A group of losers

"Star Ocean: Infinity" premiered on time, and the special effects were much better than imagined.

They weren't top-notch, but they were good enough.

Coupled with good cost control, the box office performance in the first week reached one hundred million dollars.

With such momentum, the movie quickly became the talk of the town.

Perhaps this movie couldn't be called a classic, but it was enough to satisfy loyal fans, and it attracted more viewers because of its impressive special effects scenes.

The large U-shaped Unreal Engine logo that appeared at the beginning of the movie caught people's attention once again.

The opening logos of two consecutive blockbuster movies both featured the Unreal Engine, something even ordinary people couldn't ignore.

The most enthusiastic discussions were happening on the internet.

"Have you seen the recent hit, Star Ocean: Infinity? I noticed a new logo at the beginning of the movie. Is it a new film company? It seems to be called Unreal, I've never heard of it before."

"Hey, I investigated for you. That logo isn't a company, it's a software called Unreal Engine. The special effects were also produced by the studio that developed this software, just like the previous superhero movie from Detroit Film Group."

"Unreal Engine? For special effects development? I've never heard of it before, and it doesn't seem to be famous in the past."

"Let me tell you, I'm an insider in the film industry. Unreal Engine has never appeared before. It's a brand-new special effects development software. I heard it can significantly save costs in special effects. Our film company bosses are also considering buying it. However, the other party requires a purchase of at least ten years, but it can be paid in installments. They also require the Unreal Engine logo to appear at the beginning of the movie, which can be considered as additional advertising for an extra fee."

The person speaking sounded very knowledgeable about recent industry news, revealing a lot of insider information at once.

This post immediately attracted more attention.

Then, a whistleblower appeared in the comments below, revealing updated information.

"According to my investigation, the developer of Unreal Engine is the strongest game company today: Gamestar Entertainment. Their games dominate the gaming industry, and now it seems they are planning to cross over into the special effects development market. Many people thought Gamestar Entertainment was playing with fire before, but now it seems their crossover is very successful."

All news related to Unreal Engine, and everything related to Gamestar Entertainment, was quickly disclosed.

The media loved riding the hype.

They also liked to use various exaggerations to describe Gamestar Entertainment's successful crossover, calling it a very successful transformation. Even if the gaming industry didn't progress anymore, Gamestar Entertainment could still make crazy money in the future. It was a very high-quality and promising company.

The only regret was that Gamestar Entertainment didn't accept any investment and operated as an independent company, controlled solely by Takayuki.

And Takayuki, this young Japanese entrepreneur, once again made headlines in many American newspapers after many years.

Clearly, there were still many doubts not long ago, but now it seemed as if nothing had happened. They turned around and started praising Gamestar Entertainment.

However, where there's joy, there's also worry.

Especially for those who had previously made bets with Tkachev, they now felt a headache whenever they saw any news related to Unreal Engine.

"Damn it! Damn Japanese!"

In the office of a certain film company, their boss was smashing things in frustration.

He was a nouveau riche, and he had always been at odds with Tkachev. The two sides had competed in the film industry and other industries many times, and Tkachev had always had the upper hand. So he had always been able to hold his head high in front of Tkachev.

But Tkachev had always been hot-tempered, never giving up easily no matter how many times he failed. Even if he was humiliated after a failure, he would stand up and continue to compete with several rivals.

But before, Tkachev hadn't made any big bets with his competitors. This time was the biggest gamble, and if Tkachev failed, he would quit the film industry.

With countless previous successful experiences, Tkachev's competitors had never doubted that there would be any problems this time.

They had all prepared to wait until everything settled down, mock and humiliate Tkachev, and then let him go back to Russia to raise pigs early and stop embarrassing himself in the United States.

But unexpectedly, the sudden appearance of Gamestar Entertainment disrupted their strategy.

This time, Star Ocean: Infinity was very successful, the audience bought it, and it had a box office of one hundred million dollars in the first week. Moreover, the general audience reaction to the movie was very good, so the subsequent box office would not be too bad.

Obviously, Tkachev would win this time.

Tkachev's opponents could win countless times, but Tkachev himself only needed to win once. As long as he won once, he could hold his head high.

The bosses of these film companies would also be extremely frustrated.

At this moment, no one dared to touch their bosses' mold, until they calmed down, sitting alone in their somewhat messy offices, lost in thought.

But they soon returned to their calm demeanor, adjusted their ties, and picked up their phones from the ground to dial a random phone number.

"Hey, let's go out for a drink."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while, then came the answer: "Okay."

The person on the other end of the phone was also one of Tkachev's competitors, and one who had made bets with Tkachev.

Now that Tkachev was basically victorious, it meant that these guys had to apologize to Tkachev in person, which hurt their pride. So they were preparing to band together.

On the other end, in the Gamestar Effects Studio, Takayuki was personally supervising the development of a new project.

After finishing the Star Ocean: Infinity project, Gamestar Entertainment immediately began preparations for new work.

And this new work naturally had to do with gaming.

At this moment, Tkachev came to the studio happily.

"Takayuki, my good friend! You made me win this bet! I must thank you properly!"

Tkachev flashed his trademark hearty Russian smile; he was really happy today.

Winning a bet was more satisfying than doubling his box office earnings.

Seeing those guys eat dirt made him feel really good.

Takayuki naturally congratulated Tkachev.

"What are you doing here? Is there a new film special effects project? Which company is it for?" Tkachev asked curiously, glancing at the busy employees in the studio, consciously or unconsciously.

Takayuki shook his head. "This time it's not a film special effects development project; it's a game development project. Have you forgotten? After all, I'm still a game company. I have to continue with my original business."