Everstone Studio has released the latest long awaited update to its upcoming open world title, Where Winds Meet.
The Netease-owned studio announced the title in Gamescom 2022, signaling quite clearly that not only were there working on a AAA caliber title, but that it was going to be a global release. Last year, Netease released its first gameplay video, but today, they have announced a beta test.
Everstone shared this link for registering for the beta test, with this message:
“Dear Swordsman,
Thank you for your interest and support of “Where Winds Meet”. Our first Closed Beta test on PC will start on April 19, 2024!
We hope to hear from a variety of players to help us optimize the game. Please fill out the questionnaire based on your specific circumstances.
If you wish to participate in the test, please fill out this recruitment survey. We will randomly select testers from the applicants. Due to server limitations, this test is only open to the United States and Canada. Additionally, due to high hardware performance requirements, we will select devices based on hardware performance. Thank you for your understanding!
If you are selected as a tester, we will notify you via email. Please check your email before the start of the test. You can also follow us on Discord, Twitter, and other social media for updates. Thank you!”
All things considered, it sounds like Everstone’s title is still very early in production. But, they made this announcement public to remind gamers about it. Of course, like Western AAAs, it can take five years or longer for them to make this, but unlike those Western studios, they won’t be remembered as much.
Where Winds Meet may seem to be a cookie cutter historical RPG, and the resemblance to Team Ninja’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is clear. It’s clear, that is, unless you are versed in Chinese pop culture.
While Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a supposed prequel to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a popular semi-historical novel, Where Winds Meet is set hundreds of years later, in a specific time frame that may not be as embellished. The period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, is, to put it simply, a time when many smaller kingdoms in China competed with each other for territory and power.
The references to Li Yu, the third ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty, are mostly accurate. So we can trace the exact historical epoch the game is set in. The prominence of Li Yu’s name suggests a connection to the protagonist and the game’s theme (could the protagonist be his son?)
But, the real emperor in the protagonist’s milieu is Emperor Taizong of Northern Song, which this game may or may not portray kindly, as he was rumored to have killed his brother to take the throne.
So there’s some interesting material Everstone wants to use here, much as we saw Team Ninja use in their most recent title, Rise of the Ronin. But for now, Everstone keeps their secrets close so we’ll have to wait a little longer to learn more about what story they have in store.
In the meantime, you can check out Where Winds Meet’s latest trailer below.
