Parallel World Game Developer

Chapter 39: Chapter #39: A Seat at the Table

It was nowhere near midnight in the region where Ivan was currently based, Ivan was currently sitting at his dining table, enjoying a late, delicious lunch.

He clicked on the media files Carter had forwarded to his personal phone.

The attachment contained the fully edited video package narrated by Irina Jelavic, alongside a high-definition, uncompressed version of the concept art pulled directly from the journalist’s social media accounts.

Viewing the raw image was far more striking than watching the compressed video. The granular details that had been blurred in the broadcast were now terrifyingly crisp.

The gothic city illuminated by the pale moonlight felt completely desolate, yet the pitch-black streets and shadowy, unknown corners seemed to hide a horde of lurking beasts and unseen monsters.

It was impossible to grasp the full mechanical scope of a AAA game from a single piece of concept art. But just staring at the static image, Ivan could practically smell the stench of rot and plague bleeding through his screen.

The thick, rolling mist blanketing the city beneath the hazy moonlight looked exactly like a pervasive, suffocating sickness, heavily laced with an atmosphere of absolute fear and despair.

"Is this really the official concept art released by Nova?" Ivan asked, immediately redialing Carter’s number the second the video ended.

"According to him, this is the blueprint for his next major project," Carter replied, his voice ringing with an undeniable, uncontrollable sense of pride. Ethan Vale was the developer Carter had fiercely believed in from the absolute beginning, and his faith was being rewarded.

"I still have no way to accurately evaluate the actual gameplay loop of his next title, but the sheer atmospheric tension in this artwork is absolutely staggering!" Ivan admitted. His mind was entirely consumed by the haunting, moonlit cityscape, and he swore he could almost smell the coppery tang of thick blood in the air.

From just a single, isolated glimpse, he could perfectly visualize a sprawling, lost ancient capital that had entirely fallen from grace. It looked exactly like a cursed, decaying street slowly being choked to death by an endless epidemic.

"I told you so! The kid never misses. He will absolutely never let you down!" Carter laughed, a massive smile spreading across his face.

"I have to admit, I’m actually looking forward to our meeting now," Ivan nodded slowly. For the first time in years, the Xbox executive genuinely felt a spark of anticipation at the prospect of meeting a newcomer in the indie game production scene.

Ever since the concept art went viral, the entire global gaming community hadn’t stopped talking about Sprout Studio.

Because the indie team had flawlessly proven their brilliance time and time again, no one in the player base suspected them of faking the assets or over-promising on a vaporware project.

The internet was solely debating whether Nova could flawlessly execute a dark, gothic action-RPG of this scale.

Completely ignoring the chaotic debates raging on social media, Sprout Studio’s internal development pipeline was proceeding in a highly disciplined, orderly manner.

Currently, the studio is divided into two dedicated project teams: one focused entirely on finishing Hollow Knight, and the other laying the architectural groundwork for Bloodborne.

The moment Hollow Knight went gold, the entire workforce would be seamlessly shifted over to accelerate the production of Bloodborne.

"Good day, Mr. Vale, do you have any free time this upcoming Sunday? I want to introduce you to that friend of mine," Carter said over the phone, immediately reaching out to book an appointment with Ethan the second Ivan’s flight itinerary was confirmed.

"No problem at all. I’ve been looking forward to meeting this mysterious friend of yours," Ethan replied with a relaxed smile. Ethan was already fully aware of who Carter’s contact was.

Over their past few conversations, Carter had dropped plenty of hints about his high-level corporate buddy.

Within the upper echelons of the international gaming industry, Ivan was a highly famous, incredibly powerful executive.

Ethan knew exactly who he was, even if the Xbox CEO was only just now learning about the lead designer of Sprout Studio.

If this networking meeting went well, it would drastically accelerate the timeline for Ethan’s massive future plans.

As for the massive, supposedly catastrophic hardware and software integration issues Ivan was currently facing at Xbox?

In Ethan’s eyes, they weren’t major problems at all.

With the right software lineup, they could be effortlessly solved.

Sunday evening, five o’clock sharp, at the city’s most exclusive luxury hotel.

All three men were notoriously punctual, arriving at the private restaurant lobby at almost the exact same time.

Carter walked into the private dining room between the two of them, his face flushed with genuine excitement.

