The sequel to *Late Ming* will continue to be developed by Xia Siyuan's team, with support from 505Games

505 Games announced today (the 29th) that it has entered into a partnership with Chengdu Recursive Dolphin Technology Co., Ltd. for the development and publication of the sequel to the *Wuchang* series.Recursive Dolphin was founded by Xia Siyuan, the lead creator of *Late Ming: Feathers of the Abyss*. This means that even after the IP changed hands and the core team left their original company, creative control over the *Wuchang* series remains with its original creator.

It has been exactly one year since the release of *Late Ming: Feathers of the Void*. On its first day of release, the game surpassed 131,000 concurrent players on Steam, and the cumulative player count across PC and console platforms has now reached 5 million. It should be noted that this figure includes players who gained access through Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscription services and does not represent pure sales figures.

In April of this year, Digital Bros, the parent company of 505 Games, completed the acquisition of the intellectual property rights for *Impermanence*, a deal that sparked considerable discussion within the industry at the time. The outright acquisition of a Chinese game IP by an overseas publisher is still a relatively rare occurrence in the domestic gaming industry. Three months later, 505 Games immediately announced plans for a sequel—a remarkably swift move.

In terms of the partnership model, the sequel will be developed primarily by Chengdu Recursive Dolphin, with 505 Games providing financial support and handling global distribution. At the same time, Digital Bros will establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Chengdu to work in close collaboration with Recursive Dolphin. This “local studio + local subsidiary” setup demonstrates 505’s long-term commitment to this IP.

For Xia Siyuan’s team, continuing to refine the IP they created from scratch as an independent studio—with overseas publishers covering distribution resources and funding—is actually a pretty good option compared to the traditional choices of “selling out to a major studio” or “continuing to struggle through independent development and self-publishing.” Although they no longer own the IP, they retain creative control and are no longer burdened by financial pressure.

The decision to have the same team develop the sequel to *Impermanence* rather than start from scratch also indirectly demonstrates that 505 Games recognizes the foundation laid by the first game and the irreplaceable value of Xia Siyuan’s team.

In the late Ming Dynasty, its foreign name was Wuchang.

However, sequels are always put to the test by the “second-installment curse.”The proportion of the first game’s 5 million players who subscribed, along with the payment conversion rate, will determine the true commercial potential of this IP. The shift from the “sense of surprise” in the first game to “managing expectations” for the sequel presents a significant challenge for a new studio that has just become independent.

The story of *Impermanence* is far from over; the storyteller is still here.