[New Drama] Reverse: 1999 Accused of Deploying Astroturfing Bots in Competitor Threads, Fan-culture Marketing Sparks Backlash

Recently, a discussion thread regarding the beta test of the game "The Crescent" became a battleground after users compared it to *Reverse: 1999*. A user entered the fray, accusing members of the "Shou-zong" (the Mobile Game General Discussion board on NGA) of disparaging *1999* and referred to the game as "9-bao" (a cutesy, pet-name style nickname used by die-hard fans).

Shortly after, a swarm of low-activity accounts (with fewer than 100 posts) flooded the thread to defend *1999* and attack *The Crescent*. Vigilant users quickly exposed one of these agitators, revealing their previous history as a known astroturfer in the *Honor of Kings* sub-forum.

Further investigation revealed a pattern of suspiciously similar behaviors across multiple accounts. Even those posting "long-form reviews" for the game shared identical activity history patterns, suggesting a coordinated astroturfing campaign.

The community reacted with frustration, with one user remarking, "The game isn't even officially launched yet, and the fan-club style marketing has already begun." Some players successfully exposed the bots, forcing them to delete their posts, while others commented that this "all-too-familiar" PR strategy is a bad omen for the game's official operations.