journey game free

thatgamecompany

life’s companions

Experience the wonder in this anonymous adventure where you travel on a life’s passage, with the chance to connect with companions along the way.

a mysterious world

Alone and surrounded by miles of burning, sprawling desert, you soon discover the looming mountaintop is your goal. The passage will not be easy but this experience of a lifetime will help you discover who you are, what this place is, as you arrive at your purpose.

beautiful art and music

Soar above ruins and glide across sands as you explore the secrets of a forgotten civilization.  Featuring stunning visuals, haunting music, and unique online gameplay, Journey delivers an experience like no other.

The release of Journey attracted over 100+ industry awards and media accolades, with some naming the game as their ‘Game of The Year’ in 2012.

"A glorious, thoughtful, moving masterpiece"

- entertainment weekly, "mysterious and beautiful", "an incredible, emotional game", "one of the most amazing game experiences of my life", - gamesradar.

© 2012 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by thatgamecompany. Journey is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.

Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as ignored

Sign in to see reasons why you may or may not like this based on your games, friends, and curators you follow.

Buy Journey

DAILY DEAL! Offer ends 17 April

Buy Journey & Flower Bundle BUNDLE (?)

Includes 2 items: Flower , Journey

Buy Bloodstained & Journey Crossover BUNDLE (?)

Includes 2 items: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night , Journey

Buy Annapurna Interactive Classics BUNDLE (?)

Includes 5 items: What Remains of Edith Finch , Gorogoa , Florence , Donut County , Journey

“Journey stands as a prime example of the truly remarkable things that can be done via this medium.” 10/10 – Giant Bomb “The mechanics are simple, but they establish a direct connection to the heart.” 10/10 – Gamespot “Journey's visual and sound design sets new standards for interactive entertainment. This alone makes it an extraordinary work, but it's the way that these aesthetic elements come together with beautifully subtle direction and storytelling to create a lasting emotional effect that elevates this to one of the very best games of our time.” 10/10 – The Guardian

You Might Also Like

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1472930/Flock/

More From thatgamecompany

https://store.steampowered.com/app/966330/Flower/

About This Game

System requirements.

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i3-2120 | AMD FX-4350
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GTS 450 | AMD Radeon HD 5750
• Storage: 4 GB available space

© 2012-2020 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Journey is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by thatgamecompany. Conversion development by Inline Assembly Ltd. Published by Annapurna Interactive.

More from Annapurna Interactive

More like this, what curators say, customer reviews.

You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam.

Enter up to 375 characters to add a description to your widget:

Copy and paste the HTML below into your website to make the above widget appear

Popular user-defined tags for this product: (?)

Sign in to add your own tags to this product.

Timeless Classic

Annapurna interactive.

• #10 in Family
• 4.2 • 666 Ratings

Screenshots

Description.

*Supported Devices: This game is supported on the following devices only: iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, iPhone 7, 7 Plus, iPhone 8, 8 Plus, iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max, Xr, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, iPad 5th Gen, iPad 6th Gen, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4, iPad Mini (2019), and all iPad Pros.* Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey as you soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets. Play alone or in the company of a fellow traveler and explore its vast world together. Featuring stunning visuals and a Grammy-nominated musical score, Journey delivers a breathtaking experience like no other. Game Center required for online matchmaking.

Version 1.0.3

Thank you for playing Journey! This version includes key performance improvements and bug fixes.

Ratings and Reviews

666 Ratings

Editors’ Choice

An unforgettable adventure awaits in developer Thatgamecompany’s acclaimed hit Journey. Make your way to a distant mountain by skimming across sand dunes, scaling snowy cliffs, and exploring ancient ruins. Your magical scarf will power you over obstacles—though if you need a hand, link up with fellow travelers for fleeting moments of cooperative joy. Staggeringly beautiful and timelessly poignant, Journey is a trip well worth taking.

Incredible game, 1 issue with iOS port

The first time I played Dune on PS4 was very recently, and I honestly had a spiritual experience, a first for me with a video game. The visuals and gameplay are so simplistic but even without any writing or dialogue they tell a very moving story, with a dreamlike sense of sacredness and a deep touch of humanity on a desolate alien world. The multiplayer aspect of the game is what really binds you to the experience, in my opinion. On this iOS version, you’ll find the multiplayer experience is lacking. I’m not sure why, but you simply can’t find another player to travel with you for the entire length of the journey. It may just be that because this is a mobile platform, people are swiping the app off in the middle of things, although I can’t see this being a “pick up, play, put down” kind of game, so I’m guessing it’s a connectivity issue. This is an older game with kind of a niche following so I can see why, with “Sky: Children of Light” doing so well now, Journey is a low priority, or maybe there is some issue that makes multiplayer of this kind harder on iOS for reasons I wouldn’t understand as a layperson. Journey gets 5 stars for PlayStation, and I could easily say 10/5 stars, but 4 stars from me for iOS because you typically lose the companionship aspect of the gameplay.

Truly Fun and Emotionally Powerful

A really enjoyable game. There can be so much toxic behavior in the gaming world sometimes, but this isn’t that kind of game. I feel lonely very often, and don’t often see friends or socialize; I didn’t know this game had multiplayer when I started playing it, and had played through it maybe six times alone, so I was quite shocked when I ran into someone. See, I have a disability; I cannot feel my hands, and the muscles in my fingers don’t work, but the player I ran into patiently helped me and stayed with me even though I am very clumsy, and repeatedly fell off of a tall structure at one point. We had to start over many times because of me before we succeeded, and it would be very understandable if it was frustrating for them, since they wouldn’t know why I was struggling with certain things that would probably have been much easier if my hands worked, and yet they still played through that part with me. After reading more about it, I know this game’s designers intended for their to be an emotional connection bond/connection formed between anonymous players who run into each other, and that the lack of text or speech comms is meant to add to that, and for me, that was an incredibly powerful experience. Also, it’s pretty cool that if I can play this game on iOS, then it is probably pretty accessible for other players with motor disabilities that affect their hands.

App Privacy

The developer, Annapurna Interactive , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

Game Center

Challenge friends and check leaderboards and achievements..

Family Sharing

Up to six family members can use this app with family sharing enabled., featured in, more by this developer.

Apple Arcade

Sayonara Wild Hearts

Donut County

You Might Also Like

Hidden Folks

The bestselling solo journaling & tabletop roleplaying game that helps you mine your world’s hidden gems, uncovering details & stories that breathe life into your fiction

PAPERBACK: $24.99 EBOOK AND PDF: $9.99

Have you ever dreamt of stepping into your fictional world, feeling the sun on your skin, tasting the alien fruit, hearing the whispers of your own creation, journey makes that dream a reality..

I’m Luke, a solo journaling enthusiast and TTRPG game master. I’ve seen how frustrating it can be to stare at a blank page or an empty map, yearning for inspiration. Journey was born from that struggle, a tool to help me, and now you, unlock the hidden potential within our worlds.

Your world feels flat, unexplored, predictable. You know there’s more there, but you can’t quite grasp it. You’re stuck, unsure where to go next.

