Let the Content Speak for Itself: Why Has This NetEase Game Remained a Long-Running Hit?

On August 26, the "Fantasy Westward Journey" mobile game’s Light Enjoyment Server celebrated its first anniversary, and a series of content updates propelled it to sixth place on the best-seller chart. Then, on September 2, the new character Xuan Tianyi was released server-wide, capitalizing on this momentum and amplifying it further, causing a “small” stir in the industry.

In the context of other games, an anniversary update wouldn’t be considered big news. But considering that *Fantasy Westward Journey* Mobile has been around for over a decade, and at a time when other MMOs would typically be struggling with “user retention issues,” *Fantasy Westward Journey* Mobile has defied expectations and consistently maintained its enduring popularity.it’s safe to say it truly “has something special.”

Interestingly, this momentum isn’t limited to this special occasion—the “Light Enjoy” Server anniversary celebration. Even when looking back at the past year’s performance, *Fantasy Westward Journey* Mobile has remained a regular in the top ten of the best-seller charts and has even been mentioned multiple times in NetEase’s financial reports, consistently serving as a pillar of revenue growth.

Some may wonder why a long-standing IP can remain so enduring more than a decade after its launch. In my view, it’s the synergy of several key factors—ensuring players always have something to play, retaining them with fresh content, and continuously expanding the player base to bring in new players—that collectively underpins the long-term, stable engagement and impressive performance of *Fantasy Westward Journey* Mobile.

From this perspective, more than a decade later, “Fantasy Westward Journey” Mobile remains the only game to stand at the pinnacle of the mobile MMO genre.

01

New Roles, New Beginnings

The new character "Xuan Tianyi," which was officially unveiled in late August, has sparked quite a bit of discussion among players.

As a new character in the “Chosen One” series, Xuan Tianyi belongs to the Demon Clan, and his weapon is a radiant sword slung over his shoulder.At first glance, many players didn’t seem too enthusiastic about this new character. However, they eventually succumbed to the “it’s actually great” phenomenon. After the character’s release, numerous players took to social media to rave about him—particularly the design of his second-generation weapon, which is both wide and substantial, elevating the overall visual design to a whole new level.

As for the character's backstory, the developers even enlisted the help of the renowned animation studio Phoenix Culture to create a stunning animated trailer specifically for the character, giving many players a glimpse into the new character's overall design.

As can be seen, Xuan Tianyi has a single horn on his head and wears a ghost-tribe mask; the ritual-like performance on stage bears a striking resemblance to the traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage known as the “Nuo Dance.”

According to the official description, “The Heavenly Mandate is one and indivisible, a mystery beyond all mysteries. As the eldest disciple of the Five Rams Shrine, Xuan Tianyi spends each year traveling alone to exorcise demons and safeguard the peace of Lingnan.Today, only one evil remains to be vanquished, yet it has revealed itself in the Lingnan region. Using the Five Goats Ritual as a catalyst, countless mysteries intertwine; a hurricane is approaching, and the sea is churning. Let us see how Xuan Tianyi will respond to the manipulations of the hand of fate—as destiny converges into one!”

Many viewers have given this animated film rave reviews: “The art style and camerawork are both fantastic.”

Some players have even used various clues to “imagine” the next new sect, “Wuyang Temple,” and deduced that its master is “Wong Tai Sin”—a line of reasoning that seems well-founded.

One curious player praised the post, saying, “That’s so awesome—you actually predicted it! I came here to dig up an old thread,” only to be called out by another player: “What old thread? This was just posted.” It’s safe to say that the appeal of the new character, Xuan Tianyi, is evident.

Of course, in addition to the new characters, the developers have thoughtfully introduced “accompanying features.” The new map, Lingnan Road, is inspired by Guangdong during the Zhenguan era, so you’ll see Lingnan’s signature “lychees” everywhere.

In addition, the four new summoning spirits that were previously released are also quite distinctive. For example, the Cloud Vanguard draws its inspiration from the “clouded leopard,” while the design of the rare summoning spirit, Red Cloud Lady, is based on the “kapok flower,” the official flower of Guangzhou.

It’s worth noting that the addition of these new mechanics has also brought fresh innovations to the combat gameplay.

