Hong Kong Spiral Rising Technology is gearing up to release the Steam version of free-to-play action RPG Duet Night Abyss. Although the release date has been postponed from the originally planned December 23 due to launch procedures, the game’s content is fully ready. This includes a major update that introduces the new map of Huaxu, as well as new playable characters.
Ahead of the big launch, AUTOMATON conducted an email interview with Duet Night Abyss producer Deca Bear, who told us more about the update, as well as how the game and its monetization model have been received so far.
We want to offer players great content
—Please introduce yourself.
Deca Bear:
Hello everyone. I’m Deca Bear, producer of Duet Night Abyss.
The studio I currently oversee, Pan Studio, is based in Hangzhou, China and it’s a team of people from around the world who share a love for games and Japanese pop culture. At present, we are focused on developing and publishing games, chief of which is Duet Night Abyss.
—You unveiled the trailer for your new update at The Game Awards. How did it feel to debut on a major stage that attracts attention from all over the world?
Deca Bear:
Our team was incredibly excited to be able to showcase Duet Night Abyss’s world of Huaxu for the first time on the global stage of TGA. It’s an honor, but it also feels like an incredibly heavy responsibility. For us, it wasn’t just a trailer release; it was also our “introduction” to the world.
Players across the globe experienced, at the same moment, our realistic landscapes, crafted with Eastern aesthetics, listened to our music, and glimpsed the story unfolding under the theme of “The Wind Awakening.” In that instant, it felt as though we ourselves were standing before the world. We were nervous, yet filled with anticipation, awaiting everyone’s judgment.
The experience greatly motivated us and reaffirmed our determination to refine the update and all future content to even higher quality standards, including visual presentation, gameplay design, and cultural authenticity. At the same time, we strongly felt the enthusiasm and expectations of the community, which has become a major driving force behind accelerating development of localized versions.
In short, the TGA stage was a milestone for us, reminding us once again that truly “good content has the power to transcend language and culture.” Using this as a new starting point, we will continue striving so that Phoxhunters around the world can experience the unique appeal of Duet Night Abyss.
Taking feedback seriously
—Looking back on Duet Night Abyss since launch, how do you view the reception so far? Please tell us about what has been well received vs what hasn’t.
Deca Bear:
Since launch, we’ve received support and praise from many players, but also a wide range of feedback and concerns regarding gameplay and monetization. In response, we’ve consistently communicated with players through Luno’s Bulletin, sharing our improvement plans. We sincerely acknowledge that the official release version had many shortcomings, and we would like to once again offer our apologies to all players.
Every member of our team has approached the feedback with the utmost sincerity, making continuous improvements wherever possible. The results of our efforts should be clearly felt in the upcoming “The Wind Awakening” update.
Our greatest takeaway has been seeing players embrace Duet Night Abyss as a game they can play long term. From in-depth discussions about gameplay and content, to passionate fanart and thoughtful feedback on story pacing and performance, we can feel a lively, proactive community forming.
Frank criticism born from players’ high expectations is not pressure to us. Rather, we see it as a valuable guide for setting our priorities and allocating resources. The current DNA community has matured beyond our expectations, and we’re truly grateful for players’ willingness to engage in dialogue and grant us the time we need to polish the game. We will continue to cherish this by optimizing across all platforms and further improving the game’s quality, delivering a more comfortable and satisfying experience.
—What specific improvements are being made in the new version?
Deca Bear:
With the official release of “The Wind Awakening” update, Duet Night Abyss will undergo a major overhaul across controls, visuals, gameplay, and systems. The most immediately noticeable changes for players will be greater control flexibility, refined visuals, improved playability, and an overall more user-friendly experience.
In terms of controls, we’ve achieved an unprecedented level of freedom and smoothness. For mobile, we’ve significantly improved usability by introducing an independent Helix Leap button and customizable input layouts. The logic has also been simplified, for example, pushing the directional input forward now automatically initiates a dash. We’ve also rebuilt the multiplayer foundation, enabling smoother co-op play in major content such as the Nocturnal Echoes and Noctoyager Manual.
Visually, we addressed complaints about blurriness by optimizing anti-aliasing and rendering resolution, greatly improving clarity. All Huaxu areas have been recreated with new realistic rendering, including more lifelike materials and lighting. Character models have been completely overhauled, with redesigned hair, skin, and outfits. At the same time, memory usage has been reduced to alleviate overheating and stuttering.
The game’s progression has also become clearer and more user-friendly. A pity exchange system has been added to bounty requests, allowing direct exchange for Gold Demon Wedge blueprints. There are new items which make progression paths easier to understand. We’ve also increased the number of free skins, added a login reward skin (Serenity Character Skin Selection – Dark Jade), and introduced a more rewarding monthly pass.
Operations and monetization have likewise been adjusted to be more transparent and considerate towards the user. Improvements include a revamped shop UI, longer discount periods, high-value character acquisition chests, and advanced sharing of version plans. This is all part of our commitment to making continuous improvements and offering an honest service.
—You mentioned that visuals have also been overhauled in The Wind Awakening. Could you tell us more about the new art style?
