NetEase Games’ Where Winds Meet recently hosted an event in Vietnam to celebrate the launch of its free-to-play Wuxia action-RPG title in the country, completing its Southeast Asia rollout. In partnership with Funtap Games, the game arrives with Vietnamese localization, optimized mobile controls, and cross‑platform progression across PC, console, and mobile.
Speaking to Southeast Asian media, Joy Chen, Southeast Asian Publishing Lead for Where Winds Meet, talked about the game’s philosophy, its global reception, and what lies ahead, painting a picture of a living Wuxia world shaped by history, community, and artistry.
A New Chapter Beyond Hidden Mountain
While she could not talk about specifics, Chen teased what players can expect from Where Winds Meet in October: “Following the conclusion of the Hidden Mountain storyline, this update will introduce a brand‑new region, a completely independent story, and a new sect.”
“While Hidden Mountain emphasized verticality, freerunning, and exploring from high altitudes to underwater, this new region will offer players a fresh sense of exploration. Its core gameplay will also be entirely new—how players interact with the open world, solve puzzles, and uncover hidden treasures will differ significantly from what they have experienced before.”
Monetization as Philosophy
Unlike many online RPGs, Where Winds Meet has resisted pay‑to‑win mechanics.
Chen explained, “From the very beginning, our goal was not to create just another commercial game, but rather a work of art. We didn’t want any paywalls blocking players from enjoying the main narrative, boss encounters, or the freedom of exploring a Wuxia open world.”
The company has spent hundreds to thousands of hours conducting historical research to faithfully render these elements in Where Winds Meet, and the players have appreciated this direction.
She also emphasized that cosmetics are the main monetization driver, tailored to regional tastes: “Asian players often prefer traditional Wuxia aesthetics, whereas Western players show greater interest in pet‑themed or battle‑oriented styles. Based on community feedback and voting, we have even released overseas‑exclusive cosmetics.”
Demystifying Jianghu
Chen also reflected on misconceptions about Wuxia: “While Asian players may have a deeper familiarity with Wuxia lore, Western audiences often associate it primarily with ‘Kung Fu.’ But Wuxia goes far beyond combat or weapons; it is a lifestyle and a philosophy rooted in history and poetry. Forcing a definition onto players would contradict the very spirit of Wuxia itself.”
“Wuxia goes far beyond combat or weapons; it is a lifestyle and a philosophy rooted in history and poetry. We convey this through accessible, well-crafted narratives rather than lecturing players. For example, in the Hidden Mountain expansion, players encounter the Mohist sect and their internal struggle between “opening up to the world” or “isolating in the mountains.” This conflict highlights complex historical context and personal choice—a true reflection of Wuxia philosophy.”
Where Winds Meet Localization and SEA Operations
For Southeast Asia, localizing Where Winds Meet is more than translation, and they understand this very well, going beyond language when localizing.
“First, localization is about communicating emotion and the Wuxia spirit, not just literal word translation. Given the vast volume of text, we are continuously iterating. This applies not only to new chapters like Hidden Mountain, but also to earlier starting regions like Qinghe and Kaifeng, where we refine localized dialogue to polish the player experience.”
“Second, about regional operations, we partner with local distributors (such as Funtap) in certain countries to enhance customer support and community management. Long-term, we are evaluating offline player meetups and event appearances in Southeast Asia to bring us closer to our community.”
Collaborations with Masters
The team’s artistic ambitions extend to high‑profile collaborations. Joy recounted working with legendary action director Yuen Woo‑ping.
“We reached out to Master Yuen Woo-ping early this year to initiate a cooperation to further refine the martial art actions shown in our combat and use of weaponry, aiming to deliver the purest, most authentic Wuxia experience. Beyond his legendary cinematic eye and motion-capture guidance, What inspired us the most was his insistence that martial arts must feel grounded in real-world physics.”
“He closely audited details such as body weight transfer, core stability, and force delivery for each stance. Thanks to his guidance, our combat moves are not only visually striking, but every strike carries genuine weight and momentum when played”
She also highlighted the Reflection Temple stage, inspired by Ghost Month traditions and co‑created with filmmaker Kevin Ko (Incantation). “We will absolutely pursue similar collaborations. Whenever our story calls for it, we will partner with leading industry masters to deliver an authentic experience.”
Listening to the Community
Chen also stressed that player feedback drives development of Where Winds Meet, saying that they are always in touch with the pulse of the community.
“We actively aggregate feedback across Reddit, Discord, X, Instagram, and Facebook. Beyond vocal community feedback, we analyze player demographics and gameplay preferences. For instance, we introduced the Homestead and Companion systems to cater to casual players who might not post frequently on social media.”
Looking Ahead
With the first anniversary of Where Winds Meet approaching, Chen promised the biggest celebration yet: “We will bring players plenty of new narrative content, gameplay modes, and the largest welfare rewards since launch to thank them for their support throughout the year.”
And when asked about expanding to platforms like Switch 2, Chen was clear: “We hear the community’s demand regarding platforms like Switch 2 loud and clear. However, our uncompromising commitment is that players on any platform must enjoy an uncompromised, top-tier experience. We refuse to rush multi-platform launches if it means delivering a degraded experience that erodes player trust. We will only expand to new hardware once our technical capabilities guarantee full quality parity at the right timing.“
Where Winds Meet Hidden Mountain Chapter 3, the climactic finale of the saga, arrives September 16, 2026.
