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22 Overview
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44 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 Lvthe 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.
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66 Developer Q&A Highlights
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88 The Q&A session with Simen Lv covered several major topics. Key revelations included:
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1010 ItemDescriptionDual-class systemplayers 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 attackActive reloadranged weapons feature active reload mechanics. Maintaining damage output requires manual reloading at optimal timingChampion unlock systemchampions are progressively unlocked through story progression by region. A "basic set" is given through the storyline, with additional champions available through purchaseMonetization"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 playersPlayer 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"
1111 Design Philosophy
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1313 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."
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1515 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."
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1717 On his personal favorite hero: Simen Lv named Mulansaying "Her counterattacks and close-combat style suit me well."
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1919 Hands-On Playtest
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2121 Press attendees were given approximately 90 minutes of hands-on time with a build that included the opening story area, several dungeonsand access to multiple Flow Styles. The demo build ran on PC hardware and showcased the game running at 4K resolution with ray tracing enabled.
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2323 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.
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2525 Press Reception
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2727 Coverage was broadly positive from major outlets:
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2929 ItemDescriptiondescribed the combat as sitting between "a lite character action game and Monster Hunter"VGC(from their later Gamescom 2025 hands-on) compared the moment-to-moment combat to "something between Devil May Cry and modern, real-time Final Fantasy games"writer was "still thinking about how good Honor of Kings: World's combat felt" a week and a half after the appointmentMonsterVinefocused on boss encounter design, which Simen Lv described as their highest priority
3030 Other outlets covering the event included Ungeek, dbltap, and. Most previews emphasized the combat system's depth as the strongest selling point.
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3232 Key Reveals
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3434 ActionKey/Button8-player raidsconfirmed for endgame content, with the first raid available at launchAI companionssolo 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 playPC and mobile players share the same serversFive launch regionsthe game launches with five distinct regions, each with unique atmosphere and enemy typesElemental attacksclasses feature elemental attacks with player buffs or enemy debuffs