.
Following Mavi's instructions, Mike proceeded with the pre-sale strategy. That same day, the pre-sale website went live, featuring various Counter-Strike videos and promotional materials on Blizzard's official site for players to browse. However, actual pre-orders would not begin until 8 PM two days later.
Surprisingly, the first people to take notice of the Counter-Strike pre-sale site weren't the players, but gaming industry news media and rival game companies.
Among them was Blizzard's former parent company, Vivendi. After Blizzard was acquired by Mavi, Vivendi had been keeping a close eye on the company's developments. This was typical behavior for investors—just like how exes often keep tabs on each other's lives after a breakup.
Inside the Vivendi chairman's office, CEO Adrian sat in a finely tailored black suit, leisurely sipping a freshly brewed cup of coffee prepared by his secretary while reviewing industry reports.
Adrian was a born opportunist. He had a habit of dipping his hands into every industry, using his wealth to acquire promising startups, then ruthlessly exploiting them until they had nothing left to give.
At over 50 years old, Adrian had a sharp, calculating appearance—a man who never let himself be taken advantage of.
As he skimmed through the reports, a particular line suddenly caught his eye.
It was news about Blizzard, the company they had sold off just weeks ago, now launching the pre-sale of a new game.
200,000 copies of Counter-Strike CDK, priced at $28 each, with a total revenue projection of $5.6 million—which was half the amount they had sold Blizzard for.
Upon reading this, Adrian abruptly set down his coffee and turned to his French secretary.
"Go call Leon to my office!"
As a self-absorbed opportunist, Adrian couldn't stomach the thought of a company he had deemed worthless suddenly turning into a goldmine in someone else's hands.
Out of pride and ego, he couldn't bear to see the company he sold thriving under new ownership. Worse yet, he began to suspect that Blizzard's team had secretly developed this FPS game but deliberately hid it from him—only to unleash it once the company was sold.
Five Minutes Later
Vice President Leon entered the office, completely unaware of what was happening.
Without a word, Adrian tossed the industry report onto his desk.
"Take a look! What the hell is going on at Blizzard?"
Confused, Leon picked up the document and quickly understood why he had been called in.
"...Uh, Chairman, when I conducted on-site investigations at Blizzard, they were working on two game projects. Neither of them was called Counter-Strike, nor did they involve first-person shooter gameplay."
Leon was just as caught off guard as Adrian. He had never expected Blizzard to pull off such a dramatic turnaround in such a short time.
"You think selling Blizzard was a mistake?" Adrian asked, rubbing his temples in frustration. If Blizzard managed to bounce back under new ownership, it would be a direct slap in the face—his face.
"I don't think so," Leon replied cautiously. "Blizzard's performance had been declining for the past two years. Their creativity and development capabilities had deteriorated significantly. That was the unanimous assessment of the board."
Leon paused for a moment before continuing, "This pre-sale move might just be their last-ditch effort to survive. And honestly, who would pay money upfront for a game with no proven quality? Right, Chairman?"
Whenever a new concept emerges, there are always supporters and skeptics.
From Vivendi's perspective, they were the ones least interested in seeing Blizzard succeed.