Despite having over five million players since its launch last year and an okay enough reception, soulslike game Wuchang: Fallen Feathers quickly faced behind-the-scenes drama after its lead producer and director Xia Siyuan departed developer Leenzee, which crumbled later. It seems players will get a sequel after all, though.
Back in April, it was reported Digital Bros – the company that owns subsidiary 505 Games – had fully acquired the Wuchang IP for roughly €4m. Now, the publisher has confirmed via socials Xia Siyuan will be leading the development of a sequel to Wuchang with the new studio he founded after leaving Leenzee, Indolphinity (Chengdu Recursive Dolphin Technology).
505 Games will provide the funding and handle global publishing, and the sequel is now in the preparation phase. “Future development will remain firmly rooted in China,” the announcement added.
Xia Siyuan also seems aware of the recurring criticisms of a mostly intriguing take on the soulslike genre that could grow with a sequel: “We listen closely to the real voices of players and the community, and we remain firmly devoted to our original creative aspirations and cultural foundations, striving to answer everyone’s long‑standing expectations with more polished quality and a more complete experience.”
Eurogamer’s three-star review of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers called it “a competent, cool, and pretty soulslike with a nice twist on death, but few true surprises”. On Steam, user reviews are currently ‘very positive’ if we look at the recent ones, with the overall rating limited to ‘mostly positive’, partially due to the performance and balance woes the game faced at first. It also launched on Xbox Series X/S (and on Game Pass day one) and PlayStation 5.