An anime role-playing game on Steam has been adapted for the European market and is therefore particularly popular among fans. However, the game almost didn’t exist at all.
What kind of game is this? DragonSword: Awakening is an open-world action RPG in anime style, released on July 22, 2026, on Steam. It resembles Genshin Impact in its art style and content, but has no gacha mechanics.
- We play as the young Lute, who is drawn into the life of mercenaries. The group’s task is to uncover the secrets of six legendary heroes from the past and save the world from a dragon that has awakened after 60 years.
- You assemble a team of 3 characters and can seamlessly switch between them during combat. This allows status effects to be combined and long combo chains to be built.
- There is an open world called Orbis. You can explore the world, discover secret basements, cook, solve puzzles, or help the residents with quests. Alongside you is a small helper.
Originally, the game launched in early 2026 in South Korea as a classic free-to-play online game with gacha mechanics. However, the publisher at the time, Webzen, is said to have not complied with its contracts, leading the developers to part ways and rebuild the RPG on their own for the Western market. This resulted in a lawsuit from Webzen.
DragonSword: Awakening almost didn’t get released
What was the background of the lawsuit? The developer team Hound13 parted ways with publisher Webzen just one month after the game’s release in South Korea. According to them, a contractually agreed minimum guarantee amount had not been paid.
When they later remodeled the game without gacha mechanics on their own, Webzen sought to prevent the release. The publisher filed for a temporary injunction, arguing that the developer’s unilateral termination of the contract was legally ineffective. They also accused Hound 13 of having unlawfully reused translation materials.
Was the fight worth it? As you can see from the release, the district court in Seoul ruled in favor of the developers. It dismissed all claims from Webzen, and the judges determined that the termination of the contract was entirely lawful. The accusations regarding the translation materials were dropped due to lack of evidence.
Now any player can enjoy the game on Steam, and it is received exceptionally well. Currently, the title boasts 89% positive ratings from over 1,450 ratings. The lack of gacha mechanics, the solid combat system, and the support for the Steam Deck are particularly praised.
However, there are also minor weaknesses such as performance drops or the lack of English voice acting. But overall, the title is well received by the community.
What do you think of the title? Will you take a closer look at it? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Also, Palworld and Nintendo are currently in a legal dispute. Nintendo is even pestering its own countrymen and already has little chance of winning the process: Nintendo’s filed patents against Palworld are so cheeky that even the Japanese Patent Office is annoyed
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