How can I best describe that night?
At 7:00 p.m. on September 26, at the ECM Center in Chongqing Hualixi LIVE·Runbaiyan, only one item remained on the agenda for the “Operation Delta” Second Anniversary Celebration: the Second Anniversary Concert. “We’ve probably heard enough of the substance—why don’t we head out?” there was already whispering among the media in the press section.
That very afternoon, producer Shadow had just taken the stage to present the annual update: the new “Valkyrie” map for Warzone, the Black Tide Bomb Mode,the Shooting Range update, the G.T.I. Cabin, the UE5 technical upgrade, plus the annual Creator Awards and the Black Tide exhibition match—the major events stretched from the afternoon into the evening.Just the day before, the Summer Finals of the "Battlezone" Pro League wrapped up here, with TES claiming the championship for the second time following their Spring Season victory. Two consecutive days of high-intensity events took a toll on everyone’s stamina. “It’s just a concert—I’d rather go back and get some early rest,” many thought.
Then the stage lights dimmed and came back on: an Asara soldier sat at a piano in the center of the venue, slowly raised his hand, and began to play the familiar “Voice of Asara.” The next two hours were like a massive whirlpool that swept everyone into its vortex.
Those two hours set all Delta players’ emotions ablaze—it was as if the memories of the past two years, 730 days of gameplay, had been compressed into a single moment, delivering a solid punch right to the gut.From the slightly subdued atmosphere in the stands at the start to the chants of “Delta rocks!” reverberating through the arena as the event drew to a close, there was no shortage of tears, emotion, and roars of excitement.
This night belongs to all Delta players. It gave many people a vivid and focused sense of Delta’s evolution over the past year in terms of player culture and content quality. But the word “evolution” doesn’t quite capture the true nature of the changes.
I’d like to sum it up with another word: self-consistency. As many people recall, this Tencent flagship—entrusted with the mission of enduring success—did not have a smooth ride in its first year after launch. Yet this evening proved that, over the past year, it has gained the power to spark widespread resonance and unite its players.Such resonance was once considered the exclusive domain of content-driven games, but Delta has achieved it through an approach that is internally consistent with its own gameplay and operations.
On the way out, I was surrounded by players with teary eyes or jumping up and down with excitement. They were the best proof of it all.
01
Creating Resonance
Why Are People Moved?
Compared to the First Continent Annual Gala, this Second Continent Annual Gala has taken things to the next level.With more acts, more polished choreography, and a grander scale, these improvements ensured that the concert offered a high baseline viewing experience even for non-fans. But the real essence lies in this: if you’re deeply immersed in the Delta community, you’ll feel that every single minute of the nearly 120-minute show is personally meaningful to you.
Take, for example, the Asara Grunt who played the piano at the beginning. He was inspired by an ordinary player named “Sky of Growing Grass”: Last December, this content creator wore an Asara Grunt cosplay outfit and played the piano in his school auditorium. The video went viral online, racking up millions of views, and many players have come across it.At the time, the official Delta account commented in the thread, saying they would invite this player to perform on the show next time.
More than half a year later, Delta did not disappoint the players who witnessed the event: they turned the Asala minion playing the piano into a “Bird’s Nest” Easter egg for the game’s second anniversary, and also had the minion open the anniversary concert.Many players were moved when they saw the Easter egg, and the reason for this was very similar to why the original video went viral: ordinary people who still want to pursue their musical dreams amidst the “fires of war”—such characters naturally carry a touch of tragic anti-war sentiment. What Delta did was actively amplify this sentiment captured from the community.
From this point on, the entire concert evokes a range of emotions deep within the audience, yet every piece resonates with a specific moment from your gaming journey.
It can take the form of a serious agent narrative: Red Wolf’s “Eclipsed Gold Rose,” Shepherd’s “Requiem,” and other Red Skin theme songs have been adapted for the stage. In other games, these Red Skins would simply be commercial skins.A friend who works as a game designer once remarked to me that he felt Delta’s operators and skins had a certain vibe reminiscent of the main characters in mobile games: they’re not just for self-admiration, but also serve as a vehicle for players to immerse themselves in this world.
It could also be a playful nod to internet memes. Daniel Wu assembled a gun on stage, then paraded around the venue brandishing an M14 with a large magazine drum, exuding “boundless swagger”; community hit songs like “The Little Song About Eating” were officially adapted into the show “Mouse Mouse Rhapsody”;When “Uncle Gem” sang “True Brothers Are Hard to Come By,” the audience chanted in unison, “The bond forged while peeling garlic”; players also spontaneously shouted “Happy New Year”—just like evacuating together in *Top Secret: Space*—passing the cheer from one to another, until even Daniel Wu, when he returned to the stage to greet the crowd, ended up wishing everyone a “Happy New Year.”
These inside jokes are woven into the daily lives of Delta players; the developers have collected them one by one, polished them to a shine, and placed them center stage.
Immediately afterward, in the “Shared Dream” segment, they pulled you out of the atmosphere of joke-making: you were there to witness Wang Yuhao perform “Chasing Dreams in the Starry River,” as the lights on stage and in the audience gradually merged into a sea of stars. The people who had been shouting out jokes just moments before fell silent, and some had already begun to wipe away tears.
