Inside the Tokyo headquarters of Surrey Electronics, a wave of personnel changes was underway.
This time, the adjustments mainly focused on the entertainment division.
Several top executives from Detroit Pictures, a subsidiary, were replaced. Due to declining profits, Hayakawa Ueto felt it was time to remove some of the old guard and promote younger, more innovative minds to create works that fit the current era.
On the music side, Surrey also made some changes to their record label. But since the music division had stable revenue, only minor adjustments were made—just two younger executives were brought in to explore potential changes while keeping the current foundation intact.
Apart from the film and music sectors, Surrey Electronics' third entertainment branch was its gaming division.
Unlike the other two, the gaming division was directly managed by Surrey Electronics itself.
It was also the department where Hayakawa Ueto had truly established his authority.
He had always taken great care of the gaming department.
...
...
Even when the video game industry went through a crash, he insisted on keeping it alive.
However, over time, the department's leadership became complacent. Revenue declined, but no one seemed interested in change. Eventually, Hayakawa made a bold decision—to completely clean house.
Regardless of personal relationships or loyalties, he replaced all senior managers in the gaming division with younger talent.
These were individuals who had founded game studios or gained recognition for their indie game projects.
Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had also been interested in these people, even extending invitations. But Surrey offered more competitive salaries. Besides, Gamestar didn't desperately need them, and Takayuki himself wasn't keen on monopolizing all the talent. So he let it go.
As a result, these individuals naturally joined Surrey.
And soon enough, they showed impressive game development skills.
Each of them had their own strengths. Surrey's games started gaining a proper player base, finally moving away from the struggles of the past.
After a year or two, they had proven themselves. So in this latest overhaul, Hayakawa promoted them all.
In other departments, such sweeping changes wouldn't have been possible due to other shareholders. But in the gaming division, Hayakawa had full control.
From the day the department was founded, it had always been managed by him alone. And since it hadn't been very profitable in the past, no one else had shown interest in it.
That allowed this overhaul to go smoothly.
The former executives weren't fired. Instead, they were reassigned to idle roles.
Due to Japan's lifetime employment culture, even Surrey Electronics couldn't just terminate them all.
Today was the official first day for the newly promoted staff to assume their roles.
They looked more motivated than ever.
With Hayakawa's support, they now had a chance to shine—possibly even more so than they would at Gamestar.
After all, Gamestar had many talented people. Rising to the top there would be extremely difficult. But at Surrey, they had a shot at becoming senior executives.
"President, thank you so much for your trust and support. I'll do my best to create more amazing games in this role!" said one man in his early 30s, visibly moved.
He had been in the industry for years, and this promotion to a senior position in Surrey's gaming division was a huge step forward.
Other newly promoted executives also expressed their gratitude and loyalty, vowing to give their all for Surrey.
But Hayakawa cut them off, saying:
"I don't need your thanks. I promoted you for one reason—to inject new thinking into this department. And if any of you prove capable enough, you'll have a shot at becoming my successor—the next CEO of Surrey Electronics. That's my promise, if you do well enough."
His words stunned the room.
A chance to become CEO?
Some remained composed.
Others couldn't hide the excitement in their eyes.
Becoming the CEO of Surrey Electronics...
In terms of business status, it wouldn't be much less than Gamestar.
To become someone on par with their industry idol—it sounded incredible.
One person couldn't hold back and spoke up:
"President, I've had an idea for a while that I think could help our game division."
Hayakawa turned to him. He was one of the newly promoted game producers.
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"This is something I learned in a course I once attended. It left a big impression on me. I've always wanted to try it, but never had the chance. Now, maybe we can. Though it will come at a cost."
Hayakawa didn't speak. He simply looked at him, waiting.
The man continued without hesitation:
"President, I'd like to expand my development team. From art and music to programming, modeling, motion capture—we need talent across all roles. Ideally, the team should reach 1,000 people."
A thousand? For just one project?
Hayakawa narrowed his eyes.