If the title didn't explicitly say "Second Zhou Anniversary," I would hardly believe that this "Zhou Anniversary" for Delta Force was organized by a new game that is only two years old.
Judging by the packed house for two consecutive days at Chongqing Huaxi Live, the venue for this "Zhou Anniversary," the number of players attending offline has reached nearly ten thousand. Looking back at the history of Delta Force's offline events, such a grand scale is a first.
But as a veteran of Delta Force who has been with the game since its beta phase, beyond the significant increase in scale and player count, I see other highlights in the venue setup for this "Zhou Anniversary."
For example, the layout of the outdoor booths.
Such outdoor facilities have been an essential part of previous events. However, beyond standard content like platform promotion and interactive check-ins, this "Zhou Anniversary" featured a very special booth: CPR training.
In the game, promptly reviving downed teammates to help them rejoin the battle is an operation every player is accustomed to. Additionally, various medical-related "Big Reds" in the "Hazard Operations" mode have left a deep impression on players.
At this "Zhou Anniversary," Delta Force partnered with Tencent SSV "Penguin Emergency Assistant," Tencent Charity, and Tencent Growth Guardian to launch the "Protect Life, Glad You're Here" emergency response public welfare campaign. Combining game-related content, they provided attendees with a vivid and practical emergency response lesson in real life.
At this special booth, besides checking in for rewards, you can learn and practice emergency response procedures under the guidance of staff. For participating players, the knowledge gained from this emergency response lesson might prove useful in sudden emergencies in the future, allowing the "Battlefield Angels" from the game to shine in reality and save more lives.
Another example is that the outdoor exhibition area of this "Zhou Anniversary" is a complete circular corridor, dispersing the various "Big Red" models and artistic paintings that were previously concentrated into different parts of the outdoor area.
After walking around the loop and sequentially "unlocking" "Big Reds" like "Level 6 Ammo," "Suisui Duck," and "Piano Bird Nest" that appeared during Delta Force's development, along with various community-created artworks displayed on the venue walls, you'll feel like you're visiting an art gallery or museum.
Additionally, various "Big Red" model exhibits were displayed in glass cases this time. Compared to the previous "Big Red" wall in the collection room, on-site attendees could appreciate the details of the exhibits up close. This unprecedented sense of immersion is one of the biggest features of the outdoor area at this "Zhou Anniversary."
However, although the outdoor area offered plenty of surprises, the "main course" of this "Zhou Anniversary" truly arrived for all attending players only after the indoor events officially began.
On the first day of the event, the "Havoc Celebrity Exhibition Match" kicked off, featuring top Delta Force streamers like Bai Ze, Nan Bo Wan, and Xiao Two Jiejie, as well as renowned streamers like Coke Laoshi, Tu Niang, and Haishi. Moreover, this exhibition match officially announced Fan Chengcheng as the new brand ambassador for Delta Force.
In the exhibition match, he teamed up with veteran celebrity players Chen He and Eddie Peng to form the "Celebrity Team," launching a hunt challenge against the other five "Expert Teams." They delivered intense firefights with back-and-forth action and created memorable moments like "the trio being wiped out by Old Sai in the Admin Building," maximizing the entertainment value on site.
After the "Havoc Celebrity Exhibition Match," filled with excitement and laughter, heated up the atmosphere, the day's events reached the highly anticipated segment—the Summer Finals of the Delta Force "Havoc Pro League."
During the regular season earlier this year, the "Havoc Pro League" Summer Split introduced format innovations like "Point Match System" and "Dynamic Grouping." This extended the selection chain and placed higher demands on team stability throughout the season. As a result, the teams that broke through to the finals endured long and intense tug-of-war battles, culminating in the final ROUND 8 decider, where five out of six teams had secured the first brick and opened match points in a nail-biting situation.
Ultimately, Top Esports stabilized their rhythm amidst the chaotic battle at the Baksh Museum involving multiple teams, occupied the second-floor balcony, firmly held the decryption point, secured double bricks, and made history by achieving the first consecutive championship in the "Havoc Pro League."
The Summer Finals have concluded, but the esports spirit of Delta Force is far from over. In this tournament, the top three teams—Top Esports, RSG, and IBG—will represent the Mainland China region at the Stockholm World Championship starting on November 27th. At that time, all loyal fans following the "Havoc Pro League" will witness another carnival.
Time moved to the second day. Although the passionate esports battles had ended, the most heavyweight and attractive part of this "Zhou Anniversary" was just beginning. At 16:00 on the 26th, Delta Force producer Shadow took the main stage, officially kicking off the annual press conference.
At the press conference, Shadow first reviewed the moments Delta Force shared with 50 million players since launch. Then, a series of update plan "bombs" brought numerous unexpected surprises to all players watching online and offline.
