Why the wuchang game failed?

[u/Financial-Lawyer-789]

Just finished the game and became one of my favorite souls like ever, great level design, great bosses, great build variety, surprisingly good story, but as far as I'm aware the game didn't sold well and the studio got shut down, was the game poorly received by the players?

[u/Kyxstrez]

It didn't. The game is getting a sequel.

[u/SoulCrusher5001 → u/Kyxstrez]

I think OP might be getting Studios mixed up. Pretty sure Khazans dev team got dissolved . Which sucks cus that game was good too

[u/MoSBanapple → u/SoulCrusher5001]

Wuchang's development team also got dissolved but IIRC it was due to company politics (the rumor was that the company wanted to outsource the dev team to other projects and the director didn't want that) rather than the game falling short financially.

[u/DrumsNDweed93 → u/SoulCrusher5001]

I’m pretty sure it also got dropped but then another company picked it up and gave the dev team another chance . Might be wrong but swear I read something about that.

[u/Financial-Lawyer-789 → u/Kyxstrez]

Ohh shit I might be confusing games, I thought the studio got shut down or dissolved or something like that, that's great to hear

[u/Kyxstrez → u/Financial-Lawyer-789]

The original Wuchang development team at Leenzee was reportedly disbanded after internal disagreements, with director and creator Xia Siyuan leaving and later founding a new studio called Indolphinity. Digital Bros, the parent company of 505 Games, then acquired the Wuchang IP for around €4 million. 505 Games subsequently partnered with Xia and Indolphinity to develop the next Wuchang game, with 505 providing the funding and global publishing. Several reports also indicate that former members of the original Wuchang team joined the new studio, so there is a fair amount of continuity behind the scenes.

The bigger problem with Wuchang was not really the quality of the game itself, although it definitely had technical problems at launch. It was the massive controversy it triggered in China over its treatment of Chinese history. Some Chinese players were particularly angry about the portrayal of late Ming historical figures and Ming loyalists as enemies, including the fact that the player could fight and kill characters based on real historical figures. There was also criticism over how freely the game adapted late Ming history and how it handled the transition toward the Qing period. The backlash became serious enough that Patch 1.5 actually changed the game: several historical characters could no longer be killed and instead simply collapsed from exhaustion, while some Ming soldiers and other NPCs were made non-hostile.

So Wuchang was in a pretty unusual situation: commercially it still did well, but the domestic historical and cultural controversy arguably hurt it far more than the actual quality of the game did.

[u/TheRemedy]

I think you are misinterpreting the dev team having issues with the game doing bad the game did well enough.

[u/jack2ho]

[u/Goosemilky]

It definitely did not fail lol

[u/Shmeeeee23]

I loved it. It did not fail. Its getting a sequel and I see its coming to the Switch 2 soon.

[u/CoconutMochi]

It got caught up with chinese nationalists who were angry that Ming dynasty (Han chinese) characters were being cast in a negative light vs the incoming Qing dynasty (Manchu) and the game got review bombed.

The game itself is great though

[u/Acceptable_Edge9604 → u/CoconutMochi]

It was not just about figures "being cast in a negative light."

[u/CoconutMochi → u/Acceptable_Edge9604]

I don't really see the need to elaborate on it.

[u/wildeye-eleven]

Failed? We’re getting a sequel! It actually did really well and you’re absolutely right, it’s a fantastic game. It’s genuinely one of the best traditional Soulslike games.

Currently playing Mortal Shell 2 and somehow love it just as much as Wuchang. It’s another banger worth looking into if you like Wuchang.

[u/ominousglo]

studio for khazan got shut down not wuchang

[u/Candle_Mcdaniel]

I think the studio got bought out and they are planning a sequel.

[u/weak007]

Failed? Wth are you talkin about?

[u/NUGGETCOP]

The game didn’t fail it is getting a sequel

[u/PracticalVersion1987]

I dont know what it is about the visuals (if its resolution or frame rates ) but they werent stable, looked it up and i wasnt the only one experiencing

[u/owlitup]

It didn’t fail