Everstone Studio: Where Winds Meet Success ‘Blew Expectations’

The developers behind the hit Wuxia open-world RPG, Where Winds Meet, have publicly expressed their deep gratitude following the game's explosive global launch. Everstone Studio, the team behind the free-to-play martial arts title, confirmed that the game’s performance has far exceeded their internal projections, turning years of hard work into a bona fide global phenomenon.

Lead Producer Beralt Lyu addressed the community after the game surpassed a major milestone of nine million players just two weeks after its Nov 14 release on PC and PlayStation 5. In a recent statement, Lyu described the reception as "humbling", "motivating", and "overwhelming". He noted that while the team always had faith in the freedom and mystery of the world they built, they did not anticipate such rapid success. Lyu admitted that the nine-million mark "blew all our internal expectations out of the water", creating a mood of pride and excitement within the studio that is hard to put into words.

For the development team, these numbers represent more than just data. Lyu emphasized that this figure represents "nine million individual journeys", fueling a deep sense of responsibility to maintain the world they have created. He stated that the overwhelming feeling at the studio is one of gratitude and focused determination. The developer views this show of trust from the gaming community not as an end goal, but as fuel to keep improving.

Steam Charts and Player Count

The numbers illustrate the sheer scale of this success. According to publisher NetEase, the game attracted over two million players within its first 24 hours online. On Steam, the title has secured a spot among the platform's top-played games, trailing only behind heavy hitters like Arc Raiders with hundreds of thousands of concurrent players. Specific data indicates the game peaked at 251,008 concurrent players on Steam alone, where it has garnered user ratings of a solid 87% positive score.

This global momentum mirrors the game's earlier success in China. When an earlier version launched there in December 2024, it amassed more than 15 million players. The financial outlook remains equally strong, with forecasts predicting the game could generate up to $327 million on mobile and $246 million on PC in its first year.

Players have largely praised the game for its production value and fairness. Lyu noted that the decision to keep cosmetics as the only purchasable items, strictly avoiding "pay-to-win" elements, has been the team's "greatest commercial advantage". To protect this integrity, Everstone has already banned around 5,000 accounts for cheating, such as using macros and speed hacks.

Looking ahead, Everstone Studio is preparing for the next phase of expansion. The developers have laid out a roadmap for December 2025, which includes the highly anticipated global mobile launch on December 12. With five million users already pre-registered for the mobile version, the update will also introduce a new desert region called "Roaring Sands", ensuring the rapidly growing community has fresh content to experience.