Wuthering Waves: Release date, characters, gameplay, platforms, more

Wuthering Waves is an upcoming open-world RPG developed by Kuro Games. If you’re wondering about the finer details of the game, from gameplay to story, here’s all you need to know.

Even though there isn’t any shortage of gacha games with Zenless Zone Zero due in July 2024, there hasn’t really been a major open-world entry that could join the ranks of Genshin Impact. With Tower of Fantasy failing to light any charts or gather acclaim, all eyes are on Wuthering Waves.

From a colorful cast to a massive open world, Wuthering Waves touches everything HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact has on offer, so here is everything you need to know about the title.

• Wuthering Waves release date
• Wuthering Waves platforms
• Wuthering Waves system requirements
• Is Wuthering Waves free-to-play?
• Wuthering Waves story & setting
• Wuthering Waves combat & gameplay
• All Wuthering Waves characters at launch
• Wuthering Waves trailers

Wuthering Waves release & preload date

Wuthering Waves will be released on May 22, 2024. Pre-registration for the game is live, and there are even rewards for registering.

Those who pre-registered will be able to pre-load the title on May 21, 2024, just one day before the official release.

Wuthering Waves Official Release Benefits Overview
Wuthering Waves is set to release on May 22 (PT). The game is ready for pre-download on May 21, 03:00 (PT). Through the following events, you can claim these in the game for free: Lustrous Tide x84, Radiant Tide x14, Astrite… pic.twitter.com/Q9iFlG3fuH

— Wuthering Waves (@Wuthering_Waves) May 20, 2024

Wuthering Waves platforms

Wuthering Waves will be available on PC (via Epic Games), and mobile (iOS and Android) when it launches on May 22. 

It’ll later arrive on Mac and PlayStation 4 and 5, but the exact dates are unknown.

Developers have confirmed on multiple occasions that it’ll arrive on PlayStation, but it’ll be sometime after release. For the Nintendo Switch and Xbox, there haven’t been any official announcements or hints.

Sony may likely have struck an exclusive deal for PlayStation similar to HoYoverse titles like Genshin Impact. So, it may never arrive on Xbox.

It does not rule out the possibility of a Switch port, though, but these are all just speculations, so nothing on the Xbox and Nintendo releases is confirmed until the developers share details themselves.

Wuthering Waves system requirements

Here are all the system requirements for Wuthering Waves, on all platforms.

Wuthering Waves PC requirements

	MINIMUM SPECS	RECOMMENDED SPECS
OS Version	Windows 10 64-bit or Windows 11 64-bit	Windows 10 64-bit or Windows 11 64-bit
CPU	intel i5 (9th Gen) / Ryzen 2700	intel i7 (9th Gen) / Ryzen 3700
Memory	16GB	16GB and above
GPU	GTX 1060 / RX 570	GTX 2060 / RX 5700XT and above
Storage	30GB	30GB and above

Wuthering Waves mobile requirements

• For Android
  • Minimum specs:
    • System: Verison 7.0 and above
    • Processor: Snapdragon 835, MediaTek G71/72 or equivalent 
    • Storage: 12 GB and above.
  • Recommended specs:
    • System: Verison 7.0 and above
    • Processor: Snapdragon Gen1+/Gen2/Gen3 processor or equivalent 
    • Storage: 12 GB and above.
• For iOS
  • Minimum specs:
    • iPhone: Model 11 and above
    • System: iOS 14 and above
    • Storage: 12 GB
  • Recommended specs:
    • iPhone: Model 13 and above
    • System: iOS 15 and above
    • Storage: 12 GB

Is Wuthering Waves free-to-play?

Yes, Wuthering Waves is a free-to-play game and will be free on all platforms when it launches.

Wuthering Waves story & setting

Set in the futuristic post-apocalyptic open world, Wuthering Waves takes place right after the world witnessed a big calamity called The Lament, nearly wiping out the entire human civilization and bringing monsters along.

