[UPDATE] Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Dev Admits Performance Issues ‘Should Never Have Occurred’ 

UPDATE: Earlier today, July 28, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers developer Leenzee issued an updated statement via Steam, to further apologize for the game’s launch issues and promise a “comprehensive explanation” of what went wrong is on the way.

In the meantime, Leenzee said it was “closely monitoring all community channels” and “every voice — from criticism to suggestions — has been received, carefully listened to, and actively discussed to find solutions.”

Following up on issues with pre-order rewards — as well as the compensation Leenzee has initially offered — Steam Deluxe Edition owners will now get three extra sets of deluxe costumes and four new weapons. Standard and Deluxe edition owners will get three additional headgear items.

As for performance and optimization issues?

“We will continue to optimize performance issues and will keep adjusting the game based on your suggestions — such as difficulty levels and boss encounters — in upcoming patches,” Leenzee added, listing the following “optimization efforts”:

• Fix crashes across different devices
• Improve frame rates and reduce lag on certain graphics cards
• Optimize default settings for some graphics cards
• Correct the speed of getting up after being knocked down
• Reduce damage and the number of some traps
• Lower impact resistance of certain low-level monsters
• Reduce exploration pressure in some areas
• Fix issues caused by missing items leading to quest interruptions
• Improve AI logic for monsters and bosses
• Enhance texture quality in low-resolution areas
• Improve asset detail and precision in some regions

“We deeply value every player’s support and encouragement. We are actively reflecting on our workflows and striving to improve our capabilities to deliver higher-quality services more efficiently,” Leenzee concluded. “We ask for your patience as we tackle these optimizations step by step. We hope that one day, both our work and our team will prove worthy of your expectations.”

At the time of writing, the game’s Steam user rating remains “Mostly Negative.”

ORIGINAL STORY: Last week, we reported that Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has opened to 114,000+ concurrent players on Steam, making it one of the biggest launches on Steam for a non-FromSoftware Soulslike game yet.

This milestone comes in spite of ‘mostly negative’ on Steam as players report issues with “extremely awful performance,” a “completely lifeless” main character, and “clunky” combat and gameplay. At the time of writing, just 22% of the 9,300+ reviews left are positive.

Developer Leenzee has now issued an update about the issues, admitting “these problems should never have occurred,” adding “we deeply regret the inconvenience and negative experience some players are currently facing.”

“We are confident in the game’s performance within our recommended spec, but we’re working on optimization,” the development team said. “We are looking to issue a patch as soon as we can.” Players with persistent problems are encouraged to submit a ticket to publisher 505 Games or readjust their settings.

That’s not the only issue the developer is responding to, either.

“We are aware of some pricing anomalies in some regions. We are currently working with Steam to restore the correct pricing,” the team said, and then addressed a pre-order reward error.

“The root cause is a bug in the reward distribution for the Standard and Deluxe editions, which prevented players from receiving the correct items. We are fixing this issue in the upcoming patch,” Leenzee said. “As a token of our appreciation, we will give all players who purchase the game on Steam a free digital copy of the original soundtrack. We will look to process refunds of all those who have already purchased the soundtrack via Steam.”

Any players who bought the deluxe edition in the future will also receive “a brand-new exclusive costume,” although be patient — “understand that this may take some time.”

“We are fully committed to investigating and resolving these issues as quickly as possible. Our team is prioritizing these problems at the highest level, striving to fix and handle everything promptly to ensure you have the best possible gaming experience,” the statement concluded.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a Soulslike action-RPG set in the land of Shu during the dark and tumultuous late Ming Dynasty. You play as a mysterious warrior afflicted by a horrific feather disease, who uncovers hidden secrets and battles supernatural enemies in an ancient empire teetering on the edge of collapse. We thought it was ‘Great,’ awarding it 8/10, writing: “Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is yet another great soulslike to add to the ever-increasing pile, featuring excellent combat, wonderful level design, an incredible skill tree, and fearsome bosses. Just watch out for some steep difficulty dips and spikes, and a reliance on cheap-feeling “gotcha!” ambushes.”

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers was released earlier today, July 24, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Microsoft has also brought it to Game Pass day one for those subscribed to the Ultimate tier.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.