As the Microsoft showcase began, Ichin minimized his webcam feed and placed it in the bottom right corner of the stream, ensuring that viewers could fully focus on the event.
Unlike the disaster-ridden world Ichin remembered from before his transmigration, this world was much more stable. As a result, Gamescom was just as packed as ever, with waves of people flooding the venue. The audience and media filled the seats, creating an electric atmosphere.
Once the opening orchestral performance concluded, the host took the stage, marking the official start of the event.
While the host delivered their introduction, Ichin provided a real-time translation for the audience, occasionally glancing at the chat.
"Huh? I see someone asking why our studio isn't attending in person?"
Ichin thought for a moment before replying, "Well, even though we have around a dozen members now, we're still a small indie studio. We don't have the resources to just waltz into an event as massive as Gamescom. Besides, do you guys think you can just show up and participate? The costs for attending, setting up a booth, and everything else are enormous. I'd rather put that money toward developing new games—maybe hire some famous voice actors or collaborate with well-known composers instead. Anyway, now that we've found a publishing partner, we don't have to worry about exhibiting. Our job is simply to make great games. Once we grow bigger, we can attend these events in the future. Alright, enough talking—let's focus, the showcase is starting!"
The first game on screen was one everyone was familiar with—Dying Light 2.
After the title reveal, the developers of Dying Light 2 gave an introduction, and as expected, Ichin translated for his viewers since the stream itself didn't provide subtitles.
"Ah, Dying Light, huh? The first game was fantastic. The first-person parkour system was really unique."
Ichin turned to Aoba and Shinoda beside him. "Have you two played it?"
Shinoda's eyes lit up. "Of course! I've beaten it twice!"
Aoba, however, looked less enthusiastic. "I get motion sickness from 3D games. First-person games are the worst… and this one is all about parkour. I've tried to play it multiple times, but I can never last more than thirty minutes before feeling sick."
Once the chat picked up on Aoba's comment, someone translated it, leading to a wave of agreement from viewers.
It was trueDying Light was undeniably a fantastic game, but first-person motion sickness was a real issue for many players. Unfortunately, this meant a portion of gamers never got to fully experience it.
A real shame.
Soon, the showcase moved on to Dying Light 2's gameplay demo. Now that the industry had entered the next-gen era, the graphics had improved significantly. Everything from environmental details to lighting effects had been taken to a whole new level.
Seeing the stunning visuals, Shinoda couldn't contain her excitement. "This comes out in December, right? I'm definitely buying it!"
Ichin smirked. "You still have money left for games? Didn't you spend everything on figurines?"
Shinoda waved a hand dismissively. "I can make it work! Worst case, I'll just use your Steam account and play for free!"
"You're unbelievably shameless."
Meanwhile, the chat erupted with doubt about Ichin's authority as the "boss" of the studio.
Ichin simply spread his hands and laughed. "You guys just don't get it. This kind of work environment is actually pretty nice. Sure, I'm the boss, but I'm also hands-on with development every day. I'm not one of those executives who just throws out random ideas and expects them to work. Every upcoming game announcement? I personally handled the planning. And honestly, when you work in an office full of talented and beautiful women, your mood naturally stays pretty great."
"Damn, that's a flex if I've ever seen one."
"Wait, are all your employees actually women?"
"Bro's running a real-life Kingdom of Women?!"
As much as the chat didn't want to admit it, given the people they'd already seen on stream, it was highly likely that the rest of the team was just as stunning.
Scanning through the flood of chat messages, Ichin couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
Then, he suddenly felt a light poke at his waist.
Turning to look, he found Utaha squinting at him. "Feeling proud of yourself?"
"Of course, I am."
Raising an eyebrow, Ichin grabbed Utaha's small hand and smirked. "I love seeing these salty internet comments. It's hilarious."
Instantly, the stream chat was flooded with a wall of "???"
---
The Dying Light 2 gameplay showcase had undoubtedly fueled the audience's excitement. But up next was a game that had already been released—Microsoft Flight Simulator.
How should one describe this game? Its realism was off the charts. Flying a plane across a near-perfect simulation of Earth gave players an experience so immersive that it felt like they were truly soaring above breathtaking landscapes.
However, this level of realism came at a cost.
The system requirements were insanely high.
Sure, Microsoft provided a minimum spec requirement, but let's be real—those specs were just for show. If you wanted a smooth and immersive experience, the minimum settings wouldn't cut it. No matter how much you tweaked the in-game options, you'd still struggle.
Ichin owned the game himself, but after downloading it and playing for a short while, he lost interest.
Sure, the graphics were stunning, and with his PC specs, he could run it at 2K resolution without a hitch. But the game was just too realistic—to the point where sightseeing was the only real fun.
If he was going to play a flying game, he'd much rather go for Ace Combat.
---
After the visually impressive but somewhat monotonous Microsoft Flight Simulator, the showcase moved on to a long-standing franchise's latest entry—Age of Empires IV.
Real-time strategy (RTS) games had lost much of their mainstream appeal in recent years. However, Age of Empires still held a special place in the hearts of old-school gamers.
Ichin had played the previous titles before, especially Age of Empires II, which had completely hooked him as a kid.
At the end of the trailer, the release date for Age of Empires IV was revealed—October 28th.
"October, huh? Just two months away. This one's definitely a must-play."
Hearing Ichin's excitement, Utaha chuckled. "A historical game? You're probably the only one in the studio who'd be into that."
"Yeah, pretty much."
After spending so much time together, Ichin had never once seen anyone in the studio play or even discuss RTS games.
Following Age of Empires IV, the showcase moved on to a montage featuring over a dozen indie titles and then some new content for Sea of Thieves.
While real-time, in-person showcases had their appeal, they also had a major downside—they dragged on forever.
Fortunately, the stream chat was full of entertaining trolls, and Ichin could pass the time joking around with them.
And then, finally—after what felt like an eternity—it was time.
The latest news on Forza Horizon 5 was here.
...
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