Chapter 461: Snatching Food from a Tiger's Mouth

Establishing an overseas branch for our guild in the US.
How insane, and how exciting!
Although the servers are different, theoretically, players in China could use a VPN to access the North American server and play together.
However, the latency is so high it feels like bullet time, making it practically suicide missions for high-difficulty raids – a terrible experience.
Therefore, establishing a guild branch in the US, allowing our brothers there to enjoy the game smoothly, is the most considerate way to care for our guild members!
“Besides, even if we can't fight bosses together, just logging on, saying hello, chatting in the guild channel, and seeing each other is part of the fun of online gaming.”
Huang Fengwen sighed.
“To be honest, those old guys in our guild, they're getting old now. How many of them are still thinking about fighting all the time?
Don't they just log on, find a place to sit, chat for hours about everything under the sun, do some quests, grind monsters, and then log off contentedly to sleep?”
“Okay, leave this to me. I'll come up with a detailed plan.”
“Are you sure you can handle it? You're busy enough with work.”
“No problem! And don't you think this is interesting?” Su Hao laughed.
“I can't wait to see what kind of interesting expression Minister Henderson will have when he hears this news.”
There's always a mysterious, unspoken understanding between players.
It's a mysterious connection, a "love at first sight" feeling, a bond that transcends identity, status, and national borders.
Moreover, the fact that it allows those overwhelmed social elites to find moments of solace and healing in the virtual world is itself the ultimate meaning of the Sanyi Guild's existence!
"By the way," Huang Fengwen's tone shifted, becoming serious,
"That 'Storm Entertainment,' those bastards, what kind of crap are they running? It's getting more and more outrageous!"
Storm Entertainment is the developer and operator of *Beast World*, a top-three global gaming giant with countless blockbuster titles.
"Back then, didn't they make *Overwatch*? It was incredibly popular!"
"That's seven or eight years ago, bro." Su Hao sighed helplessly.
The sudden emergence of *Overwatch* did indeed elevate Storm Entertainment to legendary status.
But then, with a series of disastrous operational mistakes, they single-handedly killed this phenomenal game. Their self-destructive tendencies were so extreme they could be included in business school failure case studies.
"Is it because the company went downhill after that?
I feel the servers are much laggy than before, constantly disconnecting. Playing now feels like playing a team battle on a PowerPoint presentation. It's fucking weird."
"Sigh, you're right," Su Hao sighed. "Actually, Storm Entertainment is indeed facing serious operational difficulties and is searching the world for a buyer."
"Holy crap! It really is?!" Huang Fengwen's anger flared up instantly.
"I was wondering why their operations have been so awful lately. They haven't even bothered to release DLC, no new events, or even fix bugs. It's like these bastards are planning to run away with the money and completely abandon the game!"
While *Beast World* is old, with proper management, it could easily last another ten years.
But that requires constant content updates, optimizations, and incentivized events to attract new players.
Right now, Stormy Entertainment is doing nothing, acting like a "take it or leave it" kind of person.
They're basically treating this cash cow like firewood, completely abandoning their business.
"Who wants to buy them?"
"They're still looking for a buyer; nothing's really happening yet.
But the rumor is that Microsoft is the most likely acquirer."
"Microsoft? They're probably trying to acquire Stormy Game for their own game console business, right?"
"Most likely."
Microsoft has been aggressively acquiring third-party game studios to increase its market share for its game consoles.
They certainly wouldn't let Stormy Game, with its numerous top-tier IPs, slip by.
However, there hasn't been any substantial progress on this.
"I suspect Microsoft is trying to take advantage of the situation, deliberately delaying, hoping to buy them at the lowest possible price," Su Hao analyzed.
"First, weaken the torrential rain, then pick it up at rock-bottom prices when it's almost dead?"
"Yes, that's the strategy."
"What about the games we're still playing?
During this time, aren't we players just cannon fodder?!
Even if they eventually acquire it, do those console game developers even care about our outdated PC online games?
They'll just use us as pawns and use all their resources to make their console exclusives!"
Huang Fengwen became increasingly angry as he spoke.
"Very likely. That's why our gaming experience is getting worse every day. It's already half-dead."
"These...these damned bastards!"
Huang Fengwen was furious; Su Hao could feel his raging anger even through the phone.
"Ugh... these bastards! If you develop a game, you have to be responsible for it!
What kind of nonsense is this?!
It's infuriating! I really want to... wipe them all out!"
"...?"
At that very moment.
Huang Fengwen's unintentional angry remark jolted Su Hao's intuition!
"Brother Huang, what exactly do you mean by 'wipe them all out'?
"Hmm? What else could it be? Of course...
From the director to every single employee, fire them all!
Replace them with a group of people who truly understand and love games, and let the game be reborn!"
This time, a chaotic thought shattered in Su Hao's mind, illuminating a crazy yet feasible direction.
"To achieve this... there's probably only one way," Su Hao said, emphasizing each word, "We'll buy it!"
"Buy it? Didn't you say Microsoft was in talks? Ah... wait, you mean..."
Huang Fengwen wasn't stupid; he instantly understood Su Hao's subtext.
"You mean...we'll stab them in the back and steal it from them?"
That's right, snatch it from the jaws of death!
We'll storm into their negotiations, overturn the table, and snatch Stormwater from the jaws of Microsoft!