Journey isn’t a rigid system, it’s a flexible framework. We’ll zoom in on specific Aspects of your world, like its magic system, its history, or its most intriguing character. Through solo journaling prompts and TTRPG-inspired exercises, you’ll:

• Uncover hidden connections and surprising twists.
• Discover untold stories lurking beneath the surface.
• Flesh out characters with depth and complexity.
• Break through writer’s block and creative ruts.

Imagine finally knowing why your moon turns red at night. Picture your shy bard belting out a power ballad that electrifies the crowd. Feel the weight of history etched into every cobblestone street. Journey will help you get there.

What players are saying about Journey:

By taking you on a journey through his own storytelling process, Miller gives you the tools to explore your imagination. Not only is it useful, Journey encourages creativity in a fun play-through. Get excited for your own unique story, for it’ll be one you won’t soon forget. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Abe Dysmas, Tabletop RPG Player

Being able to safely become a tourist in my own worlds is massively fun. I’ve had more fun with Journey than I have with anything else in literally months. This is seriously a dream come true for me. Fantastic work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ LanternWitch, Hobbyist Writer

This is helping so much. I can get so overwhelmed by world building every little thing, and this has helped me focus my energies. I’ve written up an entire magical system that previously felt impossible to figure out, just by putting myself in the headspace of a tourist experiencing it. Thank you for coming up with this! I can tell it’s going to be a valuable tool in my arsenal of creativity. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Madeline McDonald, Writer

Ready to embark on your own Journey? Get your copy today and embark on a creative adventure unlike any other.

New to solo tabletop roleplaying games and want to get a little taste, first? Download Journey Lite, a minimalist worldbuilding game that introduces players to solo games.

New to solo tabletop roleplaying games and want to get a little taste, first? Download Journey Lite, a minimalist worldbuilding game that introduces players to solo games. There’s nothing better than trying it out for yourself (especially if it’s free)!

I’ve put together a basic version of Journey called Journey Lite , a streamlined worldbuilding game that seeks to help you explore a location within your story in some new and interesting ways while being really approachable.

Even if you’ve never played a solo game like this before, Journey Lite gives a brief taste of how solo TTRPGs can offer you a new perspective on your story and help you discover new and interesting details to add to your story with nothing more than one or two six-sided dice.

Enter your name and email below to get your free copy of Journey Lite delivered to your inbox. Don’t worry, I hate spam just as much as you do!

First Name*

Email Address*

Please leave this field empty.

Join the Graycastle Press Mailing List

Annapurna Interactive

Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey as you soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets. Play alone or in the company of a fellow traveler and explore its vast world together. Featuring stunning visuals and a Grammy-nominated musical score, Journey delivers a breathtaking experience like no other.

Originally released on PlayStation.

• iOS App Store
• Epic Games Store

thatgamecompany

This site uses cookies to enhance your experience. More info

Journey (PS4) Review

• First Released Mar 13, 2012 released

The light by which my spirit's born.

By Kevin VanOrd on July 23, 2015 at 10:41AM PDT

This review contains spoilers. For a spoiler-free review of Journey, you can read our original review here .

It was my eighth playthrough and the tears still streamed, almost inexplicably; Journey is a song without words, reliant on its rapturous presentation and liberating movement to stir your mind and move your heart. With many games, I have wished that I could play them again for the first time--to experience that buzz that inevitably diminishes with each return visit. I will never need to waste this wish on Journey, however: each pilgrimage is as bittersweet as the last. How appropriate, given the game's theme of death and rebirth, that it feels so sorrowful, so joyous, and so true , each and every time.

"Journey would be just as effective as a movie," a friend once told me, but I must contradict her. Not that I can argue against the game's sumptuous environments and its sublime musical score, which earned masterpiece status the moment Journey was initially released on the PlayStation 3 in 2012. Certain landscapes have rightfully gained iconic stature, becoming the very definition of video game beauty. One shot depicts the cloaked figure you control standing atop a sand drift and gazing at the mountain you must reach, which rises above the desert and pierces the clouds. The view is a master class in simplicity and color story; the peach-orange tones of the sand give way to a sea-green sky--hushed hues for a hushed visual revelation. Another seminal sight: you skate across the sand from right to left, illuminated by a godly beam of sunlight while watching the remnants of a lost culture rush past. The screen is awash with shades of amber, and the warm sand glimmers as if mixed with golden crystals. Yes, even as a work of cinema, Journey would instill wonder.

But Journey is not a film, and its power is not gained by pretty pictures alone, but by your presence in its world. That side-scrolling glide would not choke me up if I couldn't feel the sand beneath my feet, and couldn't hit a ramp in just the right way to propel myself into the air. I wouldn't feel so beat down by the wind if I didn't feel it pushing against me as I trudged forward, and I wouldn't be so euphoric if I didn't personally experience the joy of skimming the ground. You see, you hear, and, vitally, you do . You surf the sand, you ride the wind, you seek shelter from danger, you make a friend. Seeing is believing, but it takes interaction to understand and know.

Describing Journey means describing these moments and these emotions. The mechanical basics are almost secondary, and quickly explainable. As a mysterious robed figure, you cross sand and other terrain en route to a far-off mountain. You make use of only two buttons. By pressing X, you leap into the air and soar, an ability that is limited by the length of the scarf that trails behind you. By pressing circle, you cry out to whatever or whomever might heed your call. Journey is desolate, but you are not alone. You call to flocks of ribbons that hover about like restless robins, and they provide energy to your scarf. You meet cloth creatures that become travel guides and provide magic-carpet rides to higher ground. And presuming you play while connected to the Internet, you may encounter another lone individual in your travels--an individual you can ignore, or one you can accompany, chirping to her when you locate secret hieroglyphs, or when a fearsome ribbon-dragon appears and you don't want to continue alone.

The mechanics are simple, but they establish a direct connection to the heart. Consider that flowing scarf, which trails behind you as you surf and soar, growing larger whenever you locate and touch a glowing flower. On a mundane level, it functions as a power bar that you fill up by making contact with cloth, and deplete by leaping. In context, the scarf is your life force, governing your ability to joyfully drift through the air. Gliding is Journey's most exuberant act, and by limiting its use, the game makes joy itself a currency.

Journey uses this ecstasy-based economy to craft an emotional arc across its entirety, as well as to emphasize individual moments. Your scarf grows longer and longer, but a frightful encounter with that terrible ribbon-monster turns your rippling shawl into a mere stub. You cannot fight--you can only hide. Being discovered is devastating because the scarf is where the cheer and comfort of flight are stored. You were offered a heartwarming gift, only to have it yanked from your hands. Journey also uses this moment to connect you with your wordless cooperative companion. By this stage, you understand the meaning the scarf carries with it. Seeing your sidekick succumb like this forges empathy: you know that the monster has abolished his joy.

This give-and-take is how the final levels gain their potency. Your ability to glide is diminished, then revoked. You no longer drift through sand, but brace yourself against an exhaustive wind. Then, the moment comes when all hope seems lost. You hold your breath and assume the worst. And then, the controller rumbles--just once, like a single heartbeat. And all that was taken away is restored, then multiplied, and multiplied again.

