DragonSword: Awakening is officially one step closer to release, and honestly, this is the kind of industry drama PC RPG fans in Malaysia and SEA should keep an eye on.
According to Automaton Media, the Seoul Central District Court has thrown out Webzen’s attempt to stop Hound13 from launching DragonSword: Awakening, the studio’s upcoming open-world anime-style RPG. Hound13 announced the decision on July 22, and the game is now expected to launch on PC through Steam once Valve clears its final app review.
For players here, the big deal is simple: this is no longer just another gacha-adjacent mobile-style RPG stuck in publisher drama. DragonSword: Awakening is being positioned as a standalone, self-published, full-priced RPG rebuilt from Hound13’s earlier free-to-play title DragonSword, which launched in South Korea in January 2026.
That original version was briefly published by Webzen, and that relationship is where the problem started. Around a month after DragonSword went live, Hound13 said it would end its publishing agreement with Webzen, claiming the publisher had not paid the contract’s minimum guarantee. After that, Hound13 revealed plans to rework the game into a premium Steam release without gacha systems.
Webzen pushed back hard. The publisher argued that Hound13 could not legally end the contract on its own, then filed for an injunction to block DragonSword: Awakening from coming out.
The court did not side with Webzen. Based on the report, the court found that Hound13’s contract termination was valid because Webzen had failed to meet its payment obligation, and had at one point clearly refused to pay. Webzen also made separate claims about Hound13 allegedly using translated materials without permission, but the court dismissed those too due to insufficient evidence.
Crucially, the court also did not accept Webzen’s argument that the Steam release would cause the company damage serious enough to justify stopping the launch.
Hound13 CEO Jung-Sik Park thanked the court for the decision, while saying the team wants to continue improving the game and growing the IP. That is the part worth watching now: legal roadblock cleared, but the game still has to prove itself.
For Malaysian and SEA players, DragonSword: Awakening lands in an interesting space. Anime open-world RPGs are everywhere now, but many are tied to gacha, stamina systems, and long-term live-service grind. A full-priced version with no gacha could be refreshing, especially for players who like the anime action RPG vibe but are tired of pulling banners every patch.
Of course, price will matter a lot here. If the RM pricing on Steam is reasonable, DragonSword: Awakening could find an audience among PC players looking for something flashier than the usual indie RPG, but less wallet-draining than another live-service commitment. If it launches too expensive or undercooked, Malaysian gamers will roast it fast — no mercy.
For now, the important update is that Hound13 is free to move forward. DragonSword: Awakening is listed as coming soon to PC via Steam, with the final timing depending on Valve’s review process.
Source: Automaton Media