Chapter 269: Channel Providers in Dire Straits
After the comprehensive update of the Thunder Game Platform, it immediately caught the attention of players.
Ever since Chen Mo announced that he would use the resources of the Thunder Game Platform to promote games for designers, this matter had already sparked heated discussions within the gaming circle.
Later, after prolonged arguments, a 24-hour verbal war, and Chen Mo's long Weibo post, this incident became widely known and talked about by everyone.
Even many players who originally didn't play Chen Mo's games downloaded the Thunder Game Platform just to join in the excitement.
Now, the debates surrounding the Thunder Game Platform have gradually subsided. Everything that needed to be argued had been argued, and everything that needed to be cursed had been cursed. After Chen Mo made his high-profile statement, those hired trolls could no longer smear him with various conspiracy theories, and the situation had tilted in Chen Mo's favor.
At this point, with the comprehensive update of the Thunder Game Platform, all channel providers were sweating bullets.
If the Thunder Game Platform didn't succeed—for example, if the games listed on it sold poorly and had low popularity—that would be good news for these channel providers.
But what if the Thunder Game Platform developed well? That would be nothing short of a nightmare for these channel providers.
At that time, if these channel providers wanted to survive, they would have to lower their revenue share to the same level as the Thunder Game Platform, which meant their profit margins would be compressed exponentially.
...
Players were also keeping a close eye on the Thunder Game Platform's performance.
"The Thunder Game Platform updated today! You can download other people's games now!"
"Really? Let me check it out."
"There are so few games, only a hundred or so?"
"Well, it's just starting to host other people's games, so it'll definitely increase slowly."
"Let me take a look at these games on the recommended slots. Hmm, not bad. They're all decent-quality indie games. It seems Chen Mo has good taste."
"There's a game from a designer I really like. I'll buy one. The revenue share here is lower, so the designer gets more. It's a way to support their work."
"This platform's redesign is pretty good. It feels different from the Imperial Dynasty Game Platform and the Divine Fantasy Game Platform, and the features are quite comprehensive."
"Yeah, especially the recommendation page. There are so many types of recommendations, covering different genres, and it even suggests games based on player preferences. And the discounts are amazing! Free weekends, special offers, and stuff like that!"
"Wishlist? Oh, it feels like a shopping cart. You can follow games first and buy them when they're on sale. Hmm, that's a nice feature!"
"Honestly, I suddenly feel like shopping on here."
"And the features are really rich. Besides game data, there are game guides, reviews, player ratings, and more. It's way more content-rich than the average game platform."
"Nice, nice. Honestly, I never paid much attention to domestic indie games before because other platforms always seemed to recommend garbage. Finding a fun indie game was too hard. This time, I've found several really high-quality games. No need to say more—buy, buy, buy!"
"Yeah, my game library just got a new game. Totally satisfied!"
...
Players, more or less, found some new games that suited their tastes on the Thunder Game Platform and bought them one after another.
Twenty-four hours after the Thunder Game Platform's overhaul, Zhao Yunting compiled the first-day relevant data into a report and submitted it to Chen Mo.
Currently, the best-selling game on the Thunder Game Platform had sold 39,000 copies. Of course, this was mainly because the game was very cheap, priced at only one yuan. The game with the highest revenue was a premium puzzle game called "Soaring Ahead," priced at ten yuan, with sales reaching 22,000 copies and revenue hitting 220,000 yuan.
Both of these games were placed by Chen Mo in prominent recommendation slots, which was one of the key reasons for their high sales.
Moreover, because these two games had high ratings, they both adopted a 90-10 revenue split with the platform. This meant that the designers of these two games earned 24,500 yuan and 138,000 yuan respectively in their first 24 hours.
As soon as this data was revealed, it caused an uproar in the indie game designer community!
The first-day data had already proven that the Thunder Game Platform fully lived up to its status as the third-largest game platform in the country. Its recommendation effects were very pronounced, and the purchasing power of players on the platform was extremely strong.
At the same time, with the support of the Thunder Game Platform's well-developed mechanisms, player ratings and reviews were abundant. Designers could receive a wealth of player feedback and make targeted improvements and modifications to their games.
The creator of "Soaring Ahead" was also very excited and specifically posted a thank-you message on the game forum for the Thunder Game Platform.
If this momentum could be maintained, his net income for the month would reach over three million yuan—something he had never dared to dream of before.
Previously, he had tried releasing games on other channels, but those major channel providers often took 70-80% of the revenue. Out of 100,000 yuan, only 10,000 to 20,000 would end up in his hands. After taxes and development costs, he barely made enough to get by after a year of hard work.
As for "Soaring Ahead," while the improvement in game quality was certainly a factor, the support from the game platform was also a critical element. By giving 90% of the revenue to the designer, Chen Mo had effectively multiplied the designer's income by four or five times!
Those designers who were still on the fence were all excited, scrambling to get their games published on the Thunder Game Platform to secure better recommendation slots.
Meanwhile, those designers who had already signed exclusive agency agreements with other channels were filled with regret, cursing themselves for listening to others' advice and not waiting a bit longer.
As for the channel providers, they were dejected. Who knows how many CEOs in those fancy office buildings were angrily slamming their desks?
...
A week later, major game platforms successively adjusted their revenue-sharing ratios with game designers, changing from the original 80-20 or 90-10 splits (with developers taking the larger share) to 60-40 or 70-30 splits (with designers taking the larger share).
Behemoths like the Imperial Dynasty Game Platform and the Divine Fantasy Game Platform might still hold their ground a bit, but the smaller channels had no choice but to make the 80-20 split (with designers taking 80%) the norm. Even so, the number of games hosted on their platforms was steadily decreasing.
All those small channels were in dire straits, and who knows how many people were cursing Chen Mo behind his back.
In the foreseeable future, the revenue-sharing ratio between domestic channel providers and designers would be infinitely pulled toward the standard of 70-30. The days when channel providers could exploit designers by leveraging their control over players would soon be gone for good.