Rise To Stardom - Chapter 203

Chapter 203: $39.99
Dressed impeccably and stylishly in a black turtleneck, black pants, sleek black sneakers and a form-fitting, navy-blue long coat, Kyle calmly stood atop the expansive stage.

The shocked expression on everyone’s faces at Games Con, both in the hall and online was evidently pronounced, save for his employees and a few con staffs whom had seen him earlier in the day and backstage.

Still, the young man humbly introduced himself with a warm smile.

“Hello, everyone. It’s my greatest pleasure to meet you all.”

To his words, most in the auditorium could still only watch on in perplexed shock.

“I’m Kyle Kestis. SpawnPoint Studios’ CEO.” Kyle continued speaking nonetheless as he briefly, gestured to the massive screen behind him where [Tech Wiz]’s gameplay reveal had been showcased.

“Unexpected, I know. And no, it’s not a prank or a celebrity stunt I promis-” the young man was still trying to clarify when a massive surge of awestruck roars, slammed right into his eardrums!

At the same time, the livestream comments, exploded exponentially!

–

WakeyWakey: Babies, boys, girls, men and women of all ages! Wake, the hell, up! THE Kyle Kestis is at GAMES CON!!!!!!

ConfusedUngaBunga: I don’t even know what to say! Kyle’s such a huge nerd, I shouldn’t even find it shocking that he’s the CEO of a whole ass game studio and yet, here I am with my jaws on the fudgin’ floor!!

Chill Guy: Typically, I hate the idea of seeing celebrities at Games Con but for Kyle, I’d die on the hill that this man, is a godsend.

Bri’ishGamer: I’ve never, and I mean never, seen this bloke get stick, no matter where he goes! Are we, in our collective bloody minds, even sure Kyle’s a Hollywood celebrity and not just one of us lads that everyone loves ’cause he’s such a good-natured chap?!

–

“Guys. Guys. Please, go easy on your vocal chords.” Kyle on the other hand, held his palms out in gestured yet genuine concern, noticeably taken aback by the exploding fever of animated cheers!

Yet, the roaring excitement only seemed to get louder by the minute as more and more gamers stood up from their seats to scream even louder while simultaneously applauding!

At this rate, Griffin was absolutely bamboozled.

He just couldn’t fathom or wrap his head around why Kyle would spend so much money on a game that he as SpawnPoint Studios former CEO, clearly saw next to no prospect in.

Yet, nothing could prepare him for what he’d witness next.

There they were, GameSoft Studio’s younger investors, previously seated around him but now, currently off their seats while roaring alongside the gamers in the auditorium!

As for Oliver, he couldn’t help but burst into genuine laughter as he watched Carlos, Owen, Dahlia and the other SpawnPoint Studio employees, similarly joining in with the screaming crowd!

At this rate, Kyle just stared on, completely awestruck by the overwhelmingly positive response.

‘I thought gamers hated the idea of celebrities at Games Con?! Am I behind the times, perhaps?!’ he couldn’t help but wonder to himself as the roars of excitement, slowly began to die down.

What Kyle didn’t know though, was just how much he kept underestimating his current popularity and fame as a young, emulatable young man in Hollywood for a lot of the younger generations and a role model the older ones wished their kids strived to be.

Added to that, he had practically been living as a hermit for close to a month now despite his fame surging every blessed day with the ridiculously successful 4.3 million unit sales of Kaleidoscopes in a month!

And so, considering this was his very first public showing in a fairly long while… at least by industry standards, the reception to his appearance was practically met with positive fervor.

And as if that wasn’t enough, he had practically stated that he was the CEO of the studio that made such an exciting superhero game they hadn’t seen in years, literal minutes ago!

If nothing at all, that simple reveal alone, had the blood of most gamers pumping because in their collective minds, and from what they’d seen of Kyle online several times, they could infer that he was definitely a comic book and videogame geek, just like most of them were.

Sure most didn’t know who [Tech Wiz] was at the moment but now, they’d be actively looking for every reason to read up on it in preparation for the game’s release.

That said, about a minute later, noticing that the roars of excitement had died down considerably, Kyle then spoke, the genuine appreciation in his tone palpable;

“Wow! That’s extraordinary! I’m so honored! Thank you, so very much for doing that! But I’m limited in the amount of time I get to present the gam-”

Kyle’s words were cut off by a random lady whom was making a TicToc livestream of Games Con as she screamed at the top of her lungs;

“YOU’RE EXTRAORDINARY!”

“You’re extraordinary!” Kyle remarked in kind as he instantly pinpointed the location of the scream with his heightened sense of hearing and pointed directly at the lady who screamed even louder in acknowledgement!

To that, a cascading mix of hearty laughter and elated cheers rolled over the entire auditorium!

“You’re all extraordinary!” Kyle soon added as another wave of cheers, whistles and roars of elation filled up the hall.