“Relatability” was the most consistent theme running through the entire evening’s program. It could get you dancing to “viral hits” one moment and pull you into a collective emotional journey the next—like an emotional roller coaster. Looking at the evening as a whole, I think it’s clear that Delta’s understanding of “content” is becoming increasingly defined.
John Carmack, the "father of Doom," once made a famous statement: "FPS games should have a story, but the story isn't that important." This statement defined the narrative paradigm for several generations of FPS games. Delta, to some extent, breaks with this tradition and forges its own narrative path.
The story in Delta is “unimportant” in the sense that it rarely forces players to pause their gameplay with long cutscenes. Yet it’s rich enough to inspire a wealth of fan-created content.The intricate web of stories actually unfolds naturally as you play and browse the community: by completing benchmark quests and defeating bosses, you’ll naturally come to know Asara’s leader Seid, Security Director Demulan, and Warden Gehros;This anniversary event, “Hackclaw’s Web Surfing,” uses forum posts to delve deeply into the conflicts and collaborations among the three major factions: Hafk, G.T.I., and Asara;The “Black Tide” Blitz Mode trailer quietly reveals the fate of Seid, who fell off a cliff during Season 9: “You are not welcome on the Um River.”
But that’s not all.At the Two Continents Anniversary event, Delta also released three Operative narrative PVs, using a cinematic approach to fill in the backstories of Wei Long, Die, and Deep Blue—details that hadn’t been explored in their Operative profiles. In Delta, everything from in-game missions and out-of-game events to short films—and even an inconspicuous line of dialogue from an Operative—serves as a vessel for the story.
Free from the constraints of a specific medium, a good story can be told in countless ways. Delta has broadened the definition of “content”: it’s not just about official, capital-intensive productions like videos, copywriting, and art—it also involves breaking down the game’s world-building into smaller pieces and embedding them in quests, voice lines, events, and Easter eggs, leaving it up to the player community to create derivative works and spread them.The developers ignite the spark, and players fan the flames—crucially, the story itself transforms into the intricate layers of the gaming experience.
In addition, through this two-continent anniversary celebration, Delta has clearly established “Being with Players” as its theme for the new year. In his annual address, Shadow put the players first: “Thank you for joining Delta and sharing so many unforgettable stories—it is these stories that make up our shared memories. In the new year, I hope to continue playing alongside all of you.”
This sends a strong message to players: Rooting itself in the culture created by players and building closer ties with them are Delta’s top priorities as the game marks its second anniversary. That’s why they’re honoring “memes” and providing a stage for elements emerging from the community to take center stage.“I’m here to play with you” was originally a bold declaration from the “Yanzu” meme. After the official team tweaked the tone slightly, it became the festival’s theme slogan, signifying “the official team playing alongside players and welcoming more players to join in.” It was a rather clever adaptation.
From the perspective of the genre’s characteristics, this evolution makes perfect sense. From “blow-up” games to “Battle Royale” and now to the “search, attack, and retreat” style, the objectives within each match have gradually diminished, while the game’s social potential has continued to rise. The community formed by players has become an integral part of the gaming experience, so it’s only natural to hand over more control over the content to the players.From its approach to content storytelling to the extent of co-creation with players, Delta is constantly raising the bar.
02
Crossing the Threshold of Trust
However, to attribute the success of this year’s “Two Continents” event entirely to “Delta deciding to take a player-co-creation approach” or “Delta finally taking advice” would be a crude and inaccurate assessment.
Delta already adapted the community meme “A Little Song That Went Viral” into an official program last year. It generated quite a buzz back then, but at that time, players in the comments section were all talking about different things—they clearly weren’t as immersed as they are this time.
What has changed? “Staying in communication” and “connecting with players” have long been part of Delta’s arsenal, but this challenge isn’t one that can be overcome in a single day.Early results weren’t always encouraging; they were more like the “first three steps” toward earning applause. But by persisting with this approach of observation, empathy, and communication, they finally achieved results toward the end of the second year that prompted more players to offer praise of their own accord.
Many producers have told Teahouse: When it comes to what constitutes a “good game,” many players have their own set of values, but these standards are becoming increasingly blurred. As developers, it’s getting harder and harder to get everything right the first time during development and the early stages after launch. This is the challenge Delta faces, and it’s also a common issue for this entire era and the next generation of long-lasting products.
For example, players may want better graphics in a game, but device performance can become a bottleneck. When Delta recently announced that it would begin upgrading certain maps to UE5, many players expressed concerns about storage space.Another example: the game is supposed to “listen to player feedback,” but many still recall that, around the one-year anniversary, there were two diametrically opposed opinions regarding whether to “reset the servers”—with verifiable examples supporting both the “reset” and “no reset” camps, and the viewpoints themselves clashing. Knowing how to incorporate player suggestions is a highly challenging task.Players want high drop rates, robust anti-cheat measures, and the smoothest possible gameplay experience, but there’s inevitably a tug-of-war surrounding the in-game economy.