"Man, ever since I got stationed out in this region, it feels like forever since we actually sat down together," Carter laughed, gesturing with his hands as he mentally calculated the months he had spent away from global headquarters.

High-speed internet and digital video calls were incredibly convenient, but nothing could ever truly replace the feeling of sitting down and sharing a premium drink with an old friend in person.

The three of them followed the hostess into their reserved, soundproofed VIP booth, and the waitstaff seamlessly began to serve the first course of their expensive dinner.

"Alright, let’s do the formal introductions. Ivan, this is the brilliant developer I’ve been telling you about, Ethan Vale," Carter announced, excitedly gesturing toward Ethan.

"He’s also the man the global player base affectionately calls ’the sadist,’ and the black-hearted designer currently tormenting millions of gamers," Carter chuckled.

That single, infamous title alone was more than enough to demonstrate the sheer, twisted love the community had for Ethan.

"And Ethan, this is Ivan," Carter said, proudly gesturing toward the blonde executive. "He’s not just my oldest childhood friend; he is also the current acting CEO of the Xbox console division".

"Haha, but even though his corporate rank is technically higher than mine, his current job security is looking a lot worse than mine right now," Carter joked, unceremoniously throwing his friend under the bus.

After all, the bleak commercial situation surrounding the Xbox brand wasn’t exactly a well-kept industry secret.

"Carter, I’m not doing that miserably. Besides, the infrastructural problems existed long before I took over the division. It wasn’t my strategic planning that brought the console to the brink of death," Ivan replied with a dry smile, not bothering to deny the brutal reality of the market.

He looked calmly across the table at Ethan, carefully watching the young developer’s facial expression to gauge his reaction to the bleak corporate news.

How would this rising indie star react knowing that the Xbox CEO was actually in as much trouble as the internet rumors claimed?

Would he show disdain? Contempt?

But as the old saying goes, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse.

Microsoft wasn’t going bankrupt anytime soon.

To successfully launch the Xbox ecosystem, the parent corporation had willingly burned through over four billion dollars in initial losses.

They never hesitated to bleed cash to secure cutting-edge hardware specifications.

When it came to aggressively competing for third-party studio resources, they readily deployed massive financial subsidies to cover development costs and international advertising budgets.

So, the Xbox division wasn’t short on capital, and the brand wasn’t going to die. At absolute worst, Ivan was going to die.

If he failed, he would just be forced to step down, and the board would rotate in a brand-new CEO.

"Hello, it’s very nice to finally meet you," Ivan said, extending his right hand across the table toward Ethan.

Ethan smiled warmly and shook his hand. Scanning Ethan’s face, Ivan didn’t detect a single trace of impatience, arrogance, or any other negative corporate emotion.

"Hahaha, I’m just genuinely happy to be here. On one side, I have my oldest childhood friend, and on the other, my favorite new business partner," Carter laughed. Since he was the mutual bond between the two men, it was his job to break the ice and elevate the atmosphere in the room. "One of you is the CEO of Xbox, and the other is the ultimate dark horse of the global game production circle".

"Honestly, I keep wondering—if the two of you actually managed to collaborate, what kind of fireworks would that set off? It would absolutely stun the entire industry!" Carter rubbed his hands together excitedly.

His eyes darted rapidly between Ethan and Ivan, as if he could already feel the invisible, electric waves of corporate synergy radiating across the table.

"Carter has kept me highly updated on your studio’s explosive growth, and my internal team has carefully analyzed the performance metrics of the titles you’ve released so far," Ivan stated, shifting into a professional, businesslike register.

"Your games are undeniably excellent. We would be more than happy to list them on the Xbox digital storefront. However, our revenue split would have to remain the standard industry rate applied to all third-party publishers. I can’t offer you a specialized backdoor deal on the margins," Ivan nodded firmly, establishing his boundaries.

The astonishing global sales volume Sprout Studio commanded was more than enough proof that bringing Ethan’s titles to the Xbox ecosystem was pure profit with absolutely zero downside.

It was a flawless, mutually beneficial win-win scenario.

"Mr. Ivan," Ethan smiled, casually raising his head to lock eyes with the blonde executive sitting across from him.

"I’ve heard through the grapevine that your next-generation console is desperately lacking a flagship, system-selling masterpiece—a launch title powerful enough to stabilize your market share." Ethan leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the table.

"I want to negotiate for that exact spot."

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