NetEase Games just unveiled the January 2026 roadmap for Where Winds Meet, the studio's new open-world, Wuxia action RPG that arrived in November 2025. After last month's batch of updates introduced a new region for players to explore and new bosses, the roadmap for January is more stacked with new events, story content, and what looks like the most intense version of helping the elderly get to where they need to go with Elder Express.
The headline for the January 2026 roadmap is the arrival of Where Winds Meet version 1.2, which introduces several elements to the game, including the Nine Mortal Ways Camp, a new puzzle cave called Mistveil Prison. It also includes the final Kaifeng volume and a new campaign challenge boss called Supreme Freedom.
The other big addition with v1.2 is the introduction of large-scale multiplayer combat in Guild Battle Preseason. Guild Battles are coordinated efforts that will require you to work with your fellow guild members to secure a victory. If you try to win it solo, you'll do so at your own peril.
As this is NetEase's first introduction of these battles, the Preseason is a short, six-match tournament that is more about letting players try out the new mode so NetEase can see what players like, dislike, and how it can be adapted. "This preseason is crucial for us to gather player feedback and refine the core Guild Battle mechanics," said NetEase Games in a press release. "We encourage all guilds to rally their members, hone their tactics, and prepare for the even more expansive guild content planned in upcoming updates."
While the incoming content for January 2026 has already started to roll in with the new Unbound Solo mode and the new Hero's Realm having arrived on January 4, everything else will arrive this Friday with the version 1.2 update beginning on January 9, 2026.
Including Elder Express, a new game mode that sees you run through the streets with an elderly person on your back, which players can jump in and out of without any prerequisites.
In just its first month, Where Winds Meet surpassed 15 million players around the world, after already hitting 9 million players before the game even made it to mobile devices. It's been the latest massive launch from NetEase Games, following the studio's hit shooter, Marvel Rivals.
Even though it's still very early in the game's life, its rocket-ship launch makes it seem like NetEase is about to start dominating yet another genre within live service games. In Wccftech's review, Francesco De Meo gave the game an 8.5/10, writing, "Where Winds Meet delivers an exceptional open-world experience, successfully blending an engaging story, meaningful activities, a solid combat system paired with competent character progression, a wealth of multiplayer options, and one of the most lively cities in the genre. Though some of its features and mechanics suffer from the constraints of the free-to-play model, the good undeniably outweighs the bad, making it a rare title that can captivate even players who typically avoid similar open-world games, easily providing hundreds of hours of content even in its launch state."
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