Lady Chixia’s special skill, “Spell Lifesteal,” restores health when dealing spell damage; specifically, when casting area-of-effect spells, it can drain health from up to three targets, greatly enhancing the summoned spirit’s sustain.When a single instance of damage received is “less than her listed spell damage value,” she can reduce that damage by 15%, thereby sustaining her health through damage reduction.

As a result, this “tank mage”—which requires calculating damage values to maximize damage reduction while providing lifesteal for sustained healing—offers greater flexibility in team composition. It also brings a fresh sense of excitement and new goals to veteran players in terms of spirit summoning and combat mechanics.

02

Connecting the Dots to Create a Rhythm

Content updates address the need to “keep players engaged,” but a long-standing title that has been in operation for over a decade must also confront two even more challenging issues: Why should veteran players stay, and why should new players join?Over the past month, a series of moves by *Fantasy Westward Journey* Mobile to address these two challenges has shed some light on the situation.

At the end of August, the "Light Experience" server for the *Fantasy Westward Journey* mobile game celebrated its first anniversary. Originally positioned as a "lightweight test run," this server has grown into a mature, feature-rich version in just one year.

Guided by the core philosophy of “low burden, value retention,” the official team unveiled a series of major updates all at once during the first-anniversary celebration of “Light Enjoyment Server.” Compared to the official server, the Spirit of Equipment system has been streamlined by removing the six-piece set, retaining only the two-piece and four-piece sets, thereby significantly lowering the threshold for upgrading equipment combat power.

Summoned Spirits have significantly reduced the cost of merging pets while retaining 75% of their elite appearances. More importantly, once all characters have completed their exclusive training, they can be listed for trade immediately—a feature that has even become an exclusive “perk” not available on the official servers.

In addition, a series of proven classic features—such as the Divine Artifact Dungeon, the Workshop, and Guild Dungeons—are being introduced one after another. Visual updates are being rolled out in sync with the live server, players are receiving the nostalgic "Black Mountain Old Demon" summoning spirit as a gift, and they can share in 200 million gold coins as part of the anniversary celebrations. The message from the developers is clear: to retain players and keep them engaged with high-quality content.

If you take a longer-term look at the update cycle for this Young Enjoy server, you’ll see that this escalation has been ongoing: peer-to-peer trading was launched in April, the Treasure Hall was integrated in July, and a series of updates were rolled out for the anniversary celebration in August.Peer-to-peer trading is essentially designed to make the exchange of resources between players more efficient, while the Treasure Hall provides an official channel that ensures safer transactions between players.

For an MMO, whether players’ accumulated assets retain their value and can be traded smoothly, whether the grind is reasonable, and whether they can avoid having to “work like a day job” every day directly determine their willingness to commit long-term.The “Light Enjoyment Server’s” combination of “reduced workload and asset preservation” essentially replicates the economic system logic—proven over more than a decade of operation in the *Fantasy Westward Journey* mobile game—onto a server with a lower entry barrier. This caters to players who want to play but don’t have as much time to dedicate, thereby naturally retaining more players.

Once existing players were retained, another issue came to the forefront: how to attract more new players? The mobile game *Fantasy Westward Journey* answered this by “expanding its audience.”

Over the past year, the mobile game *Fantasy Westward Journey* has been constantly rolling out IP collaborations: a collaboration with *The Legend of Sword and Fairy III* for its 11th anniversary,a collaboration with *Vegetable Spirits* in April, a collaboration with *SpongeBob SquarePants* in May, and then, in August for the Qixi Festival, a collaboration with the classic film *A Chinese Odyssey: The Great Sage’s Wedding*, which propelled the game to No. 15 on the free app chart—its highest ranking in three months.

From xianxia, animation, and casual games to movies, the game’s collaborations span various demographics, with each one aimed at attracting potential players from different fields. In particular, the game’s performance on the free app charts following its collaboration with the movie *A Chinese Odyssey* serves as clear evidence of the effectiveness of this regular collaboration strategy.

Conclusion

When viewed together, these three elements paint a clear picture of the path to long-term success for the *Fantasy Westward Journey* mobile game: content updates ensure players always have something to do, the “Light Enjoyment” servers meet players’ core demand for a “low-effort, high-value” experience, and IP collaborations continue to attract new players from various demographics.

It’s clear that while a game may become a hit once due to luck, its ability to remain popular for more than a decade has never relied on a single surge in popularity, but rather on the coordinated operation of multiple initiatives supported by a steady update schedule.