From all that remains, humanity wants to forge life back, and as always, you will be the center of all this renewed peace. Your mission is to help humanity rebuild, silence all the monsters that the calamity wrecked onto the world, and whatnot.

You’ll be teaming with Resonators in Wuthering Waves, similar to Vision bearers in Genshin Impact, to bring the fight to those deadly monsters.

Besides all the perils and mysteries in the world, little is known about the main character, Rover, who is battling amnesia. So outside of saving the world, you’ll also be figuring out more about the protagonist.

These are just a set-off to your journey in Wuthering Waves, how it develops over the years is what will be more exciting.

Wuthering Waves gameplay & combat

Wuthering Waves features all the run-of-the-mill gameplay and activities you’d expect from a gacha game, from banners to all the progression systems.

If you’ve played Genshin Impact before, you’ll pick off most of it as almost all mechanics are the same, just worded differently and with certain twists here and there. Weapons, Elements, Talents, Constellations, Oculus, Domains, you name it and it will be there.

It is a three-party game, and there are six elements, namely, Aero (Air), Electro (Lightning), Fusion (Fire), Glacio (Ice), Havoc (Dark), and Spectro (Light), with a reaction-like system in place.

In terms of actual combat, it is a lot flashier and Devil May Cry-esque, featuring all that you’d hope in sword-based combat—dodges, jumps, and more. Outside of these, there is also a parry system in the game, and once you use it enough, the enemy will be stunned, allowing you to go all ham.

Because Wuthering Waves is heavy on combat, there will be two endgame modes: Tower of Adversity and Depths of Illusive Realm. Tower of Adversity is similar to Spiral Abyss, there are multiple stages with different enemies. Depths of Illusive Realm, meanwhile, is a rouge-like mode.

Exploration is another big part of the game. You can scale all the towering structures, and a stamina system is in place that’ll toss you off the top if you’re mindlessly climbing. Notable and less-seen-elsewhere additions are running on the walls to quickly climb smaller structures, double jumps, and grappling hooks.

You don’t have to worry about climbing down, though, as there is a glider. 

All Wuthering Waves characters at launch

There will be a total of 17 characters in Wuthering Waves at launch, with eight 5-star and nine 4-star units. The 5-star also included the main character, Rover. Here’s a list of all the characters with their elements and weapons: 

5-star characters

• Calcharo – Electro | Broadblade
• Encore – Fusion | Rectifier
• Jianxin – Aero | Gauntlets
• Jiyan – Aero | Broadblade
• Lingyang – Glacio | Gauntlets
• Rover – Spectro | Sword
• Verina – Spectro | Rectifier
• Yinlin – Electro | Rectifier

4-star characters

• Aalto – Aero | Pistols
• Baizhi – Glacio | Rectifier
• Chixia – Fusion | Pistol
• Danjin – Havoc | Sword
• Mortefi – Fusion | Pistols
• Sanhua – Glacio | Sword
• Taoqi – Havoc | Boardblade
• Yangyang – Aero | Sword
• Yuanwu – Electro | Gauntlets

Wuthering Waves trailers

If you want to see all that we’ve mentioned in action, here are some of the trailers for Wuthering Waves:

Wuthering Waves Global Launch Trailer

Wuthering Waves gameplay trailer

Wuthering Waves Official Release Trailer

That’s everything you need to know about Wuthering Waves. For more on gacha games, check out some of the following: 

Wuthering Waves gacha system explained | Wuthering Waves PC requirements | Wuthering Waves banner schedule | Is Wuthering Waves free-to-play? | Is Wuthering Waves crossplay? | Does Wuthering Waves have multiplayer & co-op? | Genshin Impact update calendar | How many people play Genshin Impact? | Honkai Star Rail character tier list | Honkai Star Rail 2.3 leaks | Honkai Star Rail Apocalyptic Shadow explained