Wuthering Waves review

This Wuthering Waves review is based on official sources and player reviews, not on our own play time. Kuro Games' open-world action RPG launched in May 2024 and is free on Windows (Kuro launcher, Steam, Epic), Mac through the App Store, iOS, Android, PS5 and Xbox. Resonators and weapons come from Convenes, a gacha with published rates: 0.8% base for a 5-star, guaranteed within 80 pulls. Money buys Lunites, the Lunite Subscription and pass upgrades.

What is Wuthering Waves?

Wuthering Waves is a story-rich open-world action RPG developed and published by Kuro Games. It launched on May 23, 2024 (UTC+8), on PC, Android and iOS. You wake as Rover on the world of Solaris-3 and travel with characters called Resonators to recover your lost memories, according to the Steam page.

The store description lists exploration without stamina limits, wall running, flight and a motorbike, and combat built on dodges, counters, Echo skills and quick-time moves. The ESRB describes melee-style combat in which you switch between a party of three characters using gauntlets, swords, pistols and magic attacks.

Content arrives in numbered versions. Version 3.7, "Prism's Illusion, Heart's Illumination," went live on September 30, 2026, with two new 5-star Resonators, Hsin and Suoming, a new area called the Simulacrum Nexus of Mengzhou, new Echoes and new Sonata set effects. Steam lists the game as single-player, and Kuro's official notices do not describe a PvP mode.

Is Wuthering Waves free to play?

Yes. Wuthering Waves is free to download on every platform. Steam lists it as Free To Play, and the App Store and Google Play list it as free with in-app purchases.

Astrite is the currency free players earn through events and compensation. For example, the Version 3.7 update sent Astrite ×300 and Crystal Solvent ×2 for maintenance plus another Astrite ×300 for bug fixes to every player who had unlocked mail. Featured Resonator banners use Radiant Tide, featured weapon banners use Forging Tide, and the standard banners use Lustrous Tide, according to Kuro's Convene notices. Kuro's Convene Details page also describes a beginner banner limited to 50 Convenes and a Beginner's Choice banner that lets you pick which 5-star Resonator it guarantees.

Lunites are the paid currency. Official patch notes also mention the Pioneer Podcast, a pass with weekly tasks, and Kuro's console FAQs say Lunites and the Lunite Subscription bought on one platform can be used on the others.

Is Wuthering Waves pay to win? What money buys

Wuthering Waves has no PvP mode, so purchases only matter against the game itself. Here is what is for sale.

Resonators and weapons come from Convenes, a gacha. Kuro's official Convene Details page lists the rates. On a Featured Resonator Convene, the base chance of a 5-star Resonator is 0.8%, the average including the guarantee is 1.8%, and one is guaranteed within 80 Convenes. Each 5-star has a 50% chance to be the limited Resonator; if it is not, the next one is. Featured Weapon Convenes use the same 0.8% and 80-pull figures, and the 5-star weapon is always the featured one. A 4-star or better item is guaranteed every 10 Convenes. Kuro says the average rates come from sample testing and may differ from your own records, and the current banner notices point to the in-game Convene page for details.

As of October 30, 2026, the US App Store lists Lunites from 60 for $0.99 to 6,480 for $99.99, the Lunite Subscription at $4.99, Insider Channel at $9.99, Connoisseur Channel at $19.99 and a Special Bundle at $9.99.

Based on what the official stores sell, we rate it as mildly pay to win; we will check this again when we play it ourselves.

Wuthering Waves on PC, Mac, consoles and mobile

On Windows, Wuthering Waves installs through Kuro's own launcher from the official site, through Steam, where it has been listed since April 28, 2025, or through the Epic Games Store. The official site also links Google Play Games for PC. On a Mac, the App Store listing supports Mac computers, and the official site notes that a Mac version is available there.

On consoles, it launched on PlayStation 5 on January 2, 2025, and on Xbox on July 10, 2026 (both UTC+8). Kuro's Xbox FAQ says Xbox Game Pass subscribers can claim a benefits pack in the game.

Progress follows your Kuro Games account. Kuro says progress syncs across PC, Android, iOS, Xbox and PS5 on the same server, but not between servers such as America and Europe, so pick the server you plan to stay on. On iPhone and iPad, the App Store requires iOS 14.0 or later and lists a download of about 3.4 GB.

Wuthering Waves system requirements

Wuthering Waves has demanding PC requirements, with 16 GB of RAM as the minimum. These are the figures on its Steam page.

Minimum: 64-bit Windows 10, an Intel Core i5 (9th generation) or AMD Ryzen 2700, 16 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, AMD Radeon RX 570 or Intel Arc A380, DirectX 12 and 150 GB of available storage. A hard drive is supported, but an SSD is recommended.

Recommended: 64-bit Windows 10, an Intel Core i7 (9th generation) or AMD Ryzen 3700, 32 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or Intel Arc A750, DirectX 12 and 150 GB of storage on an SSD, which Steam marks as required at this tier.

A broadband connection is needed. For comparison, Kuro's launch notice in May 2024 asked for 25 GB on PC, so the required space has grown sixfold since release.

Games like Wuthering Waves

These free open-world and action RPGs from our catalog are the closest matches on paper:

Genshin Impact: HoYoverse's open-world action RPG on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, iOS and Android, with a wish gacha that guarantees a 5-star character within 90 pulls.

Zenless Zone Zero: HoYoverse's urban fantasy action RPG on PC (including Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS and Android.

Neverness To Everness: a supernatural open-world RPG from Hotta Studio and Perfect World Games, launched on April 29, 2026, on PC, PS5, Mac, iOS and Android.

Arknights: Endfield: Hypergryph's real-time 3D RPG with factory building, released on January 22, 2026, on Windows, PS5, iOS and Android, with an 80-pull guarantee for its top operators.

• Genshin Impact
• Zenless Zone Zero
• Neverness To Everness
• Arknights: Endfield