To live a cultivation novel, play Tale of Immortal; to run a sect, Amazing Cultivation Simulator; for a lifelong martial path, The Scroll of Taiwu; for a xianxia story, Sword and Fairy: Together Forever and Gujian 3; for spectacle and boss fights, Black Myth: Wukong. For a xianxia deckbuilder, there is our own Immortal Cards, with Slay the Spire as the genre reference.
Xianxia (仙侠, roughly "immortal heroes") is the Chinese fantasy genre about cultivation: mortals who refine their qi, break through one realm after another, and climb toward immortality. If you came to it through web novels — sects, inner disciples, pill furnaces, flying swords, a tribulation of lightning at every breakthrough — you have probably noticed that finding games that capture the same feeling on PC is harder than it should be. Many are only in Chinese, many are mobile gacha games, and English store pages rarely use the word "xianxia" at all.
This guide lists PC games on Steam that deliver some part of the cultivation fantasy, with the developer and the year each first came out. We cover sandbox cultivation sims, story-driven xianxia RPGs, a mythological action game and — because it is a common search — deckbuilders. One entry is our own game, clearly marked.
Xianxia, wuxia, xuanhuan: a 60-second primer
The three labels overlap, and store tags mix them freely, so it helps to know the difference before you shop:
- Wuxia (武侠) — martial heroes in a mostly grounded historical China. Superhuman kung fu, sects and honour codes, but no real immortality or magic. Think wandering swordsmen.
- Xianxia (仙侠) — Taoist-flavoured fantasy where cultivation is the core. Realms with names like Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core and Nascent Soul; immortals, spirit beasts, alchemy and magical treasures.
- Xuanhuan (玄幻) — looser "mysterious fantasy" that borrows cultivation ideas but mixes in other mythologies or invented systems.
In games, "cultivation" usually shows up as one of three mechanics: a progression ladder (stats or realms you break through), resource refinement (herbs into pills, ore into artifacts), or a sect you join or run. The best xianxia games make at least one of those central instead of decoration.
8 xianxia and cultivation games on PC
01 Tale of Immortal
Developer Guigu StudioEarly access 2021Chinese title 鬼谷八荒
An open-world sandbox where you create a cultivator and try to reach immortality in a world full of other cultivators, sects, monsters and secret realms. Combat is real-time and top-down; between fights you meditate, refine, socialise and make enemies. Lifespan is a resource, and every breakthrough is a gamble.
This is the closest thing to "living a cultivation novel". Realm breakthroughs, rivalries, marriages, betrayals and tribulations all happen in the same simulated world.
It is a sandbox first: little hand-holding and a lot of systems. Expect to spend your first hours learning, and to look up the realm mechanics.
02 Amazing Cultivation Simulator
Developer GSQ GamesFull release 2020Early access 2019
A colony-management sim in the spirit of RimWorld, set in a xianxia world. You build and run a sect: assign work, feed and house disciples, and guide the most promising ones through cultivation breakthroughs, alchemy and feng shui.
If what appeals to you is running a sect rather than being the lone genius, this is the game. Watching a disciple you raised from a farmhand survive a breakthrough is the payoff.
You manage many characters from above instead of controlling one hero. Combat exists but the heart of it is logistics and character management.
03 Immortal Cards
Developer ShengyuStudioReleased June 21, 2026Chinese title 闲鱼修仙录
A roguelike deckbuilding card game set in a Chinese xianxia world. You choose one of three cultivators, build a deck from 214 spell cards, and master the Five Elements across three procedurally generated acts, with 98 encounters, 42 relics and 12 formations.
It is a xianxia deckbuilder rather than a deckbuilder with a xianxia skin: the Five Elements system and formations shape every build, and your cultivation can end in one of 9 endings.
Runs are compact and replayable rather than a sprawling open world, and the 21 difficulty levels are there for players who want to keep climbing after their first clear. Single-player only.
04 The Scroll of Taiwu
Developer Conchship GamesEarly access 2018Chinese title 太吾绘卷
A deep martial-arts sandbox RPG. You are the heir of the Taiwu bloodline in a procedurally generated world of sects and villages, learning techniques, building a village and passing your legacy to the next generation when you die.
