Game development begins with destroying Girls' Frontline.

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Normally, Steam employees would sit here in a rather comfortable manner.

Let's discuss the new technology together.

New plan.

Let's spark a flame.

Making money while drinking coffee and chatting.

This is not a joke.

but facts.

It's important to know that this was before the emergence of the Spark platform and EPIC.

For a long time, Steam actually had no competitors.

Steam employees are inherently unfamiliar with competition, especially platform competition.

Even when Aldrich proposed the "fire, fire, fire" plan, their reaction was the same as before.

Follow the steps, complete the plan, and finally release the plan.

The entire marketing plan, from top to bottom.

Including Aldridge.

They didn't consider that Spark would react immediately.

If we haven't considered it, then it's even less likely that we'll make contingency plans.

On another note, after Spark was completely unprepared and suffered a setback, how will Steam reduce costs and guide Chinese players to spend money?

They've done a lot of work on plans to eventually achieve overall revenue balance.

It was precisely because we were completely unprepared.

So, when Xinghuo slapped him back almost instantly.

The entire Steam platform was completely frozen in place.

Aldridge looked at the data in his hand.

His face was as still as water.

"Spark is willing to harm itself to stop our attack."

When information is inaccurate.

The conclusions drawn are often wrong.

Aldridge's first reaction upon seeing Spark immediately offer an 8% discount coupon was that the other party was overreacting.

At the same time, it was incredible that Xinghuo could make such a decision in such a short time.

Use yourself to save others.

One member of Steam's decision-making team expressed this sentiment.

"Are they really not planning to make money?"

"Yes, it's obvious that they reacted after we had already started the campaign."

"Are their platform vendors just going to let Spark run rampant?"

"No, information indicates that with this 8% discount, the developer only needs to bear less than half the cost, and Xinghuo will waive its commission..."

"Just give up the commission?"

A group of people were talking at once, making the scene very lively. Normally, Aldridge would find this kind of discussion very enjoyable.

It can gather wisdom from all sources.

But today, he found these people rather noisy.

He doesn't actually need any information; with just a simple deduction, it's easy to conclude that he wants to offer an 8% discount instantly.

There is only one way.

That means Xinghuo will bear most of the costs, while the developer will bear a small portion.

This is the only mode.

Only then can a 8% discount coupon be offered across the entire platform.

Otherwise, why would the developers play this game with your platform?

Knowing that Spark operates on this model, Steam chose an equivalent 8% discount coupon, which is also why Steam was certain that Spark wouldn't follow suit.

If Spark follows suit, then every game they sell will generate no revenue.

"That's not how you fight a war!"

Aldridge sighed.

Then silence fell.

Once the leader fell silent, the rest of the people also stopped talking.

After a long while, a voice finally broke the silence.

"Boss, should we continue this price war with Spark?"

Aldridge glanced at him.

"Fight? With what?"

"We can continue this process and offer a 75% discount coupon..."

Aldridge sighed.

"Yes, we can also offer 75% off coupons, even without making a profit."

When it comes to price wars, Steam really has more leverage than Spark.

Because Steam takes a higher percentage of revenue, generally 30%, with a few exceptions at 20%.

This means that if Steam completely abandons the theory...

There's no need for coupons like "spend 10 get 2 off," you can just go for 75% off, or even 7% off.

but.

If we do that, Steam won't make any money.

Spark's platform size and the fact that its main revenue is not generated on the platform.

To put it bluntly.

Currently, Spark has announced that the Spark platform will take 0% commission, and Spark can sustain itself for a long time by relying on the revenue from both mobile games.

In addition, all the games participating in this discount event are single-player games, while a large portion of Spark's commission is taken from service-based games.

Conversely, Steam's main revenue comes from the platform itself.

Besides the platform, CS and DOTA2 also generate revenue, but given the scale of the Steam platform, they don't account for much.

If a price war really breaks out between Steam and Spark, it will be Steam that can't sustain it first.

This is very uncomfortable.

It's painful as it is.

Steam is now back on the brink of collapse.

"Just to confirm, our event page indicates it's a $2 million coupon promotion, right?"

After pondering for a while, Aldrich suddenly asked this question.

The attendees were somewhat puzzled.

But some people still answered.

"Yes, boss."

After hearing this, Aldridge suddenly chuckled softly.

Good wine brings joy to the heart.

This is an Italian proverb, where "good wine" can be used as a metaphor for a good opportunity or environment.

After sighing.

Aldridge began having his subordinates prepare 75% off coupons.

If we look at it from the perspective of a long-term price war.

It's indeed difficult for Steam to maintain a long-term discount.

However, if we look at it now, Steam can still compete with Spark, since it still has a $2 million budget left.

Get it discounted to 75% first.

We'll make other plans once the reserves are depleted.

Moreover, if Xinghuo follows suit after the 75% discount, he can offer a 7% discount in a short period of time. It all depends on whether Xinghuo dares to follow.

Ultimately, Steam's 7% discount simply means they're not making a profit.

Spark's 7% discount means they're losing money.

Soon after, Steam updated the promotion, replacing the previous coupons of 2 off for every 10 spent with 2 off for every 8 spent. Compared to that, there are also coupons of 4 off for every 16 spent and 6 off for every 24 spent.

They also launched a rare coupon offering $10 off purchases of $20 or more.

They took some measures and lowered the coupon discount to 75%.

However, it's actually quite difficult for players to exactly reach that number, and getting a large amount of coupons also requires some luck.

Therefore, Steam's costs were not actually reduced by 75%.

Aldridge's move.

This has once again shaken the gaming industry.

At this time, domestic and international players and media...

The term "subsidy war" has already begun to describe the sudden surge in subsidies offered by the two platforms.

Some media outlets have even cited the aggressive subsidies offered by ride-hailing apps in the past to explain this current battle between the two sides.

Chapter 201: EPIC is on! EPIC has fallen!

For gamers, they are just like the enthusiasts of ride-hailing subsidies back then: they choose whichever company offers the biggest discount.

soon.

Steam's sales curve has begun to rebound.

And not long after that.

Steam also unusually released posters on various promotional platforms, announcing that their two-day event had generated over $1.4 million in sales.

This data directly led many European and American media outlets to proclaim the coming of Jesus.

IGN commented on this.

"Steam's rich history and vast game library are their best weapons for creating a new era platform."

On the PC GAME website, there are also many professional editors.

When describing this platform subsidy war, they clearly see Steam more in mind.

The reason is simple.

Firstly, Steam is a traditional gaming platform; secondly, there are the advantages Steam offers.

Clearly, more than one person has realized that Steam's high commission rates help the platform to provide subsidies.

Looking at this series of news reports.

Aldridge's furrowed brows relaxed considerably. Players still rely on Steam; after so many years of development, not just any random platform can take advantage of it.

However, soon.

His relaxed heart was gripped with anxiety again.