HoYoverse has a new game in development, and it just got spoiled before anyone at the studio said a word about it. Footage from what appears to be a closed test of an unannounced MMO called Nodusfall started circulating on X (formerly Twitter) on August 13, 2026, giving the internet its first real look at what the Genshin Impact studio has been quietly building. If you're already tracking HoYoverse's catalog over at Nemesis Downfall, this one sits in very different territory.
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What the leaked footage actually shows
The clips are brief but telling. Nodusfall appears to be a dark fantasy MMO with a noticeably heavier tone than anything HoYoverse has shipped before. Combat looks built around weapon weight and stamina management rather than the faster, flashier action players know from Genshin Impact or Zenless Zone Zero. Boss encounters visible in the footage are large-scale affairs that draw obvious comparisons to Monster Hunter, with players seemingly needing to read attack patterns and manage resources rather than just chain combos.
The engine switch is significant. Every major HoYoverse title to date, from Genshin Impact through Honkai Star Rail, has run on Unity. Nodusfall is reportedly built on Unreal Engine 5, which explains both the visual jump visible in the leaked clips and why this project has been kept separate from the studio's usual pipeline.
From codename Genesis to a real leak
Rumors of HoYoverse working on a fantasy MMO first appeared in late 2025. The project was described then as something genuinely different for the studio, with references to an "Artificial Intelligence Stimulated Ecosystem," All-Terrain Battle AI, and what were called "Intellectual NPCs." Those descriptions pointed toward a living open world where AI drives NPC behavior rather than scripted routines.
The leaked footage, while not showing those systems explicitly, does align with an open-world structure. Environments visible in the clips look expansive, and the combat system's emphasis on weight and stamina fits a game designed around longer, more methodical encounters than HoYoverse typically makes.
The big questions this footage doesn't answer
Two things remain completely unclear. First, whether Nodusfall will follow HoYoverse's standard gacha monetization model. The studio built its entire business on gacha mechanics across Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero, so a shift away from that would be a major change. Second, whether the game will be free-to-play at all.
Here's the thing: an MMO with Monster Hunter-style boss design and UE5 visuals could work under several different business models. A premium MMO subscription, a buy-to-play structure, or yes, gacha, all have precedent in the genre. HoYoverse hasn't said anything publicly, so everything on that front is still open.
What's not in question is that the footage is real enough to generate serious attention. Multiple clips from different angles surfaced within hours of the first post, suggesting more than one person had access to the closed test build. For players wanting to stay ahead of what HoYoverse is doing next, keeping an eye on the Nemesis Downfall guides is one thing, but Nodusfall looks like it could occupy a completely different space in the studio's lineup. For broader context on upcoming MMOs and what to watch in the genre, the gaming guides hub is worth bookmarking as more details emerge.