Shadow announced that following the iterations of the "Space Base" and "Longbow Valley" maps, "Baksh," the most comprehensive map, will also receive its own dedicated optimizations. Furthermore, the highly requested "Shooting Range" iteration will be scheduled; the familiar "Special Ops HQ" will undergo its "Phase 1 Expansion Plan," allowing players to freely customize their personal space within the "Special Ops HQ," enhancing its social attributes alongside its functionality.
Regarding new content, the new map "Skyline" for the "Havoc Warfare" mode will debut this November. It will push the boundaries of gameplay and visual experience in "Havoc Warfare" once again with the grander "Tsunami" battlefield evolution event.
In "Hazard Operations," the new map "Siege" will officially launch during the Spring Festival in 2027. Before the press conference, "Siege" had already garnered high anticipation from players as the mysterious "Valkyrie" region within the large "Hazard Operations" map. At this press conference, the "Siege" map integrated three difficulty levels: "Normal/Confidential/Top Secret." Its bold design, accommodating various current gameplay styles through "Inner City" and "Outer City" zones, drew cheers from many players.
It is predictable that the official release of "Siege" will bring another unprecedented wave of excitement to the "Hazard Operations" zone in Delta Force.
Furthermore, at the press conference, Shadow revealed a series of upcoming major collaborations, including Phantom Blade Zero, Pop Mart, and INART action figures. The brand-new mode "Black Tide Demolition," which previously held offline trials, will go live immediately on September 27th after the event ends, prompting many players to schedule "starting 'Zhou' right after returning home."
After the press conference, the day continued with award ceremonies for the "Top 10 Creators" and "Top 10 Memes," as well as a "Black Tide Demolition" exhibition match, reflecting the thriving player ecosystem of Delta Force.
In the subsequent "Black Tide Demolition" exhibition match, a team of top FPS gunners including XDD, Haotian, and Chengcheng Dawang faced off against a team of demolition mode veterans including DANK1NG and Lao Feiyu. Although the gunners achieved frequent kill streaks, the veterans with a deeper understanding of the demolition mode ultimately won the match. This result fully reflects the uniqueness of the "Black Tide Demolition" mode and the new gameplay fun it brings to Delta Force.
That evening, the "Zhou Anniversary" entered its final stage—a special concert. In addition to fixed tracks like the game's theme song "Voice of Asara," operator research skin theme songs "Dawn," "MADE OF FIRE," and "Lone Survivor," various community memes beloved by players, just like during the "First Zhou Anniversary," permeated the entire performance.
From the official adoption of the "Asara Soldier Playing Piano" meme at the beginning, to Daniel Wu's live performance of the "Jiahao Tune" "†TAKEDISKRUSH!†," and performances of songs like "Gunfire," "Rare True Brothers," and "Rat Rat漫奏," these familiar community-created elements not only evoked "Zhou Anniversary memories" for all attendees but also effectively summarized Delta Force's journey so far.
But unlike before, with more accumulated community culture, this concert showcased a moving side beyond just easygoing memes. At the end of the concert, as the Lingxiao Guard theme song "Chasing Dreams in the Galaxy" played, countless messages from Delta Force players appeared on the big screen. Like brilliant stars in the night sky, they gathered to form a dazzling galaxy, reminding all online and offline attendees of their moments with Delta Force over the past two years.
Since its launch, Delta Force has been labeled with many honors, from "phenomenal FPS" to "high-budget domestic production" and "evergreen new force." Meanwhile, as a pioneer in cross-gameplay and cross-platform concepts within the field, Delta Force, with its complex player demographic, has also experienced setbacks marked by frequent controversies.
Looking back at Delta Force's development over the past year, it's clear that the game hasn't rested on its laurels nor stubbornly tried to "teach players how to play." Over the past year, Delta Force introduced the slogan "Aggression Undefined" for the "Aggression Festival," and launched diverse gameplay modes such as treasure hunting, soccer, card games, and fishing.
From aggression to knife-running, and then to casual gameplay, Delta Force has recognized every type of player with vastly different preferences and strived to meet each of their demands, responding with actions to the promise made during the "First Zhou Anniversary" to "make Zhou great." The audience standing up and shouting "Delta Force is awesome" during the final song "See You Again Zhou" at the concert completed a mutual appreciation between the development team and the player base.
In such an atmosphere, I have every reason to believe that Delta Force has a brighter tomorrow ahead.
Generally, after attending similar offline events, I would comment, "The future looks promising." But in the face of Delta Force's execution power, this phrase feels somewhat distant and polite.
In comparison, I'd like to take this opportunity to share some practical expectations for next year's "Third Zhou Anniversary":
For instance... could "Wrong Love" also be arranged?