Where Winds Meet: A Beautiful World Made for Adventure

What Is “Where Winds Meet”?

Where Winds Meet is a free-to-play open-world action RPG made by Everstone Studio and published by NetEase Games.

It is deeply inspired by wuxia which is ancient Chinese martial arts and is set during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in China.

On the Steam page, you can see its beautiful world, the weapons you can use, and how choices matter.

History & Development

Everstone Studio first announced Where Winds Meet back in 2022 at Gamescom. NetEase officially confirmed a global release later, and there was a second closed beta in May 2025 for players in regions like the U.S., Japan, Canada, and Korea.

In China, the game had already launched on PC (December 27, 2024) and mobile (early 2025). The engine behind it is called Messiah Engine, custom-built for large open-world wuxia action.

How the Game Works: Gameplay & Features

In Where Winds Meet, you become a young sword master learning your true identity while exploring a large, living world.

You can choose how you fight: with swords, spears, dual blades, bows, fans, even umbrellas, and also use mystical martial arts like Tai Chi.

The open world has 20+ regions, and everything like time, weather, NPCs they feels alive and reactive. You can play solo, or team up with three other friends in co-op.

Company Behind It & Their Vision

Everstone Studio is the developer, and NetEase is the publisher. The team says they wanted to build a real, believable wuxia world, blending history, myth, and martial arts.

According to developers, this is very ambitious something “no other studio has done quite like this.” They also stress that monetization will be fair: it’s mainly cosmetic, not pay-to-win.

Global Release & Market Reach

On November 14, 2025, Where Winds Meet went live globally on PC and PS5. Before that, it gained huge traction in China with over 10 million pre-registrations before its global launch.

This Western release marks a big achievement for the NetEase to bring this distinctly Chinese fantasy game to a worldwide audience.

Player Reactions & Community Buzz

Players are mixed but generally excited. On Reddit, some praise its polish:

“I played 2 hours and it was so good … Legend mode makes it feel like a Dark Souls game.”
Others call out translation problems: a Chinese player said the English version “loses a lot of the poetic wuxia meaning.” There are also reports of texture bugs and “washed-out graphics” on PS5.

Why People Love It: And Why Some Worry

Many players love the scope and freedom the way you climb, glide, fight, or just explore feels very wuxia-like and cinematic.

Reviews highlight the “Sekiro-style” combat mixed with open-world elements. But there’s also concern: a big part of the game is AI-powered chatbot NPCs which is powered by LLM and some players say they break immersion or are used in silly, immature ways.

Financials & Why This Matters

NetEase and Everstone are betting big: the game is free-to-play globally, which means they’ll rely on cosmetic purchases, not pay-to-win.

If it sustains its early success, Where Winds Meet could be a major global flagship for NetEase. But how well it holds up will depend on updates, how active its global community stays, and whether localization issues like translation get better.

Conclusion: Is This a Game to Watch?

Where Winds Meet feels like a bridge between traditional Chinese wuxia stories and modern action-RPG design.

It’s ambitious, beautiful, and full of systems but not without its flaws. If you love open worlds, martial arts, and a deep, cultural story, this is absolutely a game to check out.

Just be ready: some parts may feel overwhelming, and depending on your language setting, you might miss a bit of its poetic soul.