Chapter 431: First-Day Downloads
As the exhibition progressed, the buzz around *Overwatch* continued to build.
Many gaming media outlets were present at the event, and all of them had taken notice of the most eye-catching new game at the show: *Overwatch*. After the baptism of the phenomenal game *League of Legends*, the media had grown accustomed to Chen Mo pulling off extraordinary feats. However, the level of importance Chen Mo placed on *Overwatch* made these gaming outlets sniff out a major story.
Although only training mode and human-versus-AI battles were available at the exhibition, leaving everyone unaware of what player-versus-player combat in *Overwatch* felt like, the game was already captivating enough based solely on the materials released so far. The media’s focus centered primarily on *Overwatch*’s world-building, hero designs, and gameplay innovations.
- *New Game Express: Direct Hit on Chen Mo’s New Work, VR Shooter Overwatch!*
- *Chen Mo: Overwatch Will Be a Free VR Game!*
- *Overwatch Hero Analysis: Prototypes Drawn from Different Countries and Regions Worldwide*
- *FPS with Skills? Can Overwatch Continue the Success of League of Legends?*
- *The Most Popular Overwatch Hero at the Exhibition: Full Skill Analysis of the Flying Pharaoh*
…
Over this period of fermentation, whether through heated player discussions, media articles, or leaked video footage, more and more players began to learn about this new VR game, *Overwatch*. Of course, the massive gimmick of “a free VR game” also played a significant role in its promotion, contributing greatly to the buzz.
The gaming circle, which had been somewhat quiet before the Spring Festival, was instantly ignited. Chen Mo’s release of such a pivotal VR game at this time caught everyone off guard.
Amid the eager anticipation of players, *Overwatch* officially launched!
The timing was perfect—right after the YouPlay Game Exhibition had ended, with its heat not yet fully dissipated, and exactly one week before the annual Game Awards ceremony hosted by the Game Committee.
Many players had grown impatient, and the moment *Overwatch* went live, they all rushed to download it. After all, it was a free game—download first, decide if it’s fun later!
On the day of *Overwatch*’s release, a downloading frenzy swept through the domestic VR gaming community. Whether they were Thunder Entertainment players, FPS enthusiasts, or had any prior knowledge of the game, anyone who knew about *Overwatch* and that it was free jumped to download it, happily adding another title to their VR gaming pods. A free game—missing out would be a loss!
Soon, the first-day download numbers for *Overwatch* came out, breaking through 400,000!
This figure stunned many industry insiders, with many exclaiming, “Free games—so willful!”
To put it in perspective, given the current domestic landscape, there were over 1.3 billion mobile phone users, around 500 million PC users, and only about 100 million VR users. That meant VR gamers were just one-fifth of PC gamers.
Previously, the highest single-month sales for a domestic VR game were also held by Chen Mo, with *Minecraft* selling 4.22 million copies. That was the second month after *Minecraft*’s VR version launched; due to its relatively slow-burning nature, it peaked in the second month before gradually declining and stabilizing.
As for *League of Legends*, before its PC release, despite extensive promotion and marketing, its first-day player count was only 390,000.
*Overwatch*’s first-day player count surpassed both *Minecraft* and *League of Legends*, catching many off guard.
Of course, this comparison wasn’t entirely fair. *Minecraft* had a paywall and was a slower-burning game, so its popularity couldn’t explode overnight. Comparing download numbers between a free game and a pay-to-play game was a bit like cheating. Similarly, *League of Legends* wasn’t particularly well-received at launch; its player base only exploded in the mid-to-late stages. In terms of graphics, *League of Legends* had no special advantage over other games at its release, and the MOBA gameplay wasn’t widely accepted by most players initially, so a low first-day count was normal.
Looking at current data, *League of Legends*’ player count was growing rapidly every day, surpassing 10 million within a year of its release. Compared to *League of Legends* now, *Overwatch*’s 400,000 first-day downloads wasn’t something to boast about.
Although *Overwatch*’s first-day downloads were boosted by the “free game” gimmick, the data couldn’t expand indefinitely, given the relatively tight timeline and Chen Mo’s limited promotional resources. However, Chen Mo was confident that after *Overwatch*’s launch, this strong growth momentum would continue.
…
*Overwatch*’s first-day sales figures made many game designers envious. Clearly, Chen Mo’s VR game was a hit—at least it had enough players and enough buzz. However, it was still too early to declare the game a success.
After all, it was a free game. Download numbers didn’t mean much. Many people downloaded it just to follow the trend, attracted by the “free” gimmick. They might play a couple of rounds and then quit, never becoming core players, let alone spending money in the game.
Whether *Overwatch* could recoup its costs depended on two key factors: long-term player retention and player spending data. If either of these metrics failed, *Overwatch* would likely fizzle out. As a VR game, its investment was far greater than that of a PC game; failing to recover costs would mean losing money just for the sake of publicity.
…
After downloading *Overwatch*, players eagerly jumped into the game to experience it.
In an FPS player group chat:
“*Overwatch* is available for download today. Anyone want to team up and play?”
“The free VR game mentioned earlier? It’s available today?”
“Great, I’ve been waiting for ages. Let’s go!”
“Free? Which big shot is bold enough to make a VR game free?”
“Who else? Chen Mo.”
“Figures. Whenever a domestic game designer stirs things up, he’s the first one that comes to mind.”
“He’s finally making an FPS! I was thinking earlier, Chen Mo’s a genius game designer—he nails mobile games and PC games every time. When would he make an FPS? And here it is, even faster than I expected!”
“Let’s go! We’ll talk in the game! What’s everyone’s Thunder Game Pass ID? Let’s add each other as friends!”