This is the source of those tears. It is not the sadness of the loss, but the bliss of being honored for your perseverance. These are tears of elevation, so perfectly described by Roger Ebert in 2009 . I have heard people describe this final climb in terms of an afterlife, and that's a reasonable interpretation of the scene, in which you float higher and higher towards the mountain's zenith. But even in the moment, whether or not you make this conscious religious association, you might feel weepy in spite of yourself. The gift was given, and it was taken away. And then, you were liberally showered with gifts, and so you ascended, higher and higher, towards your next journey.

It is possible that Journey will not move you. In such a case, it is simply a beautiful game with a glorious soundtrack, grounded by a wistful cello melody later threaded through a warm quilt of winds and strings. The chance you might be swept away, however, makes it worth plunging your feet into the warm sand. If you are returning to Journey, a higher resolution and a higher frame rate are your ostensible rewards for returning--a return that doesn't cost you anything if you already own the game on the PlayStation 3. But Journey's real rewards aren't so pedestrian. Journey offers you comfort. It gives you companionship in a lovely but forsaken world. It gives you reason to dream even when facing loss.

• Leave Blank
• Sumptuous visuals
• One of the best game soundtracks written to date
• Simple mechanics that elicit powerful emotions
• Instills empathy between cooperative partners
• Iconic moments that stay with you for years

About the Author

Kevin VanOrd

More gamespot reviews.

Use your keyboard!

Log in to comment

• PS Plus required for online play
• Supports up to 2 online players with PS Plus
• Online play optional
• Remote Play supported
• PS4 Version DUALSHOCK 4 vibration

The critically-acclaimed title makes its debut on the PS4™ system. Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey as you soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets. Play alone or in the company of a fellow traveler and explore its vast world together. Featuring stunning visuals and a Grammy-nominated musical score, Journey delivers a breathtaking experience like no other.

Great PlayStation games to relax and de-stress

De-stress, unwind and escape to new worlds with a rundown of some of PlayStation’s best games to soothe your mind and body.

Enter your date of birth.

Sorry, you are not eligible to view this content.

Follow Polygon online:

• Follow Polygon on Facebook
• Follow Polygon on Youtube
• Follow Polygon on Instagram

Site search

• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• FF7 Rebirth
• Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• PlayStation
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Magic: The Gathering
• Board Games
• All Tabletop
• All Entertainment
• What to Watch
• What to Play
• Buyer’s Guides
• Really Bad Chess
• All Puzzles

Filed under:

Cozy classic Journey is just $2.24 right now on Steam

The deal is lasting through April 17

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Reddit
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: Cozy classic Journey is just $2.24 right now on Steam

Celebrated indie studio thatgamecompany’s most recent title, Sky: Children of the Light , has debuted in early access on Steam. To mark the occasion of its chill, free-to-play MMO coming to PC, it’s knocking 85% off the cost of its masterpiece, Journey . It’s normally $14.99, but this Steam Deck verified game costs just $2.24 through April 17.

• $2 at Steam

Despite launching first on the PS3 back in 2012, Journey is absolutely worth playing if you haven’t tried it out, or just want to experience it again. Like all of the games that have come out of thatgamecompany, it’s absolutely stunning to look at, and its story and music pack an emotional punch.

Its multiplayer component is understated, yet surprisingly impactful, allowing players to support each other without voice chat (much like in its successor Sky: Children of the Light ) as they attempt to overcome environmental obstacles and scale a mountain. Words simply don’t do the experience justice, and at $2.25, I highly recommend trying it out. If you like the vibes, then check out Sky: Children of the Light .

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.

Sign up for the newsletter Patch Notes

A weekly roundup of the best things from Polygon

Just one more thing!

Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

• Dragon’s Dogma 2 guides, walkthroughs, and explainers

How to change your vocation in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Avatar: The Last Airbender creators’ first movie finds its Aang

• Your guide to Fallout’s vaults and wastelands

Fallout’s glimpse of the Enclave is just the beginning

After Barbie tackled the patriarchy, Margot Robbie’s Monopoly movie could take a shot at capitalism next

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters gets a season 2 (and a few spinoffs)

Play the game that defined 2010s survival horror before it leaves Game Pass

Wood Block Journey

Wood Block Journey is a block-puzzle game that uses a 9x9 board similar to a Sudoku board instead of a classic 10x10 board. It also offers two modes of gameplay (Single and Journey). The player's primary goal is the same as in other similar games. They need to create rows, lines and squares on the board by placing polyomino shapes made of blocks into empty grid spaces. Their secondary goals depend on the game mode. In Single mode, the player must reach ever-increasing target scores. In Journey, they must complete missions across dozens of levels. Each mission requires the player to collect a specific number of block gemstones using polyomino shapes made of wooden blocks or a mix of wooden blocks and gems. Wood Block Journey doesn't utilize boosters or require the player to beat a timer. The player merely needs to use the three shapes below the board that appear to make as many rows, lines and squares as possible. They earn higher points if they remove more than one line at a time with a single move.

How to play:

Release date:, about the creator:, embed wood block journey.

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

Journey studio's Sky: Children of the Light finally arrives on PC

Ahead of next week's Season of Nesting.

Sky: Children of the Light, the acclaimed free-to-play "social adventure" from Journey and Flower developer ThatGameCompany, has - just shy of a year since being announced for PC - finally launched on Steam , initially as an early access release.

Sky: Children of the Light is far from a new game, of course; it originally launched for iOS all the way back in 2019 before making its way to Android, Switch, and PlayStation in the years since. And now - with over 260m downloads to its name already - PC players will have the opportunity to experience its lovely, if unusual, adventure for themselves.

Spanning the seven realms of a beautiful kingdom located among the clouds, Sky: Children of the Light combines puzzley-platformy bits and story vignettes, all build around a gently collaborative multiplayer core designed to encourage "compassion, friendship, and altruism".

It arrives on PC with support for cross-play and cross-progression between all available platforms, and with the same live-service-style Seasonal and event content as other versions. However, ThatGameCompany has also opted to launch on Steam as an early access release to secure feedback and "ensure that the full suite of Steam PC features can be implemented".

The studio's full PC development goals are as follows:

• Enhance stability and the playing experience on PC and Steam Deck
• Integrate Steam friends, achievements, and Remote Play support
• Continue to enhance game graphics with HDR and VRR support
• UI changes that make it easier to find the emote you want in the expression menu
• Improve the onboarding process to welcome new players more effectively
• Further develop Aviary Village as a social hub for events and activities
• Introduce a new quest system to enrich interactions with the Spirits
• Celebrate with in-game events and offer items that allow players to connect and express their creativity

ThatGameCompany says it'll keep Sky: Children of the Light in early access "until player feedback and refinements can be fully implemented", but the Steam version will retain full content parity with other versions while the process continues. That includes Sky's upcoming Season of Nesting, which launches on 15th April and is fully detailed over on its website .

