NetEase’s massively successful free-to-play open-world RPG Where Winds Meet has launched to a massive audience of over 9 million players. Currently available on PC and PS5 with a mobile port just days away, the gorgeous open-world game surprisingly isn’t an Unreal Engine 5 game, but instead runs on its own proprietary toolset.
Where Winds Meet runs on the brand-new Messiah Engine, a toolset that originally started development in 2007. Currently powering just nine games, the engine has typically powered less grand experiences including Diablo Immortal and Ace Racer. However, the proprietary game engine has a lot of features that made it the perfect choice for the Where Winds Meet team.
“The main reason for using our own engine is that it allows us to deeply customise the engine according to the needs of the game,” explained lead producer Beralt Lyu. “This enables us to develop highly expressive game effects and allocate performance more effectively based on hardware differences.”
Lyu explains that the toolset has been designed to offer a powerful animation system as well as the ability to easily create complex, vast terrains. The team also developed an “extensive weather system, and a physics-based atmospheric system” that allowed them to create a “much grander and more open world.”
“We aim to leverage current technology to present a realistic, rich, and story-driven visual quality, showcasing vibrant and culturally distinct characteristics of the East,” Lyu continued. “We hope that when players enter the game, they can truly feel the unique atmosphere and essence of the Wuxia world.”
Of course, while the game is a massive technical showcase on PC and PS5, the game is also designed with scalability in line for the game’s mobile release on December 12, 2025. While we currently have not seen the game’s mobile performance as of yet, Messiah Engine is designed for the low-power hardware of mobile.
However, while the game on console and PC offers a gorgeous, impressive world, Lyu explains that the portability of the game on mobile—as well as the cuts to visuals—has a transformative effect on the game’s relationship with players.
“Our initial idea was to focus on PC and PS5 to showcase the most immersive and highest-quality aspects of the game, and then complete a mobile port to provide convenience for players,” Lyu aid. “The mobile version of the game offers players portability, not just for casual play or completing tasks in fragmented time, but it transforms the relationship between the game and players into something more interesting—a sense of companionship and immersion in the game world.”
Alognside the game’s technical makeup, the team has also been very vocal about their plans for additional content drops. The team working on Where Winds Meet are planning seasonal updates that will add massive new regions to the game at a frequent basis. Additionally, the team is “comitted” to not introducing any pay-to-win mechanics to the game as it continues to expand for years to come.
