If you’ve scrolled through gacha game community groups or TikTok feeds since Wuthering Waves’ global launch, you’ve almost certainly seen the question pop up again and again. The open world anime action game drew millions of players in its first month, many of whom had previously spent hundreds of hours in HoYoverse hits like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. The similar art style, open world structure, and gacha monetization left a lot of people wondering: did HoYoverse make Wuthering Waves? I got this exact question from three different friends in the same week after the game launched, so I figured it was time to break down all the facts and clear up the confusion once and for all.
Did HoYoverse Make Wuthering Waves? The Short, Definitive Answer
Let’s cut straight to the chase: no, HoYoverse had absolutely no hand in developing or publishing Wuthering Waves. The game is the second major global release from Kuro Game, a Chinese game development studio also known as Guangzhou Kuro Technology. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Kuro is the team behind Punishing: Gray Raven, the popular post-apocalyptic action gacha game that launched globally in 2021 and has maintained a dedicated fanbase ever since. Wuthering Waves is 100% developed and published by Kuro Game, with no involvement from HoYoverse at any stage of production. We’ve seen a lot of misinformation spread online about did HoYoverse make Wuthering Waves, with some people even claiming HoYoverse funded the game’s development, which is completely false. So why do so many people get the two mixed up? The confusion comes down to a lot of surface-level similarities between Kuro’s latest release and HoYoverse’s most popular titles, plus the fact that most players who tried Wuthering Waves first came from HoYoverse game communities. It’s an easy mistake to make, especially if you’ve only seen short clips of the game online instead of playing it yourself.
Why So Many Players Confuse Wuthering Waves for a HoYoverse Title
The mix-up doesn’t come out of nowhere. There are a lot of obvious shared traits between Wuthering Waves and games like Genshin Impact that make the connection feel logical at first glance. For starters, both games use a bright, cel-shaded anime art style that’s instantly recognizable to fans of the genre. Character designs follow similar aesthetic trends, with colorful outfits, distinct personality traits, and high-quality animated cutscenes for story beats and ultimate abilities. Then there’s the open world structure. Both games give players a huge, seamless map to explore, with fast travel points, hidden collectibles, environmental puzzles, and side quests scattered across every region. You can climb almost any surface, glide across long distances, and interact with the world in ways that feel very similar if you’re used to HoYoverse’s design language. The biggest overlap between the two games is their target audience: fans of high-quality, free-to-play open world anime games. Both studios pour millions into production value, with top-tier voice acting, original soundtracks, and regular content updates that keep players engaged for months or years. When Wuthering Waves launched, most of its initial player base was made up of people who already played Genshin or Honkai: Star Rail, so conversations about the game were almost entirely in spaces dedicated to HoYoverse titles, leading to more people asking did HoYoverse make Wuthering Waves without doing any further research. That cross-over only made the confusion worse for casual players who just saw clips of the game popping up in their feeds.
Key Differences Between Kuro Game’s Wuthering Waves and HoYoverse Titles
Once you spend a few hours playing Wuthering Waves, the differences between Kuro’s design philosophy and HoYoverse’s become really obvious. These core choices are what set the two studios apart, even when their games look similar on the surface:
I’ve put over 120 hours into Wuthering Waves and 300+ into Genshin Impact, and the combat difference is the first thing I noticed when I started playing. Even common overworld enemies in Wuthering Waves can take you out if you’re not paying attention, which is a huge change from Genshin where you can run through most low-level areas without even fighting. That focus on action is a big part of why Kuro has built such a dedicated fanbase for their games.
What This Developer Difference Means for Players
If you’re just getting into Wuthering Waves, or you’re thinking about trying it, the fact that it’s made by Kuro instead of HoYoverse matters more than you might think. You don't have to be familiar with HoYoverse's existing game universes to enjoy Wuthering Waves, since it’s a completely standalone IP with no connections to Genshin, Honkai Impact 3rd, or Honkai: Star Rail. You can jump right in without any prior knowledge of other gacha games and still follow the story perfectly. I’ve seen a lot of people avoid trying it because they thought did HoYoverse make Wuthering Waves and it was tied to a HoYoverse universe they hadn’t played, which is a totally unnecessary worry. It also means the game’s update schedule follows Kuro’s own roadmap, not HoYoverse’s. A lot of players worried before launch that Wuthering Waves would have the same 6-week gap between major content updates that Genshin does, but Kuro has already released four major region updates in the first year after launch, plus smaller patches every two weeks that add new events, quality of life features, and bug fixes. Cross-save and account systems are completely separate too, so you can’t use your HoYoverse account to log into Wuthering Waves, and any purchases you make in HoYoverse games won’t carry over. If you're looking for a game that feels similar to HoYoverse titles but offers more challenging combat and a darker story, Wuthering Waves is a great pick regardless of its developer. You don’t have to pick sides between the two studios either—lots of players, myself included, enjoy both Kuro and HoYoverse games for different reasons. The only thing that matters is whether you’re having fun with the game you’re playing.
At the end of the day, the confusion between Wuthering Waves’ developer and HoYoverse is totally understandable. Both studios make high-quality open world anime gacha games that appeal to the same group of players, and the surface-level similarities are hard to miss if you’re just seeing short clips online. But to answer the original question of did HoYoverse make Wuthering Waves, the answer is a clear no. Kuro Game has poured years of work into building their own unique IP, with a design philosophy that prioritizes fast, skill-based action and darker, more mature storytelling. Next time you see someone asking this question in a community group or on your social media feeds, you can share these facts to clear up the confusion. And if you haven’t tried Wuthering Waves yet, it’s worth giving a shot even if you’re a diehard HoYoverse fan—you might be surprised by how much you love it.