When people hear HoYoverse, they probably think directly of various Gacha titles that stand out with their colorful anime aesthetics. The most well-known game is probably Genshin Impact. But now the developers are announcing a new, ambitious MMO that visually differs significantly from their other titles.
The Chinese development studio miHoYo has released several successful Gacha titles under its HoYoverse umbrella. All of them rely on colorful anime aesthetics:
- The Genshin Impact that strongly resembles Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- The turn-based RPG Honkai: Star Rail
- The two action titles Honkai Impact 3rd and Zenless Zone Zero
The titles have been generating high revenue for miHoYo for years thanks to their Gacha mechanics. According to businessofapps.com, Genshin Impact alone managed to generate $710 million in revenue in 2024.
With a newly announced title, they seem to want to move in a different direction. The department of miHoYo responsible for recruiting new staff posted a short teaser for an upcoming fantasy MMO project on a Chinese social media platform (via Eurogamer). It seems they have ambitious plans.
The teaser already shows that the game is intended to look quite different from the previous titles:
Realism and AI
What can be seen in the teaser? In the short teaser (via boss.mihoyo.com), one can see a form of underground river, and wave-like structures can be seen on the ceiling. In the background, two persons can be seen riding horses. The vegetation, water, and a small river creature look visually significantly more realistic than what one is used to from other miHoYo games.
The X-account @hxg_diluc posted an official banner for the announcement and translated the Chinese information. According to the user, various features are advertised:
- Unreal Engine 5
- Realism and fantasy
- Open world
- MMO
- PvP
- A simulated ecosystem by AI
- Boss battles
Intellectual
NPCs
This is quite an ambitious undertaking, for which the company seems to want to rely heavily on AI. The greater focus on multiplayer also seems to be a new approach.
When can we expect the game? Based on the short teaser, which shows almost nothing, the project seems to be in its early stages. As can be read on miHoYo’s job application page, they are still looking for reinforcement for the gigantic project. The development of an MMO is not only a monetary but also a time-consuming endeavor. One can thus assume that it could take years until new information becomes available.
Additionally, miHoYo has several other titles in development. Among them is Honkai: Nexus Anime. The game seems to be a mix of Pokémon and Teamfight Tactics. So even for anime fans, there will still be new Gacha games.
Even though new MMOs are regularly announced, fans of the genre do not have it easy. After the demise of New World, work on another ambitious MMORPG was also halted: The studio behind the new PvE MMORPG for Warhammer is at its end – fans complain: “The genre is cursed”
