NetEase’s Where Winds Meet tops 100M players worldwide

NetEase Games and Everstone Studio announced that Where Winds Meet, an epic open-world Wuxia ARPG, has officially surpassed 100 million players worldwide.

To celebrate this monumental milestone, the team unveiled the upcoming launch of Hidden Mountain Chapter 3, the thrilling final installment of the Hidden Mountain storyline, set to release on September 16.

“Reaching 100 million players across the globe is a dream come true for our entire team, and we are deeply grateful to every wanderer who has embarked on this journey with us,” said Eric, head of Where Winds Meet publishing, in a statement. “As we continue into our Version 2.0 stage with the expansion of the Jianghu, we remain fully committed to delivering richer stories, deeper combat, and even more breathtaking Wuxia experiences for our community in the months and years ahead.”

100 million is the lucky number for Where Winds Meet. Source: NetEase Games On September 16, Where Winds Meet will release Hidden Mountain Chapter 3, the epic finale to the Hidden Mountain storyline. As tension escalates with the arrival of outsiders and long-buried secrets, rival factions face their ultimate choices. Players will dive into the heart of the storm to uncover the truth and shape the saga’s conclusion.

This final chapter brings a long-awaited confrontation with Qianye – the mastermind behind the tragedy at Blissful Retreat who destroyed your home and stole your loved ones. For the first time since that fateful fire, players will stand face-to-face with the arch-nemesis who set their journey in motion.

Alongside the dramatic narrative conclusion, the update will introduce two special Bosses, two open-world field Bosses, and a variety of new gameplay features and activities. (See videos here).

Where Winds Meet is dedicated to Wuxia experiences. Source: NetEase Games To deliver a cinematic Wuxia combat experience, Where Winds Meet has consistently partnered with legendary action directors, including Stephen Tung Wai. Pushing these martial arts standards even further, the team recently appointed Yuen Woo-ping – the iconic martial arts choreographer behind Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Matrix, and The Grandmaster – as the game’s Global Action Consultant.

Building on this dedication to authentic action, a brand-new martial arts set, Bamboo Cut – Draught, will launch on September 3. Inspired by Jackie Chan’s classic movie Drunken Master, this new style features visceral, hard-hitting impact paired with fluid, unpredictable movements that embody the poetic elegance of a true drunken master.

Where Winds Meet has beautiful graphics. Source: NetEase Games

• Extraction Mode: A brand-new Extraction Mode coming soon to the game, bringing a unique Wuxia spin to the genre. Players can fight head-on, vanish into the shadows, disguise themselves using the environment, or loot treasures without ever drawing a blade—offering unmatched tactical freedom.
• Ghost Month Special Event: Players can now dive into the Ghost Month event, an adventure rooted in traditional Chinese folk culture and taboo legends. Blending Wuxia with atmospheric Chinese horror elements, it reveals a darker, supernatural side of Jianghu.

Everstone is an emerging game production studio focusing on open world and ancient narrative. Gathering a group of energetic, pioneering gamers, the studio is driven by passion for Wuxia spirit in game narrative, combat performance, level design, and more.

The studio’s vision is to employ international game production techniques to express the unique concept of Eastern arts. With characters of certain historical backgrounds and Wuxia elements, the team aspire to reconstruct the distant past with cutting-edge technologies and bountiful detail, so as to build deep connections with our players and create an impressive open world that fills them with wonder.

Devoted to combining both real history and a huge world of both real and fantastic creatures, grand narrative and meticulous detail, Everstone Studio would like to use creative design in the growth of main characters to bring unprecedented flexibility and freedom to players, letting them roam boundlessly in a finite world.

“We’ve welcomed over 100 million players into the Jianghu. We’ve taken players from the rivers and mountains of Qinghe to the bustling city of Kaifeng, and then with the Heiji expansion, from the deserts of Jade Gate Pass to the snowy peaks of Liangzhou and the grasslands of Qinquan,” said a spokesperson for NetEase Games at a press event. “Each update brought a new side of the Jianghu. In June, the journey continued into the Imperial Palace. With every new destination, our goal has been to deliver a fresh and distinctive open-world Wuxia experience.”

On July 23, Everplay launched the Hidden Mountain expansion, officially entering the 2.0 era. Hidden Mountain. It takes players into a mysterious world hidden for over 1,000 years.

“We’ve completely reimagined how players explore the world,” the spokesperson said. “In Hidden Mountain, you can travel from towering peaks to floating structures, then deep into underground ruins. Second, most engineering is built into the world itself. Players can interact with unique inventions, solve puzzles, and find new ways to explore. Finally, enhanced lighting and dynamic environmental effects deliver a more immersive visual experience.”

Beyond the world itself, the team is also continuing to evolve what lies at the heart. It has begun a long-term collaboration with legendary action chronographer Yuan Wu Peng, known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Matrix, and Kill Bill.

“Today we’re bringing cinematic martial arts into the game,” the spokesperson said. “We are also inspired by iconic martial arts films, including Jackie Chan’s Drunken Fist. And on September 3, we are bringing Spear and Drunken Fist to the game. “

In chapter three of Hidden Mountain, players will finally meet Chen Yi again. Chen Yi is the enemy who burned Blissful Retreat, the place you once called home, and took away your family and friends. This is your first encounter since the fire, and the confrontation has been a long time coming. Players can go hands-on with chapter three at Gamescom.



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