In March of last year, rumors that Snail Games was working on Age of Wushu 2Â — not just its Dynasties mobile spinoff — began to emerge, and this week, they’re firming up. Here’s why we think it’s a good bet now — and what we know about it so far:
- Earlier this month, MMO Culture reported that Snail Games had formally confirmed it plans to unveil Age of Wushu 2 at Chinajoy this week. (It starts tomorrow.)
- MMOsite reported that the game is built on Unreal 4 for a “a heavy upgrade in visuals and gameplay features,” apparently including a destructible sandbox environment and “more realistic combat animations.”
- Age of Wushu forumgoers posted a Chinese-language article from GamerSky published July 19th; it reiterates the announcement and Unreal 4 engine rumor and claims the sequel will focus on martial arts sandbox gameplay with much more freedom of play and movement. Google translate gives us the gist: “macro-game scenes, highly infectious picture atmosphere, rich details such as vegetation, construction, real people, etc. and delicate texture performance, combined with high-quality visual effects, bringing users innovative level sensory experience.”
- Forumgoers also dug up a piece from an apparent Snail employee suggesting the game will indeed be a sandbox — but he contrasted sandboxes with MMORPGs, which led to much confusion.
MMO Culture has an interview out today as well with the Producer, who again confirms it’s a sandbox with wuxia vibes, but it’s “ditched the traditional combat system where the player with the higher attack rating or pay most attention to health bars will most probably win.” The time setting isn’t predetermined; expect weather effects, alliances, kidnappings, fortresses, and “more to spice up PvP.” The business model still isn’t set in stone, and the game isn’t intended as a replacement — Snail will continue to operate and update Age of Wushu, it says. Expect the game to enter testing next year.
And yes, the game will launch globally “in the future.”
For clarity’s sake: “Human Resource Configurations 2” is apparently how Google translates Age of Wushu 2. It’s adorable and we should totally start using that. Honesty in sandboxes.
