It seems that other Chinese developers have taken note of the significant resurgence of Snowbreak: Containment Zone after its developers shifted their focus towards featuring attractive female characters in revealing outfits, combined with immersive interactive elements specifically aimed at male players.
The release of Genshin Impact has dramatically changed the video game design landscape. Whether for better or worse is debatable, but it’s clear that most Japanese developers are now less interested in creating large-scale games featuring attractive female characters.
Companies like Bandai Namco, SEGA, Square Enix, Capcom, and even Sony are focused on Western ESG hedge fund investments, producing games that emphasize diversity and inclusivity.
Sony’s censorship of Senran Kagura 7EVEN has effectively ended the franchise, leading its creator to leave Marvelous due to Sony’s global anti-heterosexual policies, which remain strong today.
Genshin Impact made a significant impact upon its release. While not centered around fanservice, the game offers a variety of attractive and likable characters, both male and female.
As a free-to-play open-world action RPG, it has faced humorous boycotts from Westerners over cultural appropriation and “colorism” because its Chinese developers have not included characters that are dark enough.
Many other F2P gacha games have tried to replicate Genshin Impact’s success, with the most “successful” being the recent release of Wuthering Waves. Although Wuthering Waves is a more refined yet barren interpretation of Genshin Impact and not centered around fanservice, it offers a more fluid gameplay experience.
However, its open world is sparse in content, and the story is quite mundane, which is common for these F2P games. Perhaps with continued story updates over the years, Wuthering Waves might become a viable alternative, but for now, I still prefer what miHoYo is offering despite its censorship.
Tower of Fantasy, another Chinese-developed game, quickly tried to emulate Genshin Impact. However, it has often been criticized as a cheap imitation. Even before its release, Tower of Fantasy was involved in multiple plagiarism controversies.
It was discovered that the game had stolen in-game assets from miHoYo’s Honkai Impact and copied the design of Fate/Grand Order’s Saint Quartz for its premium currency. Additionally, its promotional video blatantly stole scenes from an indie animated video.
Naturally, Tower of Fantasy, often seen as a cheap knock-off of Genshin Impact, has faded into relative obscurity. Unlike miHoYo’s popular open-world ARPG, Tower of Fantasy has tried to remain accessible by landing on the Steam store.
Since its release on Steam in October 2022, it peaked at over 7,200 concurrent players. However, its typical daily highs struggle to surpass the 700-player mark.
Despite its failure, Tower of Fantasy still managed to swindle their way into a collaborative promotion with the ever popular Evangelion franchise which took me and just about everyone else who gave a shit by surprise.
Now, however, the developers of Tower of Fantasy, Hotta Studio, appear to be shifting their approach. After witnessing Snowbreak: Containment Zone’s resurgence, they seem inspired to revitalize their own game.
Snowbreak, which was on the brink of closure, found new life by removing male NPCs and replacing them with female characters, as well as increasing the game’s age rating to allow for more attractive and provocative character designs and interactive scenes.
This strategy has made Snowbreak a viable option for F2P gacha gamers once again.
Snowbreak gained notoriety and traction when news broke that its English voice actors refused to reprise their roles, having previously been abandoned due to budget constraints. By shifting focus to male-centric fanservice, the game soared to the top ranks in China.
However, its emphasis on selling sexy female characters led English voice actors to decline the opportunity to return. Despite the criticism, the developers remain committed to fanservice content. In a recent interview, they stated they ignore social media backlash, knowing their true financial supporters.
Tower of Fantasy, on the other hand, is looking to implement a new feature in its 4.2 update. This update will introduce the “Simulacra Dormitory” function, similar to Snowbreak, allowing players to view female characters in various situations, including their bedrooms.
The teaser trailer for Tower of Fantasy is brimming with feminine charm and beauty, showcasing characters in frilly swimsuits and emphasizing their physical features, such as bouncing boobies.
Clearly, Tower of Fantasy is aiming to revive itself by heavily catering to male gamers.
The developers explain this new update is a way to give players more opportunities to interact with their favorite characters from the game. Currently, this mode is only available in the Chinese version, featuring the SSR character Nora.
However, an update with this feature is expected to reach the global version in a few weeks, and the developers promise to add even more characters in future updates.
Global audiences can already get a sneak peek of what’s coming in Tower of Fantasy’s 4.2 update with the Simulacrum Dormitory. This feature will allow players to observe specific characters as they go about their daily activities in dormitory life.
Players will be able to watch characters lie down in bed, check themselves in the mirror, and much more, given that the Simulacrum Dormitory is equipped with lounges and a bar.
Players will quickly notice Nora’s alluring nightgown in the video above. Additionally, players will have the opportunity to acquire new furniture for the dorm, including a pool table, massage chairs, and weightlifting equipment. These additions will likely offer new ways to interact with the game’s cast.
Additionally, players will be able to purchase character interactive fixtures for the dorm, such as refreshment drinks, magazines, and a billiards table. However, some of these additions will require players to upgrade specific weapons to a certain advancement level.
However, the feature likely to attract the most attention is the option to purchase new outfits for specific characters. This will allow players to customize characters with new clothes, shoes, and even different types of tights.
Additionally, the developers have introduced a personalization menu. This feature not only lets players change characters’ costumes but also enables them to place characters in various poses.
As an extra added bonus the update brings changes to a players info card, allowing users to set custom photographs for specific character cards, allowing players to showcase upskirt photos of their favorite characters or their breasts.
Honestly, this addition is a promising development for a game that was otherwise on the brink of collapse, fanservice being the catalyst to defy its own demise.
Whether the Simulacrum Dormitory will ultimately save the game remains to be seen. On the positive side, Tower of Fantasy has experienced a modest boost in traction in China since implementing these changes. The game climbed from 93rd to 86th on the Apple App Store in China between June 20th and July 19th. On July 11th, the day the update seemingly went live, there was a significant spike, with Tower of Fantasy reaching 50th place on that day.
Like Snowbreak, the fanservice elements in Tower of Fantasy are currently quite modest. However, it’s refreshing to see the gaming industry beginning to embrace sexualization once more, especially in an era where consumers are being forced to endure mundane games featuring unattractive, desexualized “female” protagonists.
Korean and Chinese developers seem to be one of the last bastions resisting the push from ESG mandates, which aim to enforce corporate policies that exterminate femininity.
With the upcoming global release of Version 4.2, Tower of Fantasy is likely to experience a resurgence of players. Hotta Studio is expected to continue expanding the Dormitory features with more characters and customization options in the future.