Read this next

• ThatGameCompany's new Sky: The Children of the Light art book unlocks a special in-game cutscene
• Journey dev's "social adventure" Sky: Children of the Light heading to PC
• Journey dev's Sky: Children of Light launching "musical experience" with Frozen 2 singer

Advertisement

Download Journey for PC

• V  1.0

Security Status

Journey free download

What will happen when you click Free Download?

• You will be redirected to an external website to complete the download.
• If you encounter any issues with your download, please report them here .

Alternatives to Journey

GRIS lets players traverse and unlock a stunning emotional landscape

Explore underwater mysteries in ABZU

Planet of Lana

An action-adventure game about protecting the world

Child of Light

A full version app for Windows, by Ubisoft.

2D platform fun with frogs

The Longest Journey

A long-haul adventure game for fans of a very long story

Last month's downloads

Content Warning

Co-op psychological horror game

PLANKTON'S PLAN - SpongeBob game

Fan-made Spongebob game

Five Nights At Shrek's Hotel 2

Revive the horror once again in this sequel

Poppy Playtime - Chapter 3

Much-awaited sequel to the hit horror franchise

Undertale Yellow

An unofficial prequel to Undertale

Another Princess is in our Castle

Go to Princess Peach’s castle

The Lost Fear

A short but hard-hitting horror game

boil Noodles at Night

A game with multiple endings

Explore More

PC CURSED DEMO DISC 98

A collection of indie horror games for PC

A puzzle game with foreboding narrative

The Coin Game

Premium variety casual game

Death Trips

Find the serial killer

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

The LEGO Star Wars game collection for PC

Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain

3D reimagining of the classic Celeste game

A free horror title with an in-game platformer

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

Explore a haunted mountain in Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

Bendy and the Ink Machine

A creepy adventure

Find or be Found

Time-bound horror game

Among the Sleep

Unique and Terrifying Horror - Among The Sleep

Rotten Flesh - Find Your Dog With Microphone

A spine-chilling horror adventure

Related Articles

Adobe Acrobat takes the next step: Forget about reading endless texts thanks to this feature.

Everything you need to know about the collaboration between Fortnite and Avatar

Like a boat? The next NASA spacecraft will be propelled by a sail

World of Warcraft twists your nostalgia in its upcoming update

Laws concerning the use of this software vary from country to country. We do not encourage or condone the use of this program if it is in violation of these laws.

In Softonic we scan all the files hosted on our platform to assess and avoid any potential harm for your device. Our team performs checks each time a new file is uploaded and periodically reviews files to confirm or update their status. This comprehensive process allows us to set a status for any downloadable file as follows:

It’s extremely likely that this software program is clean.

What does this mean?

We have scanned the file and URLs associated with this software program in more than 50 of the world's leading antivirus services; no possible threat has been detected.

This software program is potentially malicious or may contain unwanted bundled software.

Why is the software program still available?

Based on our scan system, we have determined that these flags are possibly false positives .

What is a false positive?

It means a benign program is wrongfully flagged as malicious due to an overly broad detection signature or algorithm used in an antivirus program.

It’s highly probable this software program is malicious or contains unwanted bundled software.

Why is this software program no longer available in our Catalog?

Based on our scan system, we have determined that these flags are likely to be real positives.

We’ll be back after this short break

Preparing...

Cover Orange: Journey

Cover Orange: Journey is a puzzle platform game where you must stack objects to cover our orange friends and protect from the impending acid rain. Drag various objects at your disposal and drop them in a way that forms a shelter over the oranges. The menacing cloud will soon pass by. Make sure to grab the hidden star when this happens! There are hundreds of levels, many customization options, a story that involves pirates, memorable "Eureka!" moments, and even time traveling in Cover Orange: Journey! Play this game with family and friends to solve these fun riddles together!

How do you play Cover Orange: Journey?

Throughout each level, you must place down stage elements to alter the environment and protect oranges from the acid rain of an evil cloud. These stage elements may vary in any way, from a triangular block to spiked balls that destroy ice to the oranges themselves. Use your finger, mouse or keyboard to position the various objects at your disposal, and drop them in a way that forms a shelter over the oranges.

Move chest - WASD, Arrow keys or the pointer

Drop chest - Space bar

Who created Cover Orange: Journey?

Cover Orange: Journey was created by Johnny-K. This is their first game on Poki!

How many levels are there in Cover Orange: Journey?

Cover Orange: Journey has over 300 levels!

Can I play Cover Orange: Online on my phone, tablet or mobile device?

You can play Cover Orange: Online without downloading or installing for free using your desktop and mobile devices on Poki.

• Brain Games
• Puzzle Games
• Funny Games
• Physics Games

AFK Journey Launches on PC, iOS and Android

Home » News » AFK Journey Launches on PC, iOS and Android

AFK Journey is the new free-to-play fantasy RPG from Farlight Games, the creators of Call of Dragons and Dislyte. You can play it on PC via the official website or on iOS and Android via their respective app stores. And, yes, this is the sequel to the massive hit, AFK Arena. If that one was your cup of tea, odds are good that you’ll love AFK Journey, too. So, let’s get into some of what the game has to offer, shall we?

For one, the art style of AFK Journey is updated from AFK Arena. The developers call it “live canvas,” aka “a picture book brought to life.” And it is a pretty good-looking game. Second, the game does have AFK elements, which means you can do other stuff while the characters do the grinding on their own. You don’t have to bother with leveling up and gathering resources. However, the tactics and strategy are up to you: choose your characters carefully and organize them in the optimal formation, lest the enemies wipe them out. There are many different heroes you’ll be able to meet and recruit across the world of Esperia. Naturally, some faces will be familiar to those that have played Arena.

Last, but definitely not least, AFK Journey is a cross-platform title. By that, I mean that you can play on your mobile device and then smoothly switch to your PC when you get home. Or just play it on your phone or tablet, whatever you prefer. And as far as upgrades from Arena go, aside from the style update, you can also experience “a dynamic world to explore” and “full voice acting during cutscenes.” Naturally, AFK Journey is a live service, meaning that it will have a steady flow of new content. The devs expect the first drop to be on May 2024, and they plan to keep it at a roughly quarterly basis. With all of that said, if you want to see a bit of the game in action, check out the launch trailer below.

YOU MAY ALSO READ

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Switch skin

AFK Journey Review: A magical adventure through Esperia

Experience the journey in esperia.

AFK Journey , a  world-based  RPG  by FARLIGHT Games , offers players an immersive 3D world adventure set in the enchanting realm of Esperia. Throughout the game, players engage in strategic battles against the formidable Faceless, accompanied by a diverse cast of heroes. After spending hours immersed in this captivating RPG, I’ll provide a comprehensive review of AFK Journey, delving into its core gameplay elements and offering a fair evaluation of the overall gaming experience.

I have tried and tested AFK Journey on Xiaomi Redmi 9t for over 20 hours to make sure I checked all the available features and got the best possible experience to judge it properly and write an in-depth piece.

If you need help, you can navigate the challenges of AFK Journey by mastering its strategies with our beginner’s guide . Gain valuable insights and tips to enhance your gameplay and increase your chances of success. Also don’t forget to explore redeem codes for in-game rewards and utilize essential guides such as reroll guide , team composition guide , and tier list to optimize your journey. Plus, easily connect with customer support to resolve any in-game issues hassle-free.