Deca Bear:
This update marks the largest visual and gameplay overhaul since launch. With the introduction of Huaxu, the overall art direction has shifted decisively toward ultra-realistic Eastern fantasy. Material detail and lighting have been significantly enhanced, resulting in far more delicate expression and a clear improvement in overall quality. This is something we previously promised our players.
Beyond simply offering a contrast to Icelake Environs’ Western-style fantasy aesthetic, we want to show that Duet Night Abyss is not confined to Western fantasy, but also carries a distinctly Eastern cultural background, and to convey that appeal through our designs. This change in art style is a challenge we embraced to further refine the game’s overall expression.
We will continue to deliver high-quality content and improve the experience, and we always welcome player feedback and suggestions.
New characters debuting in The Wind Awakening
—Please tell us about the new characters being introduced in the update. What kind of character is Fushu, the first in line to be released?
Deca Bear:
Six new characters will be appearing in this update. Among them, Fushu’s character design is particularly striking. Her appearance is based on dragons: she has the tail of a white dragon, and her design combines elements such as a qipao-inspired dress, a folding fan, and ornamental hairpins to evoke a gentle, serene image of an Eastern woman. In addition, a swimsuit skin will be released as a limited costume exclusive to Fushu.
From a gameplay perspective, Fushu’s skills revolve around summoning a dragon to support combat, dealing Hydro-elemental damage to nearby enemies. She can heal allies and restore Sanity, and her ultimate deals area-of-effect damage while granting shields to herself and her allies, increasing skill power and accelerating Sanity recovery. As a result, she plays a highly important role in party compositions.
The new characters debuting in Huaxu were designed around three principles: depth of cultural identity, precision of visual expression, and unique gameplay mechanics. They are the first group of characters born from the cultural foundation of the new region, Huaxu, and they incorporate classical Eastern aesthetics and philosophical concepts throughout their designs.
Visually, these characters represent the first fully realized results of our upgrades in technology art-wise. Polygon counts have increased, and thanks to our advances in hair physics and material rendering, hair will move more naturally, and fabrics and metallic ornaments will appear far more realistic.
In combat, we’ve also introduced more distinctive mechanics. Fushu contributes not only to HP recovery but also Sanity regeneration, fundamentally altering the structure of prolonged battles. Meanwhile, Kezhou is the very embodiment of a “weapon master”: his ultimate randomly switches between multiple melee weapons, each with its own unique animations. These are not simple numerical variations, but mechanics designed to meaningfully expand the game’s depth.
Major enhancements to multiplayer
—Can you tell us more about how you’ve expanded multiplayer in Huaxu?
Deca Bear:
Multiplayer, particularly in boss battles, has long been one of the most requested features from players. In this update, we have evolved multiplayer in a systematic way, based directly on player feedback. First, we’ve expanded multiplayer-enabled areas to cover the entirety of Mistwharf, and we’ve added new free emotes obtainable through shops. We’ve also implemented new multiplayer-exclusive dungeons, enabling natural cooperative play from story sections to everyday content.
Second, we’ve addressed issues with the multiplayer experience itself. By rebuilding the system’s foundations, we can now offer clearer role assignments and more interaction value. The team system remains available, of course, allowing players to freely choose between AI companions and multiplayer co-op.
In this version, we believe players will truly be able to “meet” one another and experience the game’s unique pacing and depth.
Reception to changes in monetization
—You announced two months before the game’s launch that you’d abolish character gacha, which was quite surprising. How has the monetization model been received since then?
Deca Bear:
Through player feedback, we clearly recognized that some previous paid content fell short of expectations in terms of design sincerity, perceived value, and flexibility in acquisition. Key issues included insufficient quantity and design quality of cosmetic items, a mismatch between pricing and perceived value, and discount periods that were too short.
As a result, starting with The Wind Awakening update, we will introduce more carefully crafted cosmetic items, as well as high-cost-performance acquisition options like the Thoughts Chest. Going forward, we aim to provide a broader range of high-quality, value-oriented direct-purchase content, while increasing transparency around version plans and commercial information.
—Could you tell us about your future direction for Duet Night Abyss?
Deca Bear:
Our future development is guided by two major themes. The first is to further reinforce the core strengths that Duet Night Abyss has already established. The second is to continuously improve the issues players feel most strongly about.
In terms of gameplay, we will remain committed to our original philosophy of fairness and meaningful choices, optimizing content and experience with each new version. In particular, we will focus on multi-platform optimization to ensure a smoother and more exhilarating experience. For this, the continued support of our players is essential.
In terms of visual expansion, Huaxu serves as the key that opens a new chapter, and we intend to continue developing culturally distinctive regions going forward. On the improvement front, we will keep collecting player feedback and prioritize frequently requested systems, such as multiplayer functionality and control responsiveness. With every update, we aim to ensure players feel that the development team and the community are walking towards the same goals.
—Thank you very much.
Duet Night Abyss is currently available on PC (official homepage/Epic Games Store), iOS, and Android. The Steam version is planned to launch soon.
