New Open-World RPG Climbs Steam Charts After Legal Battle Nearly Stopped Its Launch

Ahead of Fable, which isn’t coming out until 2027, there’s a bit of a gap in major open-world RPG releases. We had Crimson Desert earlier this year, but since then, it’s been fairly quiet as games bide their time for GTA 6. So when I saw a new open-world RPG climbing the trending charts on Steam, it piqued my interest. The game is called DragonSword: Awakening, and it almost didn’t make it to launch day at all.

DragonSword: Awakening has the kind of anime aesthetics that many associate with free-to-play games like Genshin Impact. Indeed, that was the original plan for the game under its former publisher, Webzen. But following a complicated legal battle between Webzen and the game’s developer, Hound13, it has launched as a traditional paid RPG instead. And if the reviews and player counts are any indication, it’s better off for it.

DragonSword: Awakening Proves Players are Hungry for a Big, Anime-Inspired JRPG That’s Not Free-to-Play

When it was first announced back in 2022, the game then known as DragonSong would have been another anime-style gacha. While those games are certainly popular, not everyone likes the monetization and gambling-adjacent vibes of gacha games. That could be part of what led developer Hound13 to launch its version of the game as a more traditional, paid RPG.

The Steam release of DragonSword: Awakening comes after a legal battle between Hound13 and publisher Webzen. The companies initially split due to disagreements about revenue from the game’s free version, which launched in Korea earlier this year. Following the end of the contract, Hound13 announced it would launch its own, separate version of the game on Steam. Its former publisher attempted to block the launch, but its case was dismissed. On July 22nd, the new, non-gacha version of the game arrived on Steam.

DragonSword: Awakening costs $29.99 USD, a relative steal for open-world RPGs these days. And players are apparently willing ot buy in, as the game has hit a 24-hour player peak of 20,605 at the start of its first weekend on Steam. Those are pretty solid numbers for a debut game from a new developer, particularly when the game comes with a price tag attached up front. Given that it’s still fairly early in the day on Saturday as I write this, DragonSword: Awakening is poised to do even bigger numbers as the weekend unfolds in earnest.

Even more important than those player numbers, though, is the overall reception. Plenty of free and viral games climb Steam’s charts, only to receive an influx of negative reviews. But so far, this new RPG is trending in the Very Positive range. Many reviews explicitly point out the move away from the gacha model, applauding the shift in direction.

“Turns out if you remove the gacha monetization and turn it into a single-player game with the addictive combat loop, you end up getting a really good game,” says Steam reviewer The IT Department. Others are calling it a “Genshin-like without the gacha,” which sounds pretty accurate from what I’ve seen of the game.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Genshin Impact, and gacha games in general. But as gacha games remain controversial, it’s interesting to see an RPG with a similar aesthetic and vibe try the traditional paid route. From the sound of it, there’s definitely an audience ready and waiting for that kind of game. And DragonSword: Awakening is ready to deliver.

DragonSword: Awakening is available for PC via Steam for $29.99. Its Steam Deck compatibility is currently unknown.

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