–

High On Euphoria: HE’S EXTRAORDINARY! WE’RE EXTRAORDINARY!

Isekai Gamer: Yes. Is this the casket maker? Good! Make my casket today. Why, you ask? Kyle just called us extraordinary so I might as well just die from happiness soon!

Metro Man: Kyle’s interaction with that lady gives me the ‘I love you superhero! And I love you random citizen!’ vibes!

Sweets & Games: Kyle’s such a sweetheart, really. I just love how he goes straight to also praising everyone else.

–

“Alright! Back to business guys. I wanna tell you something.” the young CEO quickly pivoted.

“Seriously, I only have two more minutes of allocated time to present the game so please, hear me out for a few moments, okay?” he humorously but truthfully added, eliciting a light wave of hearty chuckles from most in the hall.

“What you’ve just experienced, is a sneak peek of our studios’, very first triple-A, videogame; [Tech Wiz].”

“It’s also a passion project of mine so I look forward to showing you all the full thing when it finally releases this year, on the 5th of August.” Kyle stated with a charismatic smile.

To that, another deafening sound of excited roars cascaded over the entire hall!

One could practically see the glee in the eye of most gamers in the auditorium as they realized they’d be getting two blockbusters and now the most anticipated games, on the very same day!

As for GameSoft Studio, the moment they heard that date, practically every one of their investors and employees on ground, their CEO included, felt a small chill of fear run down their spines.

If before they had been certain they’d trample upon any competition that so much as felt stupid enough to even launch a game in the month of August, now, they themselves were palpably wary and quite scared.

[Tech Wiz], coincidentally releasing on the same day as theirs, was definitely, bad news bears.

That said, the gamers were happy at the prospect of laying their hands on two big budget games on the same day and that really was what, truly mattered.

–

Hehehe Boi: We eating good this August boys! I’m so, friggin’ hyped!

AsmonPapa: As a streamer, I see this as a big W! More content to make in the year of August.

On_That_Grind: I still can’t believe that Kyle Kestis’ a CEO at 22. Bro just can’t stop catching wins!

Billie Eyelash: Which platforms will [Tech Wiz] be coming to? Hopefully not a console exclusive?

–

Almost as if Kyle had seen the livestream comments, he coincidentally stated;

“[Tech Wiz] will be coming to PC, VirtuStation 4 and 5, ZBox One, Series Z and Series S.”

Once again, another wave of blissful cheers from gamers, filled up the hall, albeit of lesser intensity when compared to the previous.

Well, that was until Kyle dropped a bombshell.

“And one more thing. [Tech Wiz] will be retailing at, $39.99. Yes, you heard right, $39.99.”

“That’s all I have time for guys. Thank you so much for having me and I looking forward to seeing you all come August!” he waved to the audience as he quickly rounded up and headed backstage.

Kyle had gotten off-stage, at exactly 10 seconds short of his allotted time for his presentation to be over.

Yet, his words, had an almost nuke-like effect in the auditorium as another deafening roar of excitement shook its walls while the livestream comments, erupted like a volcanic eruption!

–

Boss Baby: I just have to ask, one more time–– I heard right, right?! $39.99?! Oh baby on a cart wheel, here I COME!

Budget Gamer: SpawnPoint Studios be doing the Lord’s work by making it easier for me to save for both [A Pirate’s Odyssey] and [Tech Wiz] in the coming months! Definitely getting both on day one.

CriticalGamer: And they called me mad for saying $69.99 was too expensive in 2021. Just imagine if [Tech Wiz] is as good as it looks and seemingly plays fantastically as well. All these big studios are gonna have to review their pricings pronto!

Wiz Lord: Yep. That seals it. I’ll be buying [Tech Wiz] three times for both of my consoles and my PC rig. Maybe even get an extra one for a collector’s edition if they’ll have.

Twitch Spammer: BEST, GAMES CON, GAMEPLAY REVEAL, EVER! Trust me, this moment’s going to be iconic in the coming years. I can feel it in my bones!

–

Having left the stage, the showcase’s general host, soon took the stage to give a few words of formalities before he then finalized the end of the gameplay showcase segment of Games Con.

At the same time, not even a few minutes had passed before the viral news, hit the internet that Kyle Kestis was a young CEO at the age of 22 and his studio, was producing the first, blockbuster, superhero videogame in years!

That said, as most of the gamers, game devs, game journalists and reporters made their way out of the auditorium with excited murmurs, specifically because of [Tech Wiz], a trio of indie devs, glanced at each other and then, nodded curtly in determination.

Watching from afar as Kyle, walked up to his employees whom were currently and animatedly cheering in praises at their CEO’s presentation, the trio, walked up to them with a professional demeanor.

And no sooner had Kyle seen them, he smiled warmly in acknowledgement whilst simultaneously asking;

“Hey guys. So, what’d you say? Think you’ll be willing to take me up on my offer?”