The Storyline takes you on a memorable journey through Esperia

Let’s start the AFK Journey Review with the storyline, in the game you’ll assume the role of Merlin, the legendary mage. From the outset, you’re thrust into a realm brimming with ancient prophecies and hidden truths, shaping the destinies of heroes in Esperia .

Guided by the enigmatic figure of Merlin , you embark on a journey through diverse landscapes and thrilling encounters. The narrative unfolds gradually, revealing the rise and fall of gods, conflicts between factions, and the struggles of diverse inhabitants. Each faction brings unique perspectives and conflicts, adding layers to the overarching tale.

Voice acting further breathes life into characters, making their journeys feel personal and authentic. Beyond the main plot, hidden quests and lore tidbits await exploration, ensuring there’s always something new to discover in Esperia.

Overall, I can say AFK Journey offers an immersive narrative experience that fans of fantasy adventures will enjoy. With its captivating storyline and engaging characters, it’s a journey worth taking for those seeking an escape into a magical world.

The game provides strategic battles and exploration

Now let me talk about my experience with the gameplay. AFK Journey’s gameplay revolves around strategic battles and open-world exploration. And there’s a vast array of heroes to choose from, each with unique abilities and strengths. Sure, some heroes might be stronger than others, but that’s all part of the fun. What’s great is that you can upgrade and acquire a variety of these heroes as you progress. So, there’s always something new to try out.

And the hex-based battle system adds a whole new dimension to combat. You’ve got to think about how you position your heroes on the battlefield to come out on top. It’s not just about brute strength it’s about tactics and careful planning, which I found engaging. Speaking of strength, how powerful your team is depends on a bunch of factors, like the gear they’re equipped with and the artifacts they possess. It’s all about finding that perfect balance and maximizing your team’s potential.

You can also roam the open world of Esperia. Discovering hidden treasures, completing quests, and encountering other players along the way. The world is richly detailed, with diverse places, NPCs, and mini-games to keep players entertained. However, sometimes you can’t pass and get stuck on some obstacles.

When it comes to game modes, there’s a ton to choose from. Seriously, you’ll never be bored. Whether you’re into arena battles or just want to explore different realms, there’s something for everyone. But PvP modes like the Arena and Honor Duel may feel imbalanced due to faction and character disparities.

However, one potential drawback in the gameplay mechanics is the reliance on gacha mechanics for hero acquisition. While this is a common feature in many mobile games, some players may find the randomness of gacha pulls frustrating or limiting to their progress. Despite the drawbacks in the hero acquisition, my experience with the gameplay of AFK Journey has been nothing short of fantastic. With its diverse roster of heroes, strategic combat system, and rewarding exploration, it’s a game that’s kept me hooked.

Experience the mesmerizing visuals with relaxing music

With my experience in the game, I can say graphics are truly a sight to behold. The colors are soft and lovely, and the character models look amazing. From the lush landscapes of Golden Wheatshire to the mysterious allure of the Dark Forest , every environment is beautifully crafted with intricate details and vibrant colors.

The character designs are equally impressive, with each hero rendered in exquisite detail, making them feel truly alive. From the smooth animations to the intricate customization options, every detail feels meticulously designed.

In terms of sound and music, AFK Journey delivers an auditory experience that complements its visual splendor. The soundtrack is perfectly tailored to the game’s art style and setting, enhancing the atmosphere. The combat sounds can be a bit overwhelming at times, with each hero having their own set of abilities. But the unique voice actors for each hero add depth to the characters and make them feel more lifelike.

Although the combat sounds may occasionally overwhelm, the overall synergy between graphics, music, and sound design elevates AFK Journey’s qualities. This ensures that players are fully engrossed in the enchanting world of Esperia.

AFK Journey offers intuitive and clean controls and UI

When it comes to controls in AFK Journey, I found them to be quite user-friendly. Navigating through the game is relatively intuitive, whether you’re on a mobile device or using a PC. The touch controls on mobile are responsive, making it easy to interact with the game’s various elements. They say the controls on PC are equally smooth, with keyboard shortcuts enhancing the user experience.

However, when it comes to exploration, the controls can feel a bit limited. Venturing off the main path can sometimes result in getting stuck on obstacles or encountering invisible barriers, which can be frustrating for players looking to explore the world more freely.

As for the user interface, AFK Journey’s UI is clean and well-organized, making accessing features and necessary information easy. The menus are straightforward, with clear icons and labels guiding players through different sections of the game.

While AFK Journey excels in providing intuitive controls and a clean UI, I feel there are areas for improvement, particularly in addressing limitations during exploration. Despite this, the game offers an enjoyable experience for players seeking adventure in its fantastical world.

Purchases in Esperia will depend on your personal preference

In my experience with AFK Journey, the in-app purchases offer a decent boost for players looking to progress more easily in the game. However, you can progress through the game without feeling pressured to spend money.

Resource gathering is made easier with the auto-battle and AFK features, allowing progress even when offline. This means you can still make strides in the game without dedicating all your time to it, which is great for those with busy schedules.

Moreover, the game offers a diverse range of heroes and customization options, ensuring F2P players have plenty of avenues for progression and experimentation. While acquiring top-tier heroes might take more time and effort for free-to-play players, it’s not an insurmountable obstacle. With this, there’s still a sense of accomplishment in building up your team over time.

Though I value the option for in-app purchases, I’ve discovered that progressing without them is feasible, albeit slower. Ultimately, the decision to make purchases depends on personal preference and play style.

Final Verdict

After spending considerable time with AFK Journey during this review, I can confidently say that it offers a captivating experience for players even for the ones who never played AFK Arena . With its engaging storyline, polished gameplay mechanics, stunning graphics, and immersive sound design, AFK Journey stands out as a must-play title in the realm of mobile gaming.

While it has minor drawbacks, the overall enjoyment and satisfaction derived from exploring the world of Esperia far outweigh any shortcomings. Overall, if you’re into mobile games, AFK Journey is worth checking out for its awesome adventure in Esperia.

AFK Journey Review by GamingonPhone

Gameplay mechanics - 7.8, storyline - 8, graphics and music - 9, controls and ui - 7.5, free-to-play elements - 7.5.

AFK Journey offers a captivating experience for players. While it has minor drawbacks, the overall enjoyment and satisfaction derived from exploring the world of Esperia far outweigh any shortcomings.

That’s all from us for the AFK Journey Review! Did you find our AFK Journey Review helpful? Do let us know in the  comments !

For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our  WhatsApp group ,  Telegram Group ,  or  Discord server . Also, follow us on  Google News ,  Instagram , and  Twitter  for quick updates.

AFK Journey Beginner Tips And Tricks Guide

Quick links, beginner tips for exploring the map, all heroes are not equal. aim for the best ones, understand leveling up and ascension mechanics, build an effective starting team, beginner tips for easily obtaining invite letters, tips for managing your inventory, advance your afk progress to unlock new game modes, being social is to your advantage, participate in weekly events to earn more rewards.

