As the players left, staff immediately went over and handed out forms to record their ratings and thoughts on the game.
The final data that Mingyan received was: Grade A-.
This is IPP's internal rating system for unreleased games, divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. Level A- means "a high-quality game with good potential, rated between 8 and 9".
The marketing girl looked very satisfied and said to Mingyan, "Boss, the game is a great success. Can we start promoting it on the official website account now?"
Mingyan was still looking at the report in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed, and said, "Only A-?"
"That's already a very good rating!" the marketing team quickly explained. "This is because the losing teams gave slightly lower ratings, but it's still an expected result. League of Legends has a very innovative structure, and we can start promoting it from that point. With a little luck, we can try to climb the leaderboard..."
Mingyan pondered for a moment, then relaxed his brow and said, "This is not the final result; there is still room for improvement in the evaluation."
The marketing girl didn't quite understand what he meant.
Most games of this era follow a clear curve: they are most popular when they are first released, then gradually decline over time, until they become unprofitable, at which point the game company shuts down the game servers.
If it's an otherworldly game, the company will cut off the access route and might even sell the second-hand otherworldly games at a low price.
However, none of them are MOBA games.
The rise of League of Legends requires the accumulation of players, the formation of a ranked ladder, and a certain scale of the game's cultural community.
Although only more than 20 professions and a total of more than 400 skills have been developed so far.
But it's time for players to get to know it, this brand-new genre of games... which will keep them glued to their screens day and night, completely obsessed.
☆, Ladder Contract
The next day.
IPP Marketing Department Dedicated Meeting Room.
"...That concludes my report."
Ming finished his report and turned off the game screen used for the demonstration.
The people sitting below the stage nodded in agreement.
Xia Cheng was fiddling with a fountain pen when he and Ming Yan locked eyes and exchanged a knowing smile.
Mingyan walked out of the meeting room, leaving the space to the others.
Several people in IPP's marketing department began a discussion.
This is the first time the MOBA game genre has appeared before the public, and they have no past experience to refer to.
Therefore, the answers given are all on the conservative side.
"Let's promote it as a typical A-level work, and give it a trial recommendation first..."
"I've never seen a completely free strategy before! If the game doesn't become popular, players won't pay for just two cosmetic items—why would they make money by selling attractive cosmetics?"
"After all, he's the architect of Minecraft, a very powerful game! It's been over two years, and he still occasionally makes the list due to his live stream popularity."
"Games and games are two different things. Temporary success doesn't prove anything. Maybe the architect just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
"Ultimately, since it's a type of product I've never seen before, I agree with a conservative recommendation."
Xia Cheng got caught in the middle and discussed it with them, but he was still relatively inexperienced and couldn't change everyone's mind.
Of everyone present, he was the only one who unconditionally favored League of Legends.
"I'm the only one who has personally played this game," Xia Cheng said. "I believe this game will become a pioneer, leading a new trend in the genre."
When he voted, he gave a customized contract with a 12% commission and a revenue forecast of over 500 million.
The most pessimistic managers, however, are far from his views.
Finally, because the discussion became too intense, they had to take a break halfway through.
If Blue Star Studio hadn't already established a very respectable reputation, and if Xia Cheng's status hadn't given him more influence, IPP wouldn't have spent so much time on a studio's new game.
Fifteen minutes later, the discussion resumed.
This time, Mingyan took the initiative to propose new contractual suggestions.
“Let’s sign a tiered system,” Ming said. “We’ll divide the performance over the first six months of the game’s launch into six tiers, based on your company’s tier system. The highest tier is S, with over 1 billion in revenue. If League of Legends can achieve that, we’ll take a 10% cut. The lowest tier is E, with less than 1 million in revenue. We’ll take a 25% cut.”
Ladder contracts are relatively rare, but they have existed before.
In this situation where neither side is willing to concede to the other, it's actually quite suitable to sign this kind of contract.
To put it simply, for revenue below one million, IPP takes a 25% cut; for revenue between one million and ten million, IPP takes a 20% cut... and so on.
It's somewhat similar to how personal income tax was calculated on Earth back then, only reversed.
Everyone present perked up and then conducted a final round of voting.
With everyone present as witnesses, a tiered contract for League of Legends was signed.
Because the meeting lasted longer than expected, it was noon before we knew it.
Mingyan was kept behind and had lunch at the IPP branch's cafeteria.
Xia Cheng sat down opposite him and said, "Looking down, as if you feel underestimated?"
Mingyan let out a breath and said, "I feel my beloved work has been underestimated. But thank you anyway—"