It has been no secret that developer Everstone Studio has seen immense success with its open-world title Where Winds Meet since the title’s release last month. In an interview with FRVR, lead producer of Where Winds Meet, Beralt Lyu, expressed his surprise about the sheer number of players experiencing the game, however.
While Lyu noted that he was optimistic about the game’s success thanks to its Wuxia setting and trappings, the fact that it has managed to get 9 million players still came as a shock to him. And, as an added bonus, the player numbers have also been beating all internal expectations about the game’s success.
“We hoped it would find its audience, the players who would love the freedom and mystery we tried to create,” he said. “But 9 million players in two weeks… that number has honestly blown all our internal expectations out of the water.”
Thanks to this, Lyu has noted that Everstone Studio has been feeling plenty of pride in the game it made. However, along with the pride, the studio is also feeling the weight of responsibility. This comes down to the fact that the studio sees the 9 million players figure as more than just a statistic; the studio sees the number as “9 million individual journeys into our world”.
“The mood in the studio is hard to put into words,” he said. “There’s definitely pride and excitement—seeing years of hard work resonate with so many people is a feeling like no other. But what really hits us, more than anything, is the sense of responsibility.”
“Those 9 million aren’t just a metric. They represent 9 million individual journeys into our world. Seeing players share their stories, master the martial arts, and dive into the lore on social media… it’s incredibly motivating and incredibly humbling at the same time.”
As for what this sense of responsibility means for the studio, and what it means for Where Winds Meet, Lyu said that this feeling was never the goal for the studio. Rather, it is the fuel that the studio needs to keep developing and improving on the open-world title.
“To put it simply, the overwhelming feeling is one ofdeep gratitude and a focused determination,” he said. “This incredible show of trust isn’t the end goal; it’s the fuel. It’s what pushes us to keep improving and expanding this world for everyone. The journey has really just begun, and we’re so grateful to have this amazing community with us.”
Just a few weeks after release, Where Winds Meet is already slated to get a major update this month. The studio announced that the update is slated for release alongside the game’s mobile launch on December 11, and will bring with it a brand new zone and two new boss fights for players to experience. Later in the month, the studio has even more content for the game planned, including the Velvet Shade Sect and the introduction of a new Sword Trial, dubbed Scarlet Shock.
For more details about Where Winds Meet, check out our review.
