Tencent's Billion-Yuan Bet on Girls' Frontline 2 Flops Hard on Day One — 'It'll Go Up After the Holiday' Becomes the Biggest Copium Meme of 2023

Tencent poured a billion yuan into it. Sunborn Games spent years polishing their flagship IP sequel. And on launch day, the iOS best-sellers chart showed... it didn't even crack the top 10? You read that right — Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium just proved the age-old adage: the higher the hype, the harder the fall.

The original poster's single line — 'Am I seeing things?' — perfectly captured the collective shock of every Commander who checked the revenue charts that day. This wasn't some niche indie title flopping quietly. This was a Tencent-backed heavyweight sequel with the full Girls' Frontline legacy behind it, and it couldn't even sniff the top 10 on day one.

The comment section was immediately flooded with "节后涨" (jié hòu zhǎng, "it'll go up after the holiday") — a phrase that started as copium and instantly became the community's most savage meme. "It'll go up after the holiday! IT'LL GO UP!!! Don't worry!" one comment read, dripping with irony. Others kept the joke going: "Hey, the holiday hasn't even started yet, of course it'll go up!" and "Christmas is coming, it'll go up after the holiday!" — turning three simple words into 2023's most iconic piece of gacha copium.

One commenter dragged in Legend of the Three Kingdoms (三国杀) for comparison: "Holy sh*t, Three Kingdoms Kill is this strong?" — the implication being that even a decade-old card game was outselling this supposed AAA gacha sequel. Another player's take was even more brutal: "Bro, even the most dead-on-arrival game usually hits #1 or #2 on launch day." Someone pushed back, saying smaller games missing the top 10 is normal, but then delivered the killing blow: "For something at Exilium's scale, not making top 10 on day one is just embarrassing."

This screenshot left no room for debate — the best-sellers chart data was right there for everyone to see, and the one "leading by a mile" wasn't Exilium.

So why did the launch faceplant this hard? Players quickly identified Sunborn's galaxy-brain monetization strategy: "They launched with a permanent banner rate-up, then delayed the limited character banner by 4 days — what a genius calculation. If the launch flops, they totally deserve it." That's right — on day one of a massively hyped launch, they offered a permanent pool character instead of a flashy limited banner. The big-ticket limited character wouldn't drop until four days later. This move immediately turned away a huge chunk of whales who were ready to splurge on day one. Classic case of shooting yourself in the foot.

Others pointed to an even deeper problem: "All that early marketing investment probably went down the drain because of the paid beta disaster — and the hype from that period actually became a PR liability." During the game's earlier paid beta test (付费测), Exilium was already panned by players for various issues. The marketing push that accompanied the beta didn't build excitement — it planted seeds of doubt that haunted the game through its actual launch.

Of course, the infamous 'Mrs. Raymond' (雷蒙夫人) controversy couldn't be avoided either. Someone quipped: "They bet everything on Mrs. Raymond — Commanders, hurry up and push that plot forward!" — a mocking reference to the game's storyline controversy where the developers gave the bulk of romantic interactions to a female NPC character, leaving the player's 'Commander' feeling like a third wheel. The nickname 'Mrs. Raymond' itself is the community's sardonic label for this narrative choice.

One whale shared their pain: "Why did my spending go DOWN? I maxed out all the first-purchase resets!" — a dedicated player who had already whaled out on every first-purchase bonus, only to see the charts remain disappointing. Another commenter couldn't resist the salt: "I hope they can even afford to post a '#1 thank-you announcement'" — at this point, players weren't even hoping for a chart-topping celebration anymore.

Veteran players dug up data from Sunborn's previous title, Neural Cloud (云图计划), for comparison — reminding everyone that there was a time when Sunborn could actually deliver a strong launch. The contrast only made Exilium's opening performance look more dire.

Some were already looking ahead to the next inevitable disaster: "Can't wait to see the Daiyan (黛烟) event pull off something spectacular" — referring to an upcoming event character. "Pull off something spectacular" (拉托大的) is community slang for screwing up royally, meaning players were already placing bets on how Sunborn would fumble next.

All in all, Exilium's launch day is shaping up to be one of 2023's biggest faceplants in the Chinese mobile gaming scene. A billion-yuan Tencent investment, years of development, a beloved IP with a massive fanbase — every advantage stacked in its favor, and the result was a chart performance that couldn't break the top 10. As for whether 'it'll go up after the holiday' will ever come true? Only time will tell — but for now, the copium reserves are running dangerously low.