China’s newest blockbuster wuxia game has arrived, and global players can’t seem to put it down. Where Winds Meet, the free-to-play open-world action RPG (role-playing game) from Everstone Studios and published by NetEase Games, drew two million players in its first 24 hours after launching on 14 November, a breakout that cements China’s fast-rising ambitions in AAA development.
[See more: Chinese role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong achieves worldwide success]
If Black Myth: Wukong was last year’s global flex, Where Winds Meet is this year’s follow-through.
A strong start on every platform
Within hours of release, the wuxia epic punched its way into the top five most-played games on Steam, climbing past heavyweights with a peak of over 193,000 concurrent players. On the PlayStation Store, it quickly landed in the top three best-selling titles across at least seven regions.
User reception has been equally fierce. Steam players have already dropped more than 22,000 “very positive” reviews, praising everything from the martial-arts choreography to the sheer volume of content – impressive for a free download.
Wuxia spectacle meets historical drama
Set in the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the game explores classic wuxia storytelling, from wandering swordsmen and moral dilemmas to corrupt warlords and secret sects vying for power after the fall of the Tang dynasty.
Combat is choreographed by Hong Kong film director and multi-award winner Stephen Tung Wai, with accurate motion-captured stunts performed by professional martial artists – a detail players say makes every dodge, parry and sword clash feel authentically cinematic. The arsenal ranges from traditional weapons like spears and rope darts to tools like umbrellas and folding fans.
Its open world spans more than 20 regions, stitched together with dynamic weather, shifting political alliances, and over 10,000 NPCs (non-player characters) with distinct backstories, a level of world-building rarely seen in a free-to-play title.
A technical powerhouse with cross-platform freedom
Where Winds Meet runs on PC (Steam, Epic, and its official launcher) and PlayStation 5, and lets players hop between platforms with cross-progression. Players can tackle the campaign as a lone wanderer or switch instantly into multiplayer, forming guilds, challenging world bosses or diving into dungeons.
Microtransactions exist but are limited to cosmetic items, although the game’s layered progression systems will feel familiar to anyone who’s logged serious hours in mobile RPGs.
The AI NPCs everyone is talking about
But the feature generating the most headlines isn’t the combat, the world-building, or even the visuals, but it’s the AI-powered NPCs. These characters can hold free-form conversations using LLM technology, letting players type or speak naturally instead of clicking prewritten dialogue.
Reactions have ranged from impressed to uneasy. Some players have posted heartfelt exchanges with NPCs offering emotional support; others have pushed the system to its edges with chaotic prompts that feel more like social experiments. Everstone has not fully clarified how many NPCs have synthetic dialogue, but at least some of the AI interactions are optional, based on community reports.
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Still, it’s the first major wuxia game to use AI this boldly, and it’s become a flashpoint for the industry.
China’s growing presence in global gaming
For NetEase, one of China’s biggest gaming companies, Where Winds Meet is another step in its push to make Chinese games mainstream worldwide.
The publisher has long been a major player domestically, with partnerships that have included Blizzard Entertainment and Marvel, but the international success of both Wukong and Where Winds Meet marks a clear shift that China is no longer just exporting mobile hits, but it’s shipping big-budget cultural AAA titles too.
Critics and players largely impressed
Gaming sites have praised Where Winds Meet for its massive world, wuxia combat and unusual generosity for a free game. Reviewers highlight the mountain of side content, like cooking, fishing, crafting, base-building, and lighthearted mini-games that give the martial-arts epic unexpected cosy-game charm.
Some note that the UI and multiple in-game currencies feel busier than necessary – a quirk inherited from mobile design philosophy – but most agree the experience is ambitious, polished, and refreshingly distinct in a market dominated by Western fantasy.
With full English voice acting, broad subtitle support, and a global launch strategy, the game is clearly built for international audiences.