Strictly it leans wuxia, but the "learn manuals, master techniques, grow stronger over a lifetime" loop scratches the same itch as cultivation, and generational play makes long-term progress feel earned.
It is dense and systemic, closer to a strategy sandbox than an action game. Players who want immortals and flying swords may find it too grounded.
05 Sword and Fairy: Together Forever
Developer SoftstarReleased 2021Chinese title 仙剑奇侠传七
The seventh main entry in the long-running Sword and Fairy (Chinese Paladin) series, one of the founding franchises of xianxia RPGs. A story-driven action RPG about immortals, demons and the people caught between them.
If you want xianxia as story — romance, sacrifice, heavenly courts and demon realms — rather than as a stat ladder, this series is where the genre's game tradition comes from.
Linear and narrative-focused. There is no sandbox cultivation; your characters grow through a conventional RPG progression.
06 Gujian 3
Developer AurogonReleased 2018Chinese title 古剑奇谭三
A large action RPG from the other major Chinese xianxia series, with real-time combat and a long main story.
Good for players who finished Sword and Fairy and want another big, story-heavy xianxia adventure with a different tone and combat feel.
Like Sword and Fairy, it is a narrative RPG rather than a cultivation sim. It comes from a different studio with its own world and tone, so it pairs well rather than repeating.
07 Black Myth: Wukong
Developer Game ScienceReleased 2024
A demanding action RPG based on Journey to the West. You play the Destined One, a monkey warrior, fighting yaoguai and gods through landscapes drawn from Chinese temples and mountains.
It is the highest-budget take on Chinese immortal mythology so far: transformations, spells, celestial enemies and a world steeped in Buddhist and Taoist imagery.
It is mythology (shenmo) rather than cultivation fiction, and it plays like a souls-style action game: no sects, no breakthroughs, lots of boss fights.
08 Slay the Spire
Developer Mega CritFull release 2019Early access 2017
Not xianxia at all — it is here because if you searched for a "xianxia deckbuilder", this is the game that defined the roguelike deckbuilder template almost every xianxia card game builds on: three acts, a branching map, card rewards after fights, relics and an ascension ladder.
Playing it makes you better at every deckbuilder that came after, including the xianxia ones.
Western fantasy setting; no cultivation theme whatsoever.
Pick by what you like
- "I want to live a cultivation novel" — Tale of Immortal.
- "I want to run a sect" — Amazing Cultivation Simulator.
- "I want a lifelong martial path and legacy" — The Scroll of Taiwu.
- "I want a xianxia story" — Sword and Fairy: Together Forever, then Gujian 3.
- "I want spectacle and boss fights" — Black Myth: Wukong.
- "I want a xianxia deckbuilder" — our Immortal Cards, with Slay the Spire as the genre reference.
Language support varies a lot in this genre. Several Chinese-developed games launched in Chinese first and added or improved English later, so check the store page's language table — and recent reviews that mention translation quality — before you buy.
FAQ
What is a cultivation game?
A game where your main progression is cultivation in the xianxia sense: refining qi, breaking through realms and growing toward immortality. It can be a sandbox (Tale of Immortal), a management sim (Amazing Cultivation Simulator) or a structure borrowed from another genre, such as a deckbuilder.
Is wuxia the same as xianxia?
No. Wuxia is grounded martial arts heroics; xianxia adds immortality, Taoist magic and cultivation realms. Many games blend the two, which is why store tags are unreliable.
Are there xianxia deckbuilders on Steam?
Yes. Our own Immortal Cards is one: a roguelike deckbuilder built around the Five Elements, released on Steam in June 2026. Search Steam's "Deckbuilding" tag together with "Martial Arts" or "Mythology" to find others.
Is Black Myth: Wukong a xianxia game?
Not strictly. It is based on Journey to the West, a classic of Chinese gods-and-demons fiction. It shares a lot of imagery with xianxia but has no cultivation system.