DragonSword: Awakening Surges on Steam After Legal Skirmish

There’s a noticeable void in the big‑budget open‑world RPG space right now—Fable won’t drop until 2027 and most studios are holding their breath for GTA 6. So when I spotted a fresh title sprinting up Steam’s trending charts, I had to take a closer look.

The game in question is DragonSword: Awakening. At first glance it wears the same bright‑anime aesthetic you’d associate with free‑to‑play sensations like Genshin Impact. That wasn’t an accident; the original plan under publisher Webzen was indeed a gacha‑heavy title, then called DragonSong.

But things went sideways. A messy legal dispute erupted between Webzen and the developer, Hound13, over revenue splits from the free version that had already launched in Korea. The two parties split, the contract was torn up, and Hound13 decided to push forward with a brand‑new, non‑gacha version on Steam.

Webzen tried to block the launch, filing a suit that ultimately got dismissed. On July 22, the $29.99 Steam edition hit the store, and within 24 hours it logged a peak of 20,605 concurrent players—pretty impressive for a debut indie RPG.

What’s even more striking is the community response. While many free‑to‑play games climb charts only to tumble under a flood of negative feedback, DragonSword: Awakening is basking in “Very Positive” reviews. Players are praising the move away from gacha mechanics, noting that the core combat loop feels addictive enough on its own.

One reviewer summed it up nicely: “Turns out if you strip out the gacha monetization and give players a solid single‑player experience, you end up with a really good game.” Others are calling it a “Genshin‑like without the gacha,” which feels about right.

Don’t get me wrong—I still enjoy Genshin Impact and the thrill of gacha pulls. Yet the controversy surrounding those systems means there’s a hungry audience for an anime‑styled RPG that lets you pay once and own the experience. DragonSword: Awakening appears to be meeting that demand.

As of now the game is available on PC via Steam for $29.99. Steam Deck compatibility remains unconfirmed, but given the buzz, it’s likely to be addressed soon. If you’re curious, give it a try and join the conversation in the ComicBook forums.