Featured Article
This article has been recognized for its exceptional quality and comprehensive coverage.
Overview
At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2025 in San Francisco, TiMi Studio Group hosted a behind-closed-doors presentation for Honor of Kings: World. Led by Lead Designer Simen Lv, the event included a developer Q&A session and a hands-on playtest for attending press, providing the first in-depth look at the game's systems outside of Asia. A new GDC 2025 gameplay trailer was also released.
Developer Q&A highlights
The Q&A session with Simen Lv covered several major topics. Key revelations included:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
players select two classes simultaneously from 11 available options, organized into three weapon categories. Melee, spellcasters, and ranged. Each class includes three unique skills on short cooldowns, a dodge/evasive ability, and an ultimate attack | |
Active reload | ranged weapons feature active reload mechanics. Maintaining damage output requires manual reloading at optimal timing |
Champion unlock system | champions are progressively unlocked through story progression by region. A "basic set" is given through the storyline, with additional champions available through purchase |
"We are building monetization around social, so it's going to be around outfits and skins, nothing that is pay-to-win." A battle pass is "very possible in the future" | |
Solo play | "You can if you want. We actually provide quite a lot of a single-player experience." AI companions are available in dungeons for solo players |
Player choice | "We are putting player choice over meta." "We didn't go for a fixed framework because we want to give players freedom and have them love the character they choose." |
Annual regions | "Every year, we'll introduce a brand-new region, keeping the world fresh" |
Design philosophy
Simen Lv explained the origin of the dual-class system: "When we started the project, we realized if we made just one class, you'd have a lot of abilities but the progression would need to be much deeper. So we thought to make a system where you have a team, like a card game."
On cultural identity: "What we try to do is take the best of our history and mythology and make it more popular with new audiences while keeping the essence of it."
On his personal favorite hero: Simen Lv named Mulan, saying "Her counterattacks and close-combat style suit me well."
Hands-on playtest
Press attendees were given approximately 90 minutes of hands-on time with a build that included the opening story area, several dungeons, and access to multiple Flow Styles. The demo build ran on PC hardware and showcased the game running at 4K resolution with ray tracing enabled.
Dungeons were described as "moderately lengthy" with "side paths containing loot" and environmental puzzles, including ice grenades that freeze movable blocks to create platforms and pathways.
Press reception
Coverage was broadly positive from major outlets:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
WCCFTech | described the combat as sitting between "a lite character action game and Monster Hunter" |
VGC | compared the moment-to-moment combat to "something between Devil May Cry and modern, real-time Final Fantasy games" |
PC Gamer | writer was "still thinking about how good Honor of Kings: World's combat felt" a week and a half after the appointment |
MonsterVine | focused on boss encounter design, which Simen Lv described as their highest priority |
Other outlets covering the event included Ungeek, dbltap, RPG Site, and GamerBraves. Most previews emphasized the combat system's depth as the strongest selling point.
Key reveals
Action | Key/Button |
|---|---|
8-player raids | confirmed for endgame content, with the first raid available at launch |
solo players can bring AI-controlled companions into dungeons, "If you can't find a friend or just want to play alone, then there are options for AI companions" | |
Cross-platform play | PC and mobile players share the same servers |
Five launch regions | the game launches with five distinct regions, each with unique atmosphere and enemy types |
Elemental attacks | classes feature elemental attacks with player buffs or enemy debuffs |