Gritty Action RPGs Will Soon Have Big Budget Competition from One of the World’s Most Popular Devs
HoYoverse is reportedly developing a darker, more realistic action RPG for consoles and PC, currently known as ‘The Weavers’. Leaked images and short gameplay clips suggest it could compete in the Soulslike and fantasy action RPG space, marking a notable departure from the developer’s established anime-style games.
The project is said to feature open-world or open-zone exploration and combat with apparent influences from Souls games, Monster Hunter and Dragon’s Dogma. No official announcement, release date or business model has been confirmed, though the volume of leaks suggests development may be well advanced; some players have expressed concern it could use free-to-play gacha mechanics.
- HoYoverse reportedly has a realistic dark fantasy action RPG in development.
- Leaks suggest Soulslike-inspired combat and open-area exploration.
- Its release date and potential monetisation remain unconfirmed.
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HoYoverse is the Chinese developer behind hugely successful anime-style games including Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero. Its games are known for colourful characters, regular updates and free-to-play systems in which players can spend money for chances to obtain characters or items.
An action role-playing game lets players control a character in real-time combat while improving abilities and equipment. “Soulslike” usually describes difficult fantasy action games inspired by FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series, where careful timing, exploration and repeated attempts against tough enemies are central.
A darker console and PC game would put HoYoverse into competition with established makers of large fantasy action games. The project’s potential business model will be closely watched, because free-to-play random-reward mechanics have been a major part of HoYoverse’s existing games but are less common in premium-style action RPGs.