HoYoverse is quietly working on a game that looks nothing like Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, or Zenless Zone Zero. A recent leak points to a grounded, realistic fantasy title that a tester compared directly to Monster Hunter, marking the studio’s sharpest break yet from its anime-styled catalog.
Quick answer: HoYoverse is rumored to be building a realistic open-world action game codenamed Nodusfall (now seemingly relabeled “The Weavers”), described by a leaker who saw an NDA test as “Hoyo’s Monster Hunter.” There is no official announcement, gameplay reveal, or release date.
What the Nodusfall leak actually says
The reputable leaker Seele Leaks shared screenshots and short descriptions of the project on Telegram, and the account was spotted circulating on X. When asked what the gameplay from the NDA test felt like, the response was blunt: it plays like “Hoyo’s Monster Hunter.” That single line is the core of the leak.
No in-game combat footage or true gameplay screenshots have surfaced. What leaked instead were menu layouts and launcher background art, tied to a project trademarked as Nodusfall and now apparently going by the codename “The Weavers.” Those interface images are what connect the leak to a game HoYoverse teased earlier.
How it traces back to the 2025 recruitment reveal
The leaked assets line up with a grounded open-world fantasy game HoYoverse showed through its official recruitment site in 2025. That listing included a short Unreal Engine 5 teaser for an unnamed project, widely assumed to be the same game now referred to as Nodusfall.
Before that, a 2024 rumor described HoYoverse developing a fantasy action game with an “epic narrative” and a realistic art style, reportedly drawing on the Chinese classic text The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing). Concept art from that leak showed a lone swordsman facing a giant gryphon-like creature at the base of a waterfall.
Reported features so far
The gameplay descriptions attached to the project all point toward a hunting-and-exploration loop rather than the character-swap combat HoYoverse is known for. Treat everything below as unconfirmed until the studio speaks.
| Detail | What is reported |
|---|---|
| Codename | Nodusfall, now seemingly “The Weavers” |
| Genre framing | “Hoyo’s Monster Hunter” per an NDA tester |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 (per the teaser) |
| World | Dynamic open world with varied ecosystems |
| Combat | Large-scale boss battles |
| Multiplayer | Co-op support |
| Art style | Realistic tone, unlike its anime games |
The realistic visual direction is the biggest departure. Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero all lean on stylized anime aesthetics, while this project reportedly aims for a more grounded, high-stakes fantasy look.
Why HoYoverse is chasing a new genre
The Monster Hunter-style game fits a broader pivot. HoYoverse has reportedly been developing several titles outside its anime-RPG comfort zone, including open-world and farming-simulation projects, in an effort to reach new audiences. Part of the reasoning is practical: new anime games tend to cannibalize the studio’s existing live-service titles, which is a problem for a company that depends on long-running games.
Other projects in that pipeline include Honkai: Nexus Anima, a rumored RPG with Pokémon-style monster-taming mechanics. Longer term, leaked company materials describe an ambition to build a massive virtual world “more real than reality” by 2030, with the studio positioning itself as more than a game developer.
Where things stand right now
HoYoverse has not officially announced Nodusfall, shown gameplay, or confirmed a release window. No official next date is currently confirmed, so any timeline attached to the game is speculation.
Note: everything here rests on leaks and a single recruitment-site teaser. Details like the codename, art direction, and feature set can shift before an official reveal, so treat the “Monster Hunter” comparison as a tester’s impression rather than a confirmed genre label.
In the meantime, the Monster Hunter series itself continues, with Monster Hunter Wilds set to receive its Ascendance expansion in 2027. HoYoverse’s own take on the formula still looks to be a long way from a formal announcement.