AFK Journey is a game that is highly suitable for fans of the Idle RPG genre. It offers more than just a simple Idle RPG experience. With its animations, character designs, expansive map, and advanced multiplayer features, it's quite impressive. In the game's story, you portray the great wizard Merlin, who loses his memory, keeping this a secret from everyone except those closest to them.

AFK Journey: How To Redeem Codes

The game's intricacy may initially pose a challenge, making it difficult to grasp all its mechanics and determine where to start. If you want to play with a good understanding of the mechanics and seek tips, then this guide is perfect for you.

When you're just getting started, map exploration can make a big difference. Here are a few tips for handling the map.

The Resonating Hall section of the game is divided into Hands of Resonance and Resonance Heroes. Only the heroes in Hands of Resonance can level up. However, you can freely swap these heroes with the heroes in the Resonance Heroes section.

You also need to know the Resonance Level, which is determined based on the lowest-level hero in the Hands of Resonance . Furthermore, you don't need to level up the heroes in the Resonance Heroes section; their level is equal to your Resonance Level.

Also, the heroes in the Hands of Resonance cannot exceed the Resonance Level by more than ten levels.

Your heroes require Gold and Experience to level up. You can earn these resources in abundance by exploring, battling, or through rewards from AFK Progress.

Additionally, your heroes will need Essence to level up every ten levels. Obtaining Essence may be slightly more challenging compared to Gold and Experience.

The game features an Ascension system, which is a feature you need to know to increase your heroes' stats. You will need copies of your heroes or Acorns specific to their factions to increase your Ascension tier rather than gold and experience.

Although you may find plenty of acorns in the early game, you'll come to realize the value of each acorn in the late game. Therefore, it's wise to make a plan from the start and avoid spending acorns unnecessarily on heroes who aren't worth it.

One of the most important things to know in battle is the Faction Bonus . If at least two characters in your team are from the same Faction , you will gain this bonus. If you wish to fully benefit from the bonus, you can also make your entire team from the same Faction.

In addition to these, remember that the Celestial and Hypogean factions count as belonging to every faction. Therefore, regardless of which faction you place them in, they will not prevent you from receiving the faction bonus.

Another approach you can follow regarding the Faction Bonus is to select three of your heroes from the same faction and choose the remaining two from heroes suitable for your team.

When it comes to the classes in your team, you can follow a path based on your playstyle, but you'll find the best team through trial and error. Nevertheless, for starters, having a Tank on the frontlines capable of absorbing damage and drawing enemy focus will be beneficial.

Additionally, since you need to deal damage to opponents, having at least two DPS characters in your team can be advantageous. Lastly, since your heroes will inevitably take damage and lose HP, having one Support in your team will make it easier for you to survive longer in battles.

In the battle system of the game, your heroes fight automatically. However, you still need to position your heroes before the battle begins. In pre-battle positioning, you should place them in appropriate hexagons according to the roles in your team.

While you need to place a tank character to the front , be sure to place your fragile units, such as archers, towards the back as much as possible. Additionally, before the battle starts, you can see from the menu on the right which enemies and units in your team will be focused on. Positioning according to this will give you an advantage.

You can recruit new heroes from the Noble Tavern in the Mystical House section. For this, you will need Invite Letters. Here's how to easily and quickly obtain Invite Letters:

AFK Journey has an innovative system for inventory. You don't need to individually equip your characters. Instead, the equipment you give to classes will be worn by heroes belonging to that class.

Additionally, you can use Quick Equip to ensure that classes wear the best equipment available.

In the AFK Progress section of the game, you battle through waves of increasingly powerful enemies . This will be the first game mode you encounter in the game, and you need to reach certain levels in this game mode to unlock others.

Advancing your stage in AFK Progress is crucial for you. This is because it affects your idle rewards . Additionally, if you trust your team after reaching AFK Stage 10, you can use the Auto Battle feature to engage in consecutive battles automatically.

AFK Journey is also a social game. This means that making friends can be to your advantage . By making friends with other players, you can complete challenging battles together.

Additionally, you can exchange gifts with your friends and earn tokens from the shopping section to access special items. Furthermore, when your AFK Stage reaches 30, you can join guilds.

After joining guilds, if you have also progressed your AFK Stage, you can participate in special boss battles with your guildmates .

Be sure to take advantage of Weekly Events as well. By logging in daily throughout the week , you can claim your rewards. This way, you can obtain useful items such as Invite Letters , Hero Chests, and more. The "Journey’s Gift" section is related to this.

Through the 'All Heroes Available' section, you can acquire heroes as you log in. This allows you to unlock heroes you don't have or easily ascend them by obtaining duplicates.

The higher your consecutive login count, the more likely you are to unlock S-Tier heroes on the seventh, 14, 21, and 28 days. Celestial and Hypogean heroes are also included among them.

AFK Journey: How To Choose Your Server And Add Friends

The Cataclysm Classic Pre-Expansion Patch Goes Live April 30

You’ve toppled the undead armies of the Lich King and ended Arthas' reign. Now, Deathwing, The Worldbreaker, bursts from the heart of the Maelstrom, unleashing his rage. All will burn beneath the shadow of his wings. Your new journey begins with the pre-expansion patch — the Shattering of Azeroth— on April 30 and continues with the launch of Cataclysm Classic on May 20, 2024 at 3:00 pm PDT worldwide.

Cataclysm Classic Pre-Expansion Patch

The Cataclysm Classic pre-expansion patch ushers in the shattering of Azeroth and the changed landscape in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, a variety of systems changes along with new class and race combinations, and the new Worgen and Goblin races. Players can also begin learning the new Archaeology profession, use Reforging to upgrade your gear, and more.

• New Player Races: Goblin and Worgen
• New Race and Class Combinations
• Leveling Updates: Level through a changed landscape in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms from level 1 through 60.
• Class Updates: New Talents, Trees, spells and More
• New Profession: Archaeology
• New Feature: Transmog Collection
• Updated Character and Gear Stats

What’s Inside Cataclysm Classic

With the launch of Cataclysm Classic on May 20, players will begin their journey from level 80 to 85 through new zones, new dungeons and raids, engage in PvP combat in Tol Barad, and delve further into the mysteries of the Darkmoon Faire on Darkmoon Island.

• 7 New Zones: Mount Hyjal, Vash’jir, Twilight Highlands, Uldum, Deepholm, Kezan, and Gilneas.
• 9 New Dungeons : Blackrock Caverns, Throne of the Tides, Vortex Pinnacle, The Stonecore, The Lost City of Tol’vir, The Halls of Origination, Grim Batol, Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep
• Dungeon Journal Introduced
• 3 New Raid Dungeons: Throne of the Four Winds, Blackwing Descent, and Bastion of Twilight
• Boss Based Raid Lock system: Allowing players to do either the 10 or 25-player raid version of each boss in the same week. Lockouts are based on individual boss.
• Tol Barad PvP Zone
• Darkmoon Island: Discover the mysteries Silas Darkmoon has in store for you.
• Flying in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor

What’s Going Away with Wrath of the Lich King

With the launch of the Cataclysm pre-expansion patch, some items and achievements will no longer be available or will be harder to obtain. It’s important to keep in mind that the game world is going through tremendous changes that will affect the availability of certain rare mounts and items.

