Mayron Kess truly hadn't expected this.
He hadn't expected Gamestar Electronic Entertainment to wield this kind of influence.
Not only could it impact his businesses—it could even affect his employees.
Was this… personal charisma?
On the dozen-plus resignation letters, no reasons were filled in.
Those employees were probably giving Mikufu one last shred of dignity.
They were all excellent game developers and had no shortage of options elsewhere.
If life at this company felt stifling, then why not try their luck somewhere else?
This was the golden age of game development.
Thanks to Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's continuous output of high-quality games, the entire market was developing in a healthy direction.
Good games were no longer easily buried, and players were very willing to pay for quality.
For game developers like them, finding work was never the problem.
So if that was the case, why stay at a company that didn't respect them?
Just to suffer?
Game studios were springing up like bamboo shoots after the rain—each with its own strengths, style, and audience.
As long as you worked hard and took things seriously, you wouldn't starve.
And if all else failed, you could always make indie games. As long as the quality was decent, you could get official recommendations on Gamestar's BattleNet platform.
Some people who had resigned early from Mikufu had already made money developing indie games.
A few had even achieved financial freedom.
"Let them go."
"Boss?"
"I said let them go. Losing a few people won't affect our operations that much, will it? We still have over a hundred employees."
Mayron Kess spoke casually, completely unconcerned.
"Boss, I have to say this," the head of the game department finally couldn't hold back."These people are veterans—highly skilled programmers and level designers. Their importance is no less than that of our chip and hardware experts."
At this point, even the department head found it hard to accept Mayron Kess's attitude.
People often said geniuses tended to have extreme personalities—apparently, that wasn't wrong.
But Takayuki of Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was an exception.
Up to now, there had been nothing strange or extreme about him.
On the contrary, he was known for valuing talent and being willing to help anyone.
Even back when relations with Mikufu were tense, Gamestar's Unreal Engine team still provided full engine support.
Granted, it required paying more—but still.
In that regard, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment—and Takayuki himself—had remarkable breadth of vision.
Now compare that to Mayron Kess.
All his talent points were invested in smartphones, electronic hardware, and operating systems.
As for everything else, he simply didn't care.
Mikufu was actually quite good at discovering talent—but terrible at retaining it.
Not just the game department: other divisions had also lost excellent people who couldn't stand Mayron Kess's personality.
In the end, Mayron Kess himself was a double-edged sword.
Working with him meant getting hurt sooner or later.
"Really? They're that important?" Mayron Kess asked."Without them, development will suffer?"
"Yes!"
"Then hire more people," Mayron Kess replied."We collaborate with Oxford and Ivy League schools. Recruit more newcomers. If one person isn't enough, assign several people to cover the work of those who resigned."
"This…"
"Those who resigned have already made up their minds. We can't easily change that. Trying to do so would cost even more. So it's better to eliminate a batch and bring in new blood."
"…All right. I understand."
The department head finally gave in.
Mayron Kess wasn't wrong—at least on the surface.
These people had resigned out of grievance, not just over salary or material conditions.
Once someone reached that point, it was extremely hard to persuade them to return.
On this point, Mayron Kess saw things clearly.
But he had no intention of changing.
He either didn't understand why these people left—or didn't care even if he did.
To him, the game department was nothing more than a money-making tool.
Nothing beyond that mattered.
Mikufu's so-called corporate culture never truly existed in the game division anyway.
So what was there left to say?
The department head felt exhausted. He took the approved resignation letters and left.
Within no time, the dozen-plus employees completed their exit procedures.
From that moment on, they were no longer part of Mikufu.
The instant they walked out, they cheered.
They'd been worried Mikufu might make things difficult—forcing them to sign non-compete agreements that would prevent them from working elsewhere for a time.
Such clauses were usually not imposed on lower-level employees—it would be inhumane.
In reality, the department head himself was too worn out to care about such things.
Let it go.
He was tired.
At the same time, other employees in Mikufu's game division saw how easy it was to resign and began to waver.
Not everyone had the courage to leave a company outright.
Many preferred stability, even if the job was miserable.
But once someone took the lead, the mindset changed.
"Now that we've finally resigned… how about celebrating?"
Outside Mikufu's office building, each of them was holding a cardboard box with personal belongings.
There was no sense of loss—only excitement.
Resigning felt like something to celebrate.
"Let's go. My treat. We'll drink at my place," one of them said."And we're playing games for seven days and seven nights—especially BattleNet games. We've been holding it in for way too long."
"Exactly. The company outright banned employees from casually playing BattleNet games. That was insane. I really don't know what Mayron Kess was thinking."
"That guy's obsessed. He's not a gamer at all—he just treats us like tools."
The dozen or so former employees were in great spirits when someone suddenly approached them.
"Hello, gentlemen. Are you former employees of Mikufu's game division?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
The man immediately smiled. "Hello. I'm from Surui Electronics' U.S. headquarters HR department. If you're interested, we'd love to invite you to interview with us."
"…That fast?"
They were all stunned.
They'd heard stories from predecessors—how shortly after resigning, recruiters from well-known game studios would come knocking.
But this was faster than expected.
"Sure. We'll definitely take a look."
The HR representative smiled even wider."Excellent. Gentlemen, whenever you're ready, feel free to contact me. We'll patiently wait for your visit. I won't disturb your celebration any further."
With that, he left immediately, not getting in the way of their festivities.