Digital Bros Acquires Wuchang Fallen Feathers IP Rights for 4 Million Euros
A few weeks ago, fans of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, one of the most talked about Soulslikes of 2025, were struck by the news that the developer. The LenzeeIts future was uncertain: after the departure of the main development team, the end of the project seemed closed.
Reports have revealed that Xia Siyuanproducer and project director, was fired just before Lunar New Year, and his exit reportedly prompted significant internal changes, with the remaining staff refusing to transition into support roles for other projects. This “collapse” left both the studio and the future of Wuchang IP in total limbo – until now.
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In a major strategic change, The Digital Bros team (parent company 505 Games) announced on Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement with Chengdu Lingze (better known as Leenzee) to legally acquire the intellectual property rights of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers.
According to their official statement, the deal is valued at around €4 million (RMB 32 million) and gives Digital Bros full ownership of the IP, effectively severing any future royalties to the original developer.
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“The Transaction secures full ownership of the Group’s IP, allowing full retention of the value generated throughout its lifecycle,” the statement read. By protecting the product, the Italian giant aims to protect the long-term viability of the title that has proven its commercial potential, without improving their ability to make timely decisions about its future development and related investments.
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While the acquisition is a financial win, the real story lies in the game’s controversial Patch 1.5 for multiplayer. Despite Wuchang: Fallen Feathers selling more than one million copies and growing to 130,000 concurrent players on Steam at launch, it was the victim of heavy pressure in China.
The Digital Bros team […] entered into an agreement with Chengdu Lingze (better known as Leenzee) to legally acquire the Intellectual Property rights of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers.
Some Chinese players accused the game of being “anti-Han” or “pro-Manchu” because it allowed players to kill historical Han heroes while leaving Manchu figures untouched. This led to a massive “bomb update” campaign in the country, forcing Leenzee to release Patch 1.5, which changed boss battles so that certain enemies would no longer die – a move that Western players criticized as incoherent heresy.
Although Digital Bros hasn’t directly addressed the patch, the discovery could change everything. Now that the IP is under European control, the publisher has the final say in creative decisions. And with a statement emphasizing their ability to make “timely decisions about future development,” there’s a good chance that the original, untested vision of Wuchang could finally return. However, we will have to wait and see if that actually happens.
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