• Swift Zulian Tiger: Zul'Gurub is changing from a raid to a leveling zone and this mount will no longer be obtainable.
• Swift Razzashi Raptor: This mount will also no longer be obtainable after the change to Zul'Gurub.
• Razzashi Hatchling : With the change to Zul'Gurub, this non-combat pet will no longer be obtainable.
• Tome of Polymorph: Turtle: This tome will continue to be available through other means.
• Crusader's White/Black Warhorse and Swift Alliance Steed/Swift Horde Wolf : As the attempt-based tribute system is being removed from Heroic Trial of the Crusader, the Argent Crusade Tribute Chest will no longer spawn, and these mounts will no longer be obtainable.
• Mimiron's Head: This mount will change to be a very low drop chance when defeating 25-player Yogg'Saron with no Keepers assisting you.
• Invincible: This mount will change to be a very low drop chance when defeating Heroic 25-player Lich King.

Quest and Loremaster Changes

The shattering of Azeroth will drastically and permanently alter the continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. In the wake of Deathwing's devastation, adventurers will be summoned to embark on new quests from levels 1 to 60 in these transformed territories -- and with so much new content to be found on these original two continents, many original quests will no longer be available after the shattering occurs. These quests will automatically be removed from your quest log, while any quests you’ve accepted that still exist in Azeroth will remain in your log.

If you've already completed Loremaster of Eastern Kingdoms or Loremaster of Kalimdor, you will not lose your achievements. However, if you've made progress toward these achievements without yet completing them, be aware that any quests that are removed from the game will no longer count toward your progress, so you may see your achievement quest counter drop. If you’re close to earning either of these achievements, we strongly suggest you finish them with great haste, as Deathwing's return is imminent.

In addition, the Loremaster achievements are being redesigned slightly to make them easier to track. Rather than having players complete a huge number of quests throughout a single continent, the criteria will change so that you will instead need to complete a set number of quests in each zone. Once you've earned the achievements for each listed zone on a continent, you will then be awarded the Loremaster achievement for that continent. For those who do have Loremaster of Kalimdor or Eastern Kingdoms completed already, you can still go back and get the new achievements for questing in individual zones on those continents.

Ignite Your Cataclysm Classic Journey with Fiery Upgrades

Cataclysm Classic will require only a WoW® subscription or Game Time to play. However, these optional upgrades can heat up your experience during your adventures in Azeroth.

Blazing Heroic Pack

The Blazing Heroic Pack includes Lil’ Wrathion pet for both WoW Classic progression 2 and modern World of Warcraft characters 3 , the Avatar of Flame flying mount 2 for WoW Classic progression characters, and a Runebound Firelord flying mount for modern World of Warcraft characters 3 . WoW Classic progression characters will also enjoy Hammer Regalia Transmog Set 4 and Town-In-A-Box Starter Set toy 4 .

Blazing Epic Upgrade

The Blazing Epic Upgrade includes everything in the Blazing Heroic Pack, plus a Level 80 Character Boost and 30 days of Game Time.

Upgrade Now

Certain restrictions apply. Visit  shop.battle.net  for more information.

• 1 Available on or before August 31, 2024.
• 2 Available in WoW Classic progression realms (currently Wrath of the Lich King Classic™) immediately after the purchase.
• 3 Available after the modern WoW® realms restart with the Guardians of the Dream (10.2) update.
• 4 Available with the Cataclysm Classic pre-expansion patch.
• The toy, Transmog set, and Avatar of Flame mount only available on WoW Classic progression realms (currently Wrath of the Lich King Classic™). The Runebound Firelord mount only available on modern WoW® realms.
• Requires WoW® Subscription or Game Time.
• Boost only available on WoW Classic progression realms. and usable only on the WoW game account for which it was purchased or redeemed.

• Share full article

For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio , a new iOS app available for news subscribers.

How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall

Elon musk’s factory in china saved his company and made him ultrarich. now, it may backfire..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Katrin Bennhold. This is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Today, the story of how China gave Tesla a lifeline that saved the company — and how that lifeline has now given China the tools to beat Tesla at its own game. My colleague, Mara Hvistendahl, explains.

It’s Tuesday, April 9.

So, Mara, you’ve spent the past four months investigating Elon Musk and his ties to China through his company, Tesla. Tell us why.

Well, a lot of American companies are heavily invested in China, but Tesla’s kind of special. As my colleagues and I started talking to sources, we realized that many people felt that China played a crucial role in rescuing the company at a critical moment when it was on the brink of failure and that China helps account for Tesla’s success, for making it the most valuable car company in the world today, and for making Elon Musk ultra rich.

That’s super intriguing. So maybe take us back to the beginning. When does the story start?

So the story starts in the mid 2010s. Tesla had been this company that had all this hype around it. But —

A lot of people were shocked by Tesla’s earnings report. Not only did they make a lot less money than expected, they’re also making a lot less cars.

Tesla was struggling.

The delivery of the Model 3 has been delayed yet again.

Tesla engineers are saying 40 percent of the parts made at the Fremont factory need reworking.

At the time, they made their cars in Fremont, California, and they were facing production delays.

Tesla is confirming that Cal/OSHA is investigating the company over concerns over workplace safety.

Elon Musk has instituted a kind of famously grueling work culture at the factory, and that did not go over well with California labor law.

The federal government now has four active investigations involving Tesla.

They were clashing with regulators.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate a second crash involving Tesla’s autopilot system.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk — friends are really concerned about him. That’s what Musk told “The New York Times.”

And by 2018, he was having all of these crises.

According to “The Times,” Musk choked up multiple times and struggled to maintain his composure during an hour-long interview about turmoil at his electric car company, Tesla.

So all of this kind of converged to put immense pressure on him to do something.

And where does China come in?

Well, setting up a factory in China, in a way, would solve some of these problems for Musk. Labor costs were lower. Workers couldn’t unionize there. China provided access to this steady supply of cheaper parts. So Elon Musk was set on going to China. But first, Tesla and Musk wanted to change a key policy in China.

Hmm, what kind of policy?

So they wanted China to adopt a policy that was aimed at lowering car emissions. And the idea was that it would be modeled after a similar policy in California that had benefited Tesla there.

OK, so explain what that policy actually did. And how did it benefit Tesla?

So California had this system called the Zero-Emission Vehicle program. And that was designed to encourage companies to make cleaner cars, including electric vehicles. And they did that by setting pollution targets. So companies that made a lot of clean cars got credits. And then companies that failed to meet those targets, that produced too many gas-guzzling cars, would have to buy credits from the cleaner companies.

So California is trying to incentivize companies to make cleaner cars by forcing the traditional carmakers to pay cleaner car makers, which basically means dirtier car makers are effectively subsidizing cleaner cars.

