Zenless Zone Zero, NTE and the new wave of Chinese games pushing the limits of free-to-play | Opinion

gamesindustry.biz:

Since MiHoYo released Genshin Impact in 2020, an irreversible shift in perception happened across the gaming industry and among many gamers: free-to-play mobile games can actually be good?!

I'm being a bit cynical here, as it is undeniable that quality free-to-play mobile games were produced before, but Genshin Impact pushed the envelope. It set a new benchmark for what could, and would, be expected from a free mobile game: AAA-like production and presentation levels, an expansive open-world to explore, rich storytelling and lore, quasi-universally appealing art style, gameplay and progression that don't necessarily rely on endless grind and cheap loop mechanics, and yes, gacha elements.

Arguably, Genshin Impact had all the ingredients of a fully-fledged AAA console/PC game. Even more ambitiously, MiHoYo released the game across different platforms: mobile (iOS/Android), PC, PS4 and PS5. While not unprecedented, this distribution approach, coupled with all its aforementioned elements, propelled the game to immense success worldwide (almost 60 million people are enjoying it nowadays). It was a disruptive launch, and sent waves across the industry.

Since Genshin Impact, MiHoYo followed its own formula releasing other ambitious titles sharing some of the same elements – 2023's Honkai: Star Rail and this year's Zenless Zone Zero – and more Chinese studios followed suit.

Wuthering Waves, an open-world RPG developed by Chinese Kuro Games released back in May, with over 30 million registered players at launch. That title more or less follows this trend, but even more so does the recently revealed Neverness to Everness. (Yes, that's a real title.)

Neverness to Everness (NTE) is developed by Suzhou-based Hotta Studio, makers of Tower of Fantasy – a title that also shares some similarities with Genshin Impact and other games from this 'new wave.' A long gameplay trailer was released, showing what some people online are describing as an "anime GTA 6 before GTA 6." The 13-minute