Each option has proven examples demonstrating that it can contribute to a game’s success; at the same time, there are also counterexamples of failures that prove it can be a pitfall. Even for some single-player or smaller-scale games, having a strong point in just one of these areas is enough to establish a foothold and survive.However, as a top-tier product with over 50 million daily active users, Delta faces a more complex user base and must strike a balance across a wider range of factors.
The comic *Halves* by cartoonist Herta Burbe
This “balancing act” is very much like the cartoon above. Imagine the players as the semicircle on the left side of the image: a massive group of over 50 million daily active players, whose collective needs create an extremely complex set of intersecting demands.What Delta does is harmonize multiple aspects—gameplay, operations, marketing, and creative initiatives—to find a solution that maximizes the common ground for the majority, thereby mapping out that complex interplay.Through steady, day-by-day effort, there will eventually come a day when, like gears, everything clicks into place with the players’ needs.
I’m not saying that Delta’s long-term operational strategy is always spot-on—you may have heard of incidents like the “shared prison” and “Operation Three Red Skins”—but Delta’s unassailable strength lies in the fact that they consistently use these past events as a compass to guide their future.
At this stage, it’s become quite difficult for us to further break down and summarize strategies within this deep integration between players and Delta. But as for Delta itself, they have indeed found a more comfortable way to connect with players.
More often than not, you’ll simply notice many changes happening quietly in the background: During Season 4 and Season 5, there were still heated debates over the difficulty of the 3×3 safe box missions, but now they’ve been balanced more reasonably; the difficulty of obtaining the second-anniversary “Bird’s Nest” Easter egg is much more manageable than last year;there are fewer high-preparedness maps, and more in-game entertainment options like playing the harmonica and fishing. Taken individually, these changes may seem insignificant, but they point in a surprisingly consistent direction: reducing the pressure in matches, making room for players who don’t want to “go all out,” and offering more choices to players with different preferences.This is how the barrier to trust is gradually broken down, inch by inch.
These changes also echo many of Shadow’s statements during this year’s annual release: to make Asala a sufficiently inclusive environment where Operators from all corners of the world can find greater meaning in their adventures within the vibrant world of Asala.
03
Another Phase of the Delta
So, how should we evaluate Delta on its second anniversary? They’ve been tackling difficult challenges every step of the way—from “search, battle, and retreat” esports to the operation of socially oriented products with high DAU—and for many of these issues, there were no precedents to draw upon. Yet they’ve blazed many new trails and found solutions to numerous challenges. They are clearly taking on even tougher challenges.
Take the launch of the Black Tide Blast Beta season, for example—the first wave of issues became apparent immediately. For instance, the “Space Transit Station” map is too small, making it difficult to execute tactics. With a complete overhaul of skill and weapon stats, some Operators have no chance to see playtime at all.Looking further ahead, will Black Tide Blast become a “third mode” alongside Grand Battlefield and Warzone, driving a new wave of growth? Maintaining long-term updates and balance for three separate content sets simultaneously has become significantly more challenging than in the past.
But Delta has been taking a very steady approach. They didn’t rush the launch; this season has been designated as the “Beta Season,” and the developers have “sincerely invited everyone to share their suggestions and candid feedback.” This has put some of our minds at ease regarding the mode’s future: the core gunplay mechanics are solid, and the audience for bomb defusal modes is large enough.
Building upon its own foundation to iterate and surpass itself, all while remaining steady. Now in its second year, Delta has reached a new stage: it no longer needs to prove whether it has a player base, nor does it need to prove that this genre is viable. The real challenge ahead is how to maintain sound judgment amid the ever-increasing complexity of an increasingly massive game.
Less recklessness, more consultation, and stronger player engagement—these are the fundamental skills Tencent has honed through its many high-DAU products over the years. But at this stage, the challenges Delta faces are becoming increasingly specific and unique to Delta itself.
The larger the scale, the more game modes there are, and the more complex player expectations become. The real challenge has shifted from finding a single “right answer” to continuously assessing, in an ever-changing environment, what to stick with, what to adjust, and when to let players help find the answer together.
This is also where I feel Delta, on its second anniversary, has truly entered “another phase.” It will still encounter new challenges, and the Black Tide Blast is just one of them. But compared to the Delta of two years ago—which needed to prove that “Search, Strike, and Withdraw” could scale up—it now has a clearer rhythm: step out, listen to the feedback, and then keep moving forward.
On the evening of September 26, as the concert ended, the lights in the venue came back on. The players who had just been shouting “Delta rocks!” from the audience began to get up one by one, some still humming the songs they’d just heard. The crowd gradually dispersed toward the exits, and a few of my friends couldn’t wait—they tugged at me, saying we had to find an internet café to log in right away.See? Less than ten minutes after the show ended, people were already thinking about going back to Asala. For Delta, the two-year anniversary is certainly not the final chapter.
But they’ve already passed through the narrow gate, and the road ahead is still long. Having come this far, Delta at least knows how to continue searching for the direction to take in the future.
原创文章，作者：游茶妹儿，禁止转载：https://youxichaguan.com/en/archives/221150