Yes, that’s right. And Tesla, as a company that came along just making EVs, profited immensely from this system. And in its early years, when Tesla was really struggling to stay afloat, the money that it earned from selling credits in California to polluting car companies were absolutely crucial, so much so that the company structured a lot of its lobbying efforts around this system, around preserving these credits. And we talked to a former regulator who said as much.

How much money are we talking about here?

So from 2008, when Tesla unveiled its first car, up until the end of last year, Tesla made almost $4 billion by selling credits in California.

Wow. So Musk basically wants China to recreate this California-style program, which was incredibly lucrative for Tesla, there. And they’re basically holding that up as a condition to their building a factory in China.

Right. And at this point in the story, an interesting alliance emerges. Because it wasn’t just Tesla that wanted this emissions program in China. It was also environmentalists from California who had seen the success of the program up close in their own state.

If you go back to that period, to the early 2010s, I was living in China at the time in Beijing and Shanghai. And it was incredibly polluted. We called it airpocalypse at times. I had my first child in China at that point. And as soon as it was safe to put a baby mask on her, we put a little baby mask on her. There were days where people just would try to avoid going outside because it was so polluted. And some of the pollution was actually wafting across the Pacific Ocean to California.

Wow, so California is experiencing that Chinese air pollution firsthand and, in a way, has a direct stake in lowering it.

That’s right. So Governor Jerry Brown, for example — this became kind of his signature issue, was working with China to clean up the environment, in part by exporting this emission scheme. It was also an era of a lot more US-China cooperation. China was seen as absolutely crucial to combating climate change.

So you had all these groups working to get this California emissions scheme exported to China — and the governor’s office and environmental groups and Tesla. And it worked. In 2017, China did adopt a system that was modeled after California’s.

It’s pretty incredible. So California basically exports its emissions-trading system to China, which I imagine at the time was a big win for Californian environmentalists. But it was also a big win for Tesla.

It was definitely a big win for Tesla. And we know that in just a few years Tesla, made almost $1 billion from the emissions-trading program he helped lobby for in China.

So Elon Musk goes on, builds a factory in China. And he does so in Shanghai, where he builds a close relationship with the top official in the city, who actually is now the number-two official in all of China, Li Qiang.

So according to Chinese state media, Elon Musk actually proposed building the factory in two years, which would be fast. And Li came back and proposed that they do it in one year, which — things go up really quickly in China. But even for China, this is incredibly fast. And they broke ground on the factory in January 2019. And by the end of the year, cars were rolling off the line. So then in January 2020, Musk was able to get up on stage in Shanghai and unveil the first Chinese-made Teslas.

Really want to thank the Tesla team and the government officials that have been really helpful in making this happen.

Next to him on stage is Tesla’s top lobbyist who helped push through some of these changes.

Thank you. Yeah, everybody can tell Elon’s super, super happy today.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

And she says —

Music, please.

Cue the music. [UPBEAT MUSIC]

And he actually broke into dance. He was so happy, a kind of awkward dance.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

And what is the factory like?

The Shanghai factory is huge. 20,000 people work there. Tesla’s factories around the world tend to be pretty large, but the Shanghai workers work more shifts. And when Tesla set up in China, Chinese banks ended up offering Tesla $1.5 billion in low-interest loans. They got a preferential tax rate in Shanghai.

This deal was so generous that one auto industry official we talked to said that a government minister had actually lamented that they were giving Tesla too much. And it is an incredibly productive factory. It’s now the flagship export factory for Tesla.

So it opens in late 2019. And that’s, of course, the time when the pandemic hits.

Yes. I mean, you might think that this is really poor timing for Elon Musk. But it didn’t quite turn out that way. In fact, Tesla’s factory in Shanghai was closed for only around two weeks, whereas the factory in Fremont was closed for around two months.

That’s a big difference.

Yes, and it really, really mattered to Elon Musk. If you can think back to 2020, you might recall that he was railing against California politicians for closing his factory. In China, the factory stayed open. Workers were working around the clock. And Elon Musk said on a podcast —

China rocks, in my opinion.

— China rocks.

There’s a lot of smart, hardworking people. And they’re not entitled. They’re not complacent, whereas I see —

We’ve seen a lot of momentum and enthusiasm for electric vehicles, stocks, and Tesla certainly leading the charge.

Tesla’s stock price kept going up.

Tesla has become just the fifth company to reach a trillion-dollar valuation. The massive valuation happened after Tesla’s stock price hit an all-time high of more than $1,000.

So this company that had just a few years earlier been on the brink of failure, looking to China for a lifeline, was suddenly riding high. And —

Tesla is now the most valuable car company in the world. It’s worth more than General Motors, Ford, Fiat, Chrysler.

By the summer, it had become the most valuable car company in the world.

Guess what? Elon Musk is now the world’s richest man.

“Forbes” says he’s worth more than $255 billion.

And Elon Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla stock. And in the following year, he became the wealthiest man in the world.

So you have this emission trading system, which we discussed and which, in part, thanks to Tesla, is now established in China. It’s bringing in money to Tesla. And now this Shanghai factory is continuing to produce cars for Tesla in the middle of the pandemic. So China really paid off for Tesla. But what was in it for China?

Well, China wasn’t doing this for charity.

What Chinese leaders really wanted was to turn their fledgling electric vehicle industry into a global powerhouse. And they figured that Tesla was the ticket to get there. And that’s precisely what happened.

We’ll be right back.

So, Mara, you’ve just told us the story of how Elon Musk used China to turn Tesla into the biggest car maker in the world and himself — at one point — into the richest man in the world. Now I want to understand the other side of this story. How did China use Tesla?

Well, Tesla basically became a catfish for China’s EV industry.

A catfish, what do you mean by that?

It’s a term from the business world. And, essentially, it means a super aggressive fish that makes the other fish in the pond swim faster. And by bringing in this super competitive, aggressive foreign company into China, which at that point had these fledgling EV companies, Chinese leaders hoped to spur the upstart Chinese EV makers to up their game.

So you’re saying that at this point, China actually already had a number of smaller EV companies, which many people in the West may not even be aware of, these smaller fish in the pond that you were referring to.

Yes, there were a lot of them. They were often locally based. Like, one would be strong in one city, and one would be strong in another city. And Chinese leaders saw that they needed to become more competitive in order to thrive.

And China had tried for decades to build up this traditional car industry by bringing in foreign companies to set up joint ventures. They had really had their sights set on building a strong car industry, and it didn’t really work. I mean, how many traditional Chinese car company brands can you name?

Exactly none.

Yeah, right. So going back to the aughts and the 2010s, they had this advantage that many Chinese hadn’t yet been hooked on gas-guzzling cars. There were still many people who were buying their first car ever. So officials had all these levers they could pull to try to encourage or try to push people’s behavior in a certain direction.

And their idea was to try to ensure that when people went to buy their first car, it would be an EV — and not just an EV but, hopefully, a Chinese EV. So they did things like — at the time, just a license plate for your car could cost an exorbitant amount of money and be difficult to get. And so they made license plates for electric vehicles free. So there were all these preferential policies that were unveiled to nudge people toward buying EