Chapter 1067: The Lich King Has Awakened
"Matrix Game Pod sales exceed 20 million, and this game will be released."
Chen Mo's new Weibo post was still extremely simple, without a single extra word.
The main text of the Weibo was just these two sentences, but clearly, the attached trailer and the game's official website had already caused a massive stir among players.
The Lich King has awakened.
This was a long-awaited moment, spanning seven years.
When "I Am MT" and the Warcraft universe were first launched, most people didn't think it would become a classic IP capable of conquering the world. Instead, they felt that whether it was the anime or the mobile game, they were merely new profit models Chen Mo had come up with.
Indeed, at that time, the vast majority of game companies were learning from the business model of "I Am MT." Even the few who attempted to plagiarize the Warcraft universe quickly had their projects stillborn.
For these game companies, learning from the classic pay-to-win mobile game model of "I Am MT" gave many mobile game designers a chance to turn things around. It also propelled the entire mobile game market forward at a breakneck pace, with its scale constantly expanding, even starting to squeeze the living space of PC client games.
It wasn't until the release of "Warcraft" that people truly realized Chen Mo and Thunderbolt Interactive would never be satisfied with casual games, nor with mobile games that had an incredibly strong ability to generate revenue.
This unprecedented real-time strategy game achieved remarkable results in the PC game market of that era, spreading Thunderbolt Interactive's reputation overseas. The game's design itself also provided many development ideas for future PC games, such as the ladder system.
The story of "Warcraft" perfectly showcased the content of the Warcraft universe, leaving no one in doubt that as long as Chen Mo was willing to cultivate this IP properly, it would absolutely be a significant and brilliant chapter in the history of world gaming.
At the end of the "Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne" cinematic, after defeating Illidan and his allied forces, Arthas began to climb the high throne alone. Frostmourne hung at his waist, his black cloak billowed behind him, and his white hair was so strikingly conspicuous.
That lonely silhouette was just like when he entered the royal city of Lordaeron, raising his sword to slay his father.
Anub'arak and other loyal Scourge soldiers continued to slaughter the broken enemy forces outside the throne, but Arthas no longer cared about any of this. He ascended to the top of the Frozen Throne, obeyed Ner'zhul's will, shattered the throne's ice, and picked up the Helm of Domination that had fallen to the ground.
For himself, he was crowned king.
Afterwards, Arthas fell into a long slumber.
He sat upon the throne, his right hand tightly gripping Frostmourne, his eyes closed, maintaining this posture without moving. The raging blizzard caused the ice layer on his body to grow thicker and thicker, almost merging with the Frozen Throne itself.
As the background music played, the camera pulled further and further away, and the story of the Frozen Throne slowly came to a close.
If there were no new promotional cinematics, this story could probably be used to answer the question on Q&A communities: "What are some stories that seemed like they were just beginning, but were actually already at their peak?"
Players all thought Chen Mo would definitely continue the success of "Warcraft" and further develop the Warcraft universe IP. They just needed to wait patiently for the sequel to come out.
But that wait lasted seven years.
During these years, Chen Mo created globally recognized masterpieces like "Minecraft," "League of Legends," "Dark Souls," "The Last of Us," "The Legend of Zelda," and GTA. But regarding the Warcraft universe, no matter how players and reporters asked, Chen Mo always maintained a mysterious smile, even leading some to believe he had decided to abandon this world-famous IP.
In these seven years, the entire game industry developed at a breakneck pace, almost like a rocket, moving from the VR era into the next-generation VR domain.
Seven years later, the world of Warcraft descended once more.
However, one point that players loved to discuss was that even within the Warcraft world, from the Lich King sitting on the Frozen Throne to his eventual awakening, only four years had passed—three years less than in reality.
The Warcraft universe didn't describe the story after the Lich King's awakening, but the events before his awakening were already detailed.
"When Arthas put on the helm, he fell into a four-year-long sleep."
"From his soul split a doppelganger representing his remaining rationality and humanity—a young Arthas. As long as this child existed, there was still hope for the forces opposing evil."
"But after repeated struggles and conflicts, Arthas still succumbed, yielding to the darkness within his own heart. He personally destroyed his human avatar, piercing its chest with Frostmourne."
"In that instant, all of Arthas's regret, cowardice, introspection, and doubt were eliminated. The once-powerful power of the Holy Light was also swept away."
"He completely abandoned everything from his past, becoming a cold and ruthless demon."
"Ner'zhul's soul was overjoyed, declaring that Arthas would become the Lich King together with him."
"However, Arthas's sword once again pierced through Ner'zhul's soul: 'Not us. No one can give me orders. Now this power belongs only to me. I am the Lich King, and I am ready.'"
"Arthas devoured Ner'zhul's soul, seized his power, became the Lich King himself, and awoke from the Frozen Throne."
"The fragment of his humanity became a phantom on the continent of Northrend, guiding passing adventurers to seek the truth of the past."
And after a four-year-long slumber, in the new promotional cinematic, beneath the Lich King's helm, his eyes glowed blue, and the ice on his body began to crack.
The Lich King has awakened.