We spotted new material online that allegedly shows footage from a closed test of Nodusfall, the unannounced MMO reportedly being developed by HoYoverse. If true, the clips and images paint a darker, more grounded fantasy direction for the studio and suggest a combat loop built around weight and stamina, plus boss encounters on a very large scale.
What Was Reported
According to Insider Gaming, several users on Twitter have shared videos and screenshots from what appears to be a development build of a title called Nodusfall. The leaked material allegedly shows open-world combat and boss battles that resemble a Monster Hunter-style scale and intensity.
The footage is said to indicate combat mechanics that emphasise weapon weight and stamina management, and a dark fantasy aesthetic. Insider Gaming also reports the project is apparently powered by Unreal Engine 5, a notable departure from previous studio releases, which used the Unity Engine — examples cited include Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and Honkai Star Rail.
The story points out that trademarks for Nodusfall were registered earlier this year, and that some community posts, including a tweet from user Kai (@Kai_zen78) on August 13, 2026, shared select images with comments implying there is more footage circulating.
The Source & Credibility
We’re being cautious here: the primary outlet for this roundup is Insider Gaming, which compiled social posts and public filings into a single report. The claims rely heavily on user-shared material on Twitter and on the existence of trademark filings.
- Social Media Clips — Several Twitter posts are cited as the origin of the screenshots and videos. Social uploads can be revealing, but they are also easy to mislabel or take out of context, so treat these as unverified visuals for now.
- Trademarks — The presence of registered trademarks for Nodusfall earlier this year is an identifiable, documentable claim that supports the idea the name is being used internally or commercially.
- Historical Rumours — Insider Gaming notes rumours of the studio working on a fantasy MMO dating back to November of last year, when the project was reportedly code-named Genesis. Those earlier reports mentioned AI-driven features — including an “Artificial Intelligence Stimulated Ecosystem”, All-Terrain Battle AI, and an “Intellectual NPC” — but those items remain unconfirmed.
Take this with a pinch of salt: leaked footage and social posts can be genuine, doctored, or misattributed. We’re intrigued, but we won’t treat these items as definitive until more corroboration appears.
What It Could Mean
If the reports are accurate, Nodusfall could represent a significant shift for HoYoverse. Moving to Unreal Engine 5 — if true — would mark a technical change from their recent Unity-based titles and could indicate a different ambition level for an open-world MMO.
The gameplay hints — weapon weight, stamina, and large-scale boss fights — could signal an emphasis on tactical melee combat and multiplayer encounters built around monster-scale targets. We should emphasise that the comparison to Monster Hunter-style combat comes from how the leaked scenes appear, and remains an interpretation rather than an official design statement.
There are still many unknowns. Insider Gaming highlights that HoYoverse has typically released gacha-style games, and it is not clear whether Nodusfall would follow that monetisation model or adopt a different approach. It’s also unknown whether the game would be free-to-play. Earlier rumoured elements like an Artificial Intelligence Stimulated Ecosystem and Intellectual NPC systems, if real, could shift how world and NPC behaviour are handled, but those remain speculative at present.
For readers who track ambitious open-world rumours, this aligns with a pattern of studios exploring larger-scale projects; it echoes the kind of scope we saw discussed in our earlier rumour about the open-world Far Cry project codenamed Kodiak. It also sits alongside other unconfirmed development whispers we’ve covered, such as stalled or evolving projects in major franchises like the one in our Final Fantasy 9 remake rumour.
Why This Matters
This leak, if verified, would be notable for multiple reasons. It suggests HoYoverse may be pushing into a different subgenre of online gaming with an open-world MMO that emphasises weighty melee combat and large boss encounters. A move to Unreal Engine 5 would also be a technical pivot for a developer known for Unity titles.
For players and industry watchers, the core questions remain: will this be a traditional gacha-driven product or something else, and how will any AI-driven systems actually function in a live MMO environment? We’ll be watching the space closely and will report updates as they surface — until then, treat the leaked footage and claims as intriguing but unconfirmed.
