NetEase's Where Winds Meet attracts 15 million players worldwide within its first month.

      Credit: NetEase

      On Monday, NetEase announced that the international version of its martial arts-themed open-world RPG, Where Winds Meet, has drawn over 15 million players globally in just one month since its launch, establishing a new record for overseas outreach among Chinese wuxia games. This number indicates a rising interest in martial arts games developed in China from international audiences.

      The publishing head for Where Winds Meet highlighted that sharing Chinese cultural narratives on a global scale is both a significant opportunity and a responsibility for today's Chinese game developers, as reported by People’s Daily.

      Importance: Being the first open-world wuxia game driven by Chinese technology and focused on Chinese cultural stories to gain traction in Western markets, Where Winds Meet intends to broaden its support for additional platforms and introduce more localized languages. This will enable a wider international audience to experience the game and engage with aspects of traditional Chinese culture.

      Details: The game’s international version debuted globally on November 14 across various platforms, including Steam, PS5, and Epic Games Store. As of now, Where Winds Meet has received around 85,000 user reviews on Steam, holding an overall positive rating of approximately 88%, categorized as Very Positive.

      According to third-party game data from Raijin.gg, the leading countries for Where Winds Meet players include the United States (17.8%), Brazil (8.6%), Germany (6.6%), France (5.2%), Russia (4.2%), Poland (3.6%), the United Kingdom (3.4%), Spain (3.0%), Japan (2.8%), and Canada (2.6%). These percentages represent the largest segments of the game's Steam player demographic.

      Set during the period of the Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and the early Song Dynasty, the game features a three-layer narrative system that includes main quests, side missions, and hidden plots, offering over 200 hours of gameplay. Players can take on various roles, such as a healer, detective, or merchant, and can discover concealed storylines through intricate interactions, like teasing NPCs.

      Its combat system combines lightness techniques, martial arts abilities, and weapon counter mechanics, allowing for unrestricted combinations regardless of school affiliation. The game includes both Chinese and English voiceovers, with text prompts adapted for non-Chinese speakers to facilitate understanding of cultural aspects.

      Operating on a free-to-play model with optional purchases, Where Winds Meet avoids a “pay-to-win” approach, focusing its paid content on cosmetic items, battle passes, and other elements that do not impact gameplay. Its cross-platform design for PC, consoles, and mobile devices enables players to change devices while preserving their game progress.

      Context: Where Winds Meet was initially launched in China on PC on December 27, 2024, followed by a mobile release in early January 2025. According to the data platform Sensor Tower, during the first half of 2025, Where Winds Meet generated 1.366 billion RMB ($187 million) in revenue in China.

      Jessie Wu is a tech reporter based in Shanghai. She covers consumer electronics, semiconductors, and the gaming industry for TechNode. Connect with her via e-mail: [email protected].