DragonSword : Awakening

DragonSword : Awakening is developed and published by Hound13 Inc. It released on July 22, 2026, for Windows via Steam. Built in Unreal Engine 5, the game follows Lute, a young traveler swept up with a mercenary band, as a dragon that once nearly destroyed the Continent of Orbis reawakens after 60 years of peace.

About the Game

DragonSword : Awakening centers on tag-team combat built around Status Ailments. Each of the game’s 19 playable Heroes carries a distinct ailment ability, and stacking those effects with Active Skills sets up powerful Signal Skills that chain devastating combos together. Players constantly switch between Heroes mid-fight through Switching Signals, building teams around combinations that suit their preferred combat style.

Beyond combat, Orbis functions as a living open world players explore entirely on foot, from meadows and watchtower cellars to deep-sea ruins and hidden dungeons. Cooking systems let players combine found ingredients into new dishes, and side activities built around helping local residents give the world a lived-in, everyday rhythm alongside the main quest to track down the legendary Heroes of old. Notably, the game began life as a gacha title published by Webzen before Hound13 regained the rights and relaunched it as a complete, premium release with no microtransactions or stamina systems gating progression.

Key Features

Status Ailment Tag-Team Combat: Stack unique Status Ailments from each Hero, then chain Signal Skills together for high-impact combo sequences.
19 Playable Heroes: Build a team from a roster of distinct characters, each carrying their own ailment abilities and combat role.
Living Open-World Exploration: Traverse the Continent of Orbis on foot, uncovering meadows, sunken ruins, hidden caves, and dungeons at your own pace.
No Gacha Monetization: Characters and gear are earned entirely through gameplay, following the game’s relaunch as a premium release without banners or stamina limits.

Games Like This

Similar Game	Key Difference	Best For
Genshin Impact	Genshin Impact keeps its gacha monetization and stamina systems intact, unlike DragonSword’s premium, gacha-free relaunch. Both share a similar anime-style open world and elemental-style ability stacking.	Players who don’t mind gacha mechanics in exchange for a free entry point.
Tales of Arise	Tales of Arise favors a more linear JRPG structure over open-world exploration. DragonSword instead lets players roam Orbis freely between story missions.	Players who prefer a tighter, story-focused JRPG pace.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink	Granblue Fantasy: Relink centers its action around mission-based multiplayer combat rather than open-world traversal. DragonSword blends similar tag-team combat with a fully explorable world.	Players who want mission-based co-op over open-world wandering.

Game Details

Developer: Hound13 Inc.
Publisher: Hound13 Inc.
Platforms: Windows (Steam)
Release Date: July 22, 2026
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG (Action RPG, Open World)
Price: $29.99
Online Co-op: Supported
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Supported Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, French, German, Spanish (Spain), Russian, Thai, Portuguese (Brazil)