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Full article transcript(ft Tethys):
KURO GAMES' Guiding Philosophy: "Challenge is Greatness"—11 Years of Progress and the Next Future
In August 2025, at the Chinese gaming event KUROFEST, we had the opportunity to interview several individuals from KURO GAMES, the developer behind titles like Wuthering Waves.
KURO GAMES is a game studio based in Guangzhou, China, established in 2014. They debuted in 2016 with Battlefield Twin Tails and achieved a smash hit with the 3D action RPG Punishing: Gray Raven, released in 2020. Now, their open-world RPG Wuthering Waves, which began service in 2024, is a massive success, marking them as one of China's leading new-star game studios.
However, when a representative told me, "KURO GAMES already has over 2,000 employees," I was struck by a realization. KURO GAMES is no longer a rising star.
In this article, we have compiled and reconstructed our conversations with key staff from KURO GAMES into an easy-to-read interview format.
We will delve into the history, philosophy, and future prospects of KURO GAMES, a studio that started as a rising star and is now establishing an unshakable presence in the Chinese development scene.
Note: Although we spoke with people from multiple departments for this interview, for clarity, all responses have been attributed to "KURO GAMES."
Punishing: Gray Raven — A 3D Action Game Born from Challenge
―― First, please tell us about Punishing: Gray Raven (hereafter, PGR), the title that spurred the studio's significant growth. Why did you decide to create it as a 3D action game in the first place?
KURO GAMES: Back when we were making our first title, Battlefield Twin Tails, in the early 2010s, we didn't have enough experience with long-term operations or maintaining an ecosystem. So, we poured all our energy into simply completing the game. As a result, the 3D content and gameplay experiences we excelled at weren't a perfect fit for Battlefield Twin Tails, which was made with the Cocos engine. However, the experience, technology, talent, and operational know-how we accumulated through that process led to our decision to challenge the transition from 2D to 3D, which was the launch of PGR. But initially, we had no intention of making PGR an action game.
―― You didn't intend for it to be an action game! How did it start out?
KURO GAMES: Our goal at the time was to create a "3D immersive game" where we could direct character movements using innovative combo elements. However, during the testing phase, we found that scripted movements that the player couldn't control didn't provide a sufficient sense of immersion. Based on user feedback, we started adding controls like normal attacks and dodges. Through repeated testing, PGR gradually became more like an action game, until one day, we officially decided, "Let's make this an action game."
―― What are the reasons PGR has maintained its vitality six years after release, and what are its core competitive strengths?
KURO GAMES: In 2025, we set a new goal for KURO GAMES: "to create titles that can be operated for over 10 years." We want PGR to be one of them. To achieve that, it needs a unique competitive edge.
First is its theme as a post-apocalyptic science fiction game. This gives the game a wide range of expressive potential over the long term, allowing us to deliver unique character and monster designs, as well as a story experience where despair and hope intersect.
Next is the core gameplay experience. The combination of puzzle elements and combat has maintained its uniqueness over time, and we are also trying to introduce new approaches to the controls. Furthermore, there's the construction of the game's IP (intellectual property) ecosystem. How we connect the content accumulated over the past six years to the players' emotions is crucial. Looking back, PGR is still not perfect in this regard. Many projects are currently in progress, and we hope to provide an even more refined gaming experience in the future.
Wuthering Waves — The Evolution of Action, The Weight of Feedback
―― Following the success of PGR, tell us about the development of Wuthering Waves, released in 2024.
KURO GAMES: The success of PGR overturned the industry's stereotype that "small teams have their limits." It reached the Top 3 on the iOS game sales charts and continues to operate stably for over six years. At the same time, this challenge proved KURO GAMES' corporate culture and philosophy of "Challenge is Greatness," which led to the launch of our next large-scale open-world action RPG, Wuthering Waves.
―― Wuthering Waves must have been your largest-scale production to date. Did you face any difficulties during development?
KURO GAMES: To develop Wuthering Waves, KURO GAMES rapidly expanded its team. During development, we already had over 500 staff members, but it was such a massive project that even that wasn't enough. We faced difficult decisions, such as whether to allocate resources to pre-2.0 improvements or focus on future large-scale updates. Ultimately, we made the choice to "deliver something that exceeds user expectations," and as a result, Wuthering Waves has achieved its current position.
―― The characters in Wuthering Waves feel top-class in their level of detail compared to others in the genre. Could you tell us about your thinking on their action and design?
KURO GAMES: Let's use Cartegia as an example. When we saw the two-form design of Cartegia and Fleur-de-lis, we wanted to create an experience where the player could constantly switch between forms and control both freely.
However, Fleur-de-lis has a unique body type, so to enable free exploration in the field, we had to build entirely new field interaction and movement logic from scratch. This was a huge burden on our personnel, and time was limited, but thanks to the team's "all-night struggles" (laughs), we were ultimately able to create the version you see today.
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―― I'm also a big fan of the ultimate skill animations, which are more spectacular than ever.
KURO GAMES: For the design of the two-stage ultimate, the "Sea-Cleaving Strike," we incorporated a devastating blow released by fusing three swords to express the power of Fleur-de-lis. To produce that impact, we combined her ability to manipulate water with an animation that parts the sea in a single flash. For the ultimate scene, we utilized fluid simulations and focused heavily on the visual presentation.
However, to express Fleur-de-lis's strength, the downward swing after the three swords merge had to feel light yet overwhelmingly powerful. We intentionally incorporated a "stream of consciousness" style of expression, devising a way for players to experience the weight generated by this lightness.
―― What about the visual design?
KURO GAMES: We used visual motifs like fish fins and spines to give it a Wuthering Waves feel, while incorporating the iris as an anchor to show the character's personality. On her head, there's a crown to express her saintly nature, and we added elven elements with golden hair and pointed ears. The difficult part was connecting the two forms. We had to express them as the same person, yet with different ages and personalities. To do this, we maintained consistency in the color scheme and silhouette of their outfits while intentionally creating differences. For example, the crown of thorns is common to both forms, but on Cartegia, it's slender and simple, while on Fleur-de-lis, it's large, exaggerated, and darker in color. Cartegia's hairstyle is neat, while Fleur-de-lis has long, flowing hair with bangs covering her eyes to give a sharper impression.