Gaming3 MIN

HoYoverse leaves anime behind for Nodusfall, a co-op hunt through broken mythology

HoYoverse switches gears with co-op action, powers taken from bosses and realistic fantasy. Its date, platforms and business model remain unknown.

A burning Nodusfall landscape dominated by a towering figure of fire
Image: HoYoverse
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A different HoYoverse

The creators of Genshin Impact are mixing Monster Hunter with Elden Ring. Nodusfall is a HoYoverse project, from the company behind Genshin Impact, although no specific development team has been publicly identified and HoYoverse has not said that it shares leads with that game.

HoYoverse is leaving the anime look of Genshin Impact and its newly opened Snezhnaya for more realistic proportions, colossal creatures and battles built around a party. The Gamescom Opening Night Live reveal features swords, bows, magic, parries and coordinated attacks, but it is an edited montage rather than unbroken gameplay, so the balance between hunting game, RPG and carefully staged trailer remains unknown.

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Stealing powers from the bosses

Players become Weavers, warriors travelling through a world where divine order has collapsed. HoYoverse says its fantasy will draw on several mythologies, placing Eastern beasts alongside Western dragons instead of building the setting around one tradition.

The clearest mechanical idea concerns the bosses. Defeating them yields items that unlock new weapons and abilities, after which each player can rearrange a loadout to fill a different role in the party. The studio is promising tactical co-operation and freedom to build combat styles, two features that evoke a shared hunt without automatically making this another Monster Hunter.

Nodusfall runs on Unreal Engine 5 and aims for a heavier, more physical scale than HoYoverse's existing worlds. The contrast also helps explain the project: while gacha powers Genshin Impact and several of the company's biggest games, Nodusfall has not yet been confirmed as free-to-play or attached to that model.

A Weaver fires a glowing bow at a creature in Nodusfall's mountains
Image: HoYoverse
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The missing pieces

There is no release date, price or platform list. HoYoverse has also said nothing about maximum party size, whether the full adventure works solo or how open its world will be. The official site currently offers registration for future updates and little else.

That makes Nodusfall one of the more striking reveals from an already crowded Gamescom 2026, but not yet a game anyone can properly measure. Monster Hunter meets Elden Ring is the easy comparison. The better question is whether HoYoverse can carry its relentless update machine into co-op action without bringing every habit of the gacha economy with it. That is the story worth following.

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