Chapter 91: Burning Money

Generation Entertainment wasn't the only one having a headache due to the launch of "Thunder Poker"; Charles Ding, the president of Fantasy Entertainment, was also anxious and stressed.

Fantasy Entertainment was another major platform in the country, but their development capabilities were far inferior to Generation Entertainment and Infinite Entertainment.

Fantasy Entertainment valued poker games highly, considering them crucial for expanding their user base. But with the release of "Thunder Poker," Charles Ding was stunned!

What was this?

Charles felt more wronged than a victim of injustice. How was it that Alex Parker and Generation Entertainment's battle had spilled over to affect him?

Alex Parker actually used Generation Entertainment's homepage to promote a poker game?

And Generation Entertainment actually allowed it?

Wasn't this like handing the opponent a shovel to dig their own wall?

Alex Parker even used tournaments to give away gaming pods? Such a brutal method!

The most frustrating part was that the players were very receptive to it.

What a mess!

Since the launch of "Thunder Poker," Fantasy Poker's daily active users had been dropping by tens of thousands every day. How could Charles not be worried?

Charles was puzzled. This was clearly a matter between Alex Parker and Generation Entertainment. How did he get caught in the crossfire?

Charles faced the same dilemma as Natalie Hughes. He wanted to fight back, but how? His game didn't even have a tournament mechanism!

Using a lottery to give away prizes wouldn't be effective! Engaging in a money-burning war would be like drinking poison to quench thirst; it would address the symptoms but not the root cause.

But knowing it was harmful, he couldn't avoid doing it. Without it, their daily active users would keep plummeting, and soon, Fantasy Entertainment's user base would suffer massive losses.

With no choice, Charles gritted his teeth, "We're giving away gaming pods too! And, get everyone to work overtime to develop a tournament mode!"

...

Alex Parker's move had stirred the waters of the entire poker game circle. Many designers were now working overnight to develop tournament modes. If Alex could collect grievances to level up, he would probably level up three times within a week.

However, this brought a wave of excitement for the bystanders. Three or four poker games had started lottery events. Many people didn't do anything but have multiple clients open on their phones and emulators, just to snatch up lottery opportunities.

Despite the multiple poker games running, most were just going through the motions. These poker games used lottery systems, so players didn't need to play seriously. Only "Thunder Poker" used a tournament system, so players were working hard to rack up points and climb the rankings.

...

Sunday.

"Thunder Poker's" Landlord, Mahjong, and Thunder Poker tournaments all reached their final tables. After over an hour of intense competition, the top three players were determined for each game.

Alex Parker closely monitored the event and live-streamed the key moments of the competition on his X account, finally announcing the winners and promptly contacting them to send out the prizes.

After the final tables concluded, the event's hype further increased, and players' attention to future tournaments grew even higher.

"Watched the entire competition live and I'm shivering. Damn, these final table players are monsters. I didn't know there were so many hidden poker experts..."

"The competition was open and transparent, no shady business. I recognized two or three of the players; they're veteran poker players. Kudos to Alex Parker for this."

"Seriously impressed. Alex Parker even turned poker into something exciting. Some people just excel at whatever they do."

"Other game designers are shivering in their boots, once again experiencing the fear of being dominated by Thunder Games..."

"I have to say, Alex Parker has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I don't even play much poker, but he managed to draw me in. Even though I've been playing for so long without qualifying for the finals, I still play every day."

"After getting used to Thunder Poker, other poker games just don't cut it. Thunder Poker offers the best gaming experience on the market, no competition!"

"Tell Generation Poker, I'm not going back..."

"+1 to the above."

"And Fantasy Poker, I'm not coming back either."

"Wait for me, guys. Once I finish this draw, I'll join you all too!"

...

After the first week, "Thunder Poker's" user base surged to 2.2 million. "I Am MT" took a month to reach this user count, while "Thunder Poker" achieved it in a week.

The hype continued to build. Alex estimated that if everything went smoothly, "Thunder Poker" could bring over eight million users to his Thunder Game Platform within a month, possibly even reaching ten million.

What does a user base of ten million mean?

"League of Legends" had about 1.4 million players during its Season 1 and around 11.5 million during Season 2.

A user base of ten million is just below the level of games like "Dota 2" and "Overwatch."

Of course, the active users of poker games have a lot of fluff compared to MOBA games, so they are not really comparable. Many users just log in to play a game or two and leave, with no idea when they'll return.

Moreover, "Thunder Poker's" active user count couldn't compare to Tencent Poker's over 200 million users in Alex's previous world; it wasn't in the same league.

But for Alex, this was already impressive. With these users, promoting future games would be much easier.

Alex didn't expect poker games to be profitable. He planned to give away all the poker game revenue and even use "I Am MT" income to subsidize it, continuing to hold weekly tournaments and giving away gaming pods.

At the current rate, giving away about a million per month wasn't much. Even with server rental and customer service costs, Alex could still afford it.

It was like the taxi app wars and bike-sharing wars from his previous world. Once you start burning money, you can't stop. As a challenger, Alex needed to make bold moves to attract users from other games.

And this was not a huge sum. Spending a couple of million a month to gain so many users was worth it in the long run.

...

From the second week, Generation Poker and Fantasy Poker also launched their tournament modes and began offering prizes through these tournaments.

This move helped them regain some users, but it was still a defensive strategy. Their vast user base, the superior user experience of "Thunder Poker," and its lead in introducing the tournament mode meant "Thunder Poker" was the undeniable focal point in this money-burning war.

The market now had three major players: "Generation Poker," "Fantasy Poker," and the newly emerged "Thunder Poker," which had taken a substantial number of users from the former two.

Other poker games could only shiver in fear.