天衍 · published
Fellow Cultivators,
This is the Heavenward development team. We are thrilled to officially announce that Heavenward, the Shan-Hai themed xianxia RPG, will launch into Steam Early Access today at 14:00. The game adopts a free-to-play model, and every cultivator who steps into the immortal realm will be able to experience the full core story and all core gameplay completely free of charge.
From the very beginning of development, we set out to make an authentic xianxia game rooted in the classic Shan-Hai Jing mythology. It does not drown you in repetitive daily quests, lock you into a single linear progression path, or replace meaningful gameplay with raw number grinding. What we wanted to create is a world where every realm breakthrough feels earned, every corner of the land holds hidden fortune, every sect rises and falls by your hand, and every bond carries true weight. After a long period of refinement, we are finally ready to share this world with you, and let you experience it for yourselves.
We have built a complete orthodox cultivation system for this immortal realm. Start from Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, progress through Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation and beyond — across nine major realms all the way to final immortality. Every realm breakthrough brings its own unique Heavenly Tribulation, from Five-Element Thunder Tribulations to the Nine Heaven Profound Calamity. Fail the tribulation, and you will lose realm progress and suffer damage to your Dao Heart.
You may choose the Path of Unfeeling Dao to pursue pure enlightenment, the Path of Compassionate Dao to aid all living beings, or devote yourself to side paths such as alchemy, artifact crafting and formation mastery. Forge your natal artifact, enlighten exclusive techniques, and refine immortal elixirs. There is no preset “right” answer — your Dao Heart is the Heavenly Dao of this world.
Built upon the ancient Classic of Mountains and Seas, the vast primordial immortal realm holds far more wonders and opportunities than the main story alone. Traverse spirit peaks, ghostly marshes and god-forsaken ancient ruins, and encounter dozens of primeval beasts such as Taotie, BiFang and the Nine-Tailed Fox, each with unique behaviors and weakness mechanics. Hunt them solo through stealth and precision, or team up with allies to lay formations and encircle your prey. Slaying mythical beasts yields rare spirit materials and beast cores, which can be used to forge your natal weapon and refine high-grade elixirs, forming a complete hunt-to-progression loop.
The open world is scattered with random karmic events: meet a reclusive master deep in the mountains who teaches you forbidden arts, find a lost ancient jade scroll in a secluded ravine, dig up an innate spiritual treasure in an unmarked tomb — or fall into illusion arrays, face heart demon tribulations, or trigger ancient seals that leave you in mortal danger. There are also timed ancient secret realms that appear periodically, where cultivators from all over the server compete for a shot at rare opportunities. Fortune and peril always go hand in hand; every exploration holds the unknown.
In our eyes, cultivation was never meant to be a lonely, solitary pursuit. You will meet saintesses of immortal sects, demon tribe princesses, rogue cultivator heroines and mysterious demonic heirs, each with their own convictions, backstories and principles. They are far more than simple companions or plot devices. You may pledge your heart to one and form a sacred Dao Companion bond for dual cultivation, or gather trusted confidantes to reside in your immortal mansion and build your own harem. Every relationship will shape your journey and bring unique advantages in different ways.
You may also establish your own cave abode, where you and your Dao companions can plant spirit herbs, lay down formations, and pass down cultivation techniques. When your bond deepens enough, you may even bear offspring who inherit unique spiritual roots and talents, allowing your Dao lineage and bloodline to truly carry on through generations in this world.
Combat is never a simple numbers game, and cultivation is never only about self-improvement. You can summon the spirits of Shan-Hai mythical beasts to possess your form, shifting your battle style and skill set entirely. You may also deploy formation flags flexibly according to terrain and battlefield situation — freeze marshlands with ice formations to trap enemies, or fan fire formations into a raging inferno with wind currents, turning environmental advantages and technique properties into a deadly combination.
More than that, you can build your very own cultivation sect from the ground up: choose a blessed spirit mountain site, construct temple halls, deploy the Nine Palace Grand Protection Formation, and set up alchemy halls, artifact workshops and spirit farms. Recruit disciples and pass down your teachings. Form alliances and rivalries with neighboring sects, compete for world spirit veins, and launch sect wars to expand your territory. Grow from a small local sect into a dominant immortal power that rules the region.
The decision to launch in Early Access was not made lightly. As a small development team, we have not poured our energy into empty gimmicks or marketing fluff. Instead, we have focused on polishing the core cultivation logic, combat feel and immersive atmosphere. But a xianxia world can never be truly finished. Rather than refining it behind closed doors, we would much rather hear the voices of real players — whether it’s suggestions on progression pacing, feedback on combat balance, ideas for secret realm gameplay, or issues that need fixing, all of it will become the foundation of our updates and iterations.
In the current Early Access build, you can experience:
A complete progression path from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul, with fully implemented core combat systems including real-time action, mythical beast possession and formation deployment
Multiple core Shan-Hai themed maps including Spirit Peak Valley, Nether Marshes and Ancient God Ruins, with full main storylines, side quests, hidden encounters and exploration treasures
Core progression systems including romance bonds, cave abode management, alchemy and artifact crafting, forming a complete cultivation loop
Basic online features including sect building, team-based secret realm raids and world chat
We are well aware that later realm progressions are still in development, some systems still have room for deeper gameplay, and there may be details and issues that need optimization. During the Early Access period, we will keep releasing regular version updates, continuously expanding story content, improving gameplay systems and refining the overall experience.
The game will remain permanently free-to-play. All core story content, core gameplay and progression paths will be accessible for free. Any future paid content will always follow fair design principles, and will never break core game balance or detract from the full experience of free players.
Heavenward Early Access is now officially live. We will be waiting for you in this world where mountains and seas intertwine, to write your own legend of Heavenly Ascension together. Add the game to your Steam Wishlist now to be the first to receive updates and launch notifications.
— The Heavenward Development Team