Tower of Fantasy global and CN versions will be the same but different

The Tower of Fantasy global version has been playing catch-up with its Chinese counterpart since its release, and international players have been using the latter as a touchstone to predict upcoming content. However, the global version’s accelerated content output means it’s rapidly catching up, and the question remains: how closely can we expect these two separate versions of Hotta Studio’s anime game to run?

Tower of Fantasy’s lead designer Sky has confirmed to us that the studio “would love to see both versions aligned, or, ideally speaking – to have one version”, but “significant differences” between the two mean they will be keeping the two versions separate from each other for the foreseeable future.

However, they also stated that “the gap between the two versions is constantly reducing”, suggesting that we may indeed reach a point where content updates for both versions of Tower of Fantasy run concurrently.

The Chinese version of Hotta Studio’s RPG game debuted in December 2021, eight months prior to the global version. In that time, the Chinese version has seen large content updates such as Vera and Artificial Island months ahead of its global counterpart, as well as the debut of several Tower of Fantasy characters that are yet to make their worldwide appearance.

As you might expect, the international community has been using the Chinese version’s roadmap to predict what content they’re most likely to see next, as well as making informed decisions on which limited-time Tower of Fantasy banners are worth spending their hard-earned currency, and which can be skipped.

Of course, Chinese-exclusive collaborations have thrown a spanner in the works, as players hold out for characters unlikely to appear due to “copyright barriers”. These collaborations are almost certainly one of the insurmountable differences preventing the global and CN versions from merging fully.

While concurrent updates will allow Hotta Studio to throw more curveballs at the community in terms of big reveals and narrative twists, it may also have a potential impact on the global version’s balance. At the moment, the Chinese version doubles as a useful testing ground for balancing, and characters like Claudia have seen significant changes to the stat percentages of their skills for their global debut. If characters are released simultaneously, the global version may see more changes to their builds implemented retroactively.

If you’re already looking ahead to what the Tower of Fantasy global version has in store, check out everything you can expect from the upcoming Tower of Fantasy 2.0 update. We also recommend taking a look at our Tower of Fantasy tier list, so you can be sure to pursue the best weapons and simulacra when their banners roll around.