Chapter 68: A Free Game?
Qiu Bin never expected such high sales figures. Why? Because the target audience for this game overlapped heavily with *Plants vs. Zombies*, and the loyal players of *Plants vs. Zombies* were all on Chen Mo’s side!
If there hadn’t been a bet between the two sides, it might not have mattered. But now that the bet was in place, even if those loyal *Plants vs. Zombies* players wanted to try *Spring Guardian*, they would definitely hold off until the second month to download it.
As a result, Qiu Bin had naturally lost a portion of his potential player base.
Fortunately, the distribution channels of Imperial Dynasty Interactive Entertainment were very powerful. With promotions on various recommended slots, *Spring Guardian* managed to attract many players who didn’t play *Plants vs. Zombies*. After accounting for these gains and losses, *Spring Guardian*’s final numbers ended up double those of *Plants vs. Zombies*.
Still, Qiu Bin didn’t dare claim victory just yet. He had to see what Chen Mo’s new game was like.
Soon, Qiu Bin found Chen Mo’s new game: *I Am MT*.
“So he’s really using the anime for promotion. But what about the gameplay? Can it truly recreate the vast world of the anime?”
With a hint of skepticism, Qiu Bin clicked the [Download] button.
“Huh? That’s not right!”
Qiu Bin froze.
Because he realized the game was free!
If it were a paid game, the button wouldn’t say [Download]; it would say [Purchase].
Chen Mo was betting on monthly revenue, and he made a free game?!
Qiu Bin was stunned. Was this even possible?
His assistant asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you so surprised?”
Qiu Bin’s face looked like he’d just seen a dog do something unspeakable. “Chen Mo’s new game is a free game! A free game!”
The assistant was also taken aback. “No way? If he releases a free game, then… the download numbers would go up, but he’s betting on monthly revenue, right?”
Qiu Bin frowned in thought. “If the game is free, the only way to make money is through ad placements or selling value-added services. But neither of those brings in big money!”
The assistant fell silent. To him, this made no sense!
Qiu Bin looked back at his phone screen in confusion, only to freeze again.
In the time it took to say a few sentences, the game had already finished downloading?
Qiu Bin opened it and saw the game was only about 170 MB. That wasn’t much bigger than *Plants vs. Zombies*!
*Spring Guardian* used high-definition art resources, and the entire installation package was nearly 400 MB—much larger than *I Am MT*.
Qiu Bin was shocked. With just 170 MB of resources, how was Chen Mo supposed to create the massive world from the anime? Was this a case of “selling dog meat under a sheep’s head”?
Filled with extreme doubt, Qiu Bin tapped the icon and started the game.
After *I Am MT* launched, even though it didn’t have the recommended slots of the Imperial Dynasty game platform, it still garnered plenty of attention.
Old players of *Plants vs. Zombies*, viewers of the *I Am MT* anime, and bystanders following the bet all became the first wave of players for *I Am MT*.
Some of these people came because of Chen Mo’s reputation from his previous game, some were drawn by the rich story background of the *I Am MT* anime, and others were just curious, looking for entertainment.
And they all ran into the same confusion as Qiu Bin.
The game was free?!
The game was only 170 MB?!
Initially, many players were hesitant about whether to buy it. But when they saw it was free, why hesitate? Download it first and give it a try!
Since the game was free and only 170 MB, it wouldn’t take up much space. Download it, and if it wasn’t fun, delete it—no cost involved.
Chen Mo wasn’t idle either. He promoted *I Am MT* on his Weibo and at the end of the latest *I Am MT* anime episode.
“The mobile game of the same name is now live! Fight alongside Ai Mu Ti and Sha Man! Completely free, with no in-game ads!”
Of course, these were just marketing gimmicks. If this were his previous life, seeing the word “free” would make most players sneer: “Another money-grabbing game!”
But this world was different. Players were still naive. When they saw “free” and “no in-game ads,” they were amazed.
“Free? No cost to download? No in-game ads? Then… how does it make money?!”
“Value-added services, duh!”
“How much can value-added services bring in? Besides, whether players buy them is up to them. What if they don’t?”
“Yeah, and Chen Mo’s betting on monthly revenue. Isn’t this asking for trouble?”
“Let’s just check it out. It’s free anyway.”
After the Weibo bet and the anime hype, the “free” gimmick stunned all the players.
Some worried that Chen Mo would lose the bet.
Others couldn’t figure out why Chen Mo would make what seemed like a guaranteed money-losing “public service.”
And some just wanted to watch the chaos unfold.
As a result, almost all the players and viewers following this event chose to download the game to see what Chen Mo meant by “free.”
At the experience store.
“One hour after launch, download count is nearly four thousand. That’s more than triple *Spring Guardian*. Hmm, not bad.”
Chen Mo looked at the download data for *I Am MT* and was basically satisfied.
In terms of downloads, free games definitely had a natural advantage. After all, even spending 10 yuan on a game made players think twice. While refunds were possible, they were a hassle.
Free games were different. Download whenever you want, delete whenever you want—no hesitation at all.
For free games, with similar levels of promotion, download numbers could easily be ten times higher than paid games. But *Spring Guardian* had the backing of the Imperial Dynasty game platform, so keeping the download count only three times lower than *I Am MT* was already impressive.
Su Jinyu, Wen Lingwei, and the others were also watching the real-time data.
Jia Peng exclaimed, “The download numbers are so high! My god, this is higher than games promoted on those big platforms.”
Wen Lingwei said, “No kidding. It’s free, so downloading costs nothing. And it’s only 170 MB—downloading over Wi-Fi takes just a few seconds. Of course, the numbers are high.”
Chang Xiuya said, “Well, the key is still how many people actually spend money.”
Su Jinyu was nearby, pointing at some data on Chen Mo’s screen with confusion. “Store manager, what do all these mean?”
This was a management backend Chen Mo had specially made. He used it to post game announcements, adjust game data, distribute in-game currency, and so on.
On the [Data Query] page, there were several data points, all in English abbreviations, like DAU, ARPU, ARPPU, and so on.
To everyone except Chen Mo, these abbreviations were like a foreign language—completely incomprehensible.
Chen Mo said, “It’s a bit hard to explain. Just know that as long as these numbers hit the target, this game will make money.”
Everyone exchanged glances.
Really? Was it that mysterious?