Witness China’s WWII Battlefield in The Defiant
Developer Hoothanes and publisher 4Divinity have unveiled a brand-new gameplay trailer for The Defiant while confirming that the game’s first public demo is now available at ChinaJoy 2026 in Shanghai. Visitors attending the event can experience the upcoming first-person shooter at booth N1-G201 through August 3.
The Defiant takes players to one of the most significant yet underrepresented battlefields of World War II, focusing on China’s War of Resistance. Instead of following the more familiar Western Front, the game tells the conflict from the perspective of Chinese soldiers and civilians, highlighting the sacrifices and hardships endured during the war.
Players will battle through occupied villages, snow-covered forests, enemy supply routes, and heavily guarded cities, with each location reflecting the realities of guerrilla warfare. Missions offer a variety of gameplay styles, including stealth infiltration, close-range combat, precision sniping, urban espionage, and large-scale assaults, ensuring that every chapter feels distinct.
Built in Unreal Engine 5, The Defiant aims to deliver an authentic wartime experience. Hoothanes has carefully recreated period-accurate weapons, including the Hanyang Type 88 rifle, Mauser C96 pistol, and Bergmann MP18 submachine gun. The studio also emphasizes historical authenticity in its storytelling, exploring the personal cost of war and the resilience of those who fought to defend their homeland.
The Defiant is currently in development for PC via Steam as well as consoles, with players already able to add the game to their wishlist ahead of its release.
It’s encouraging to see more games exploring lesser-known perspectives of World War II, and The Defiant looks set to offer a fresh and historically grounded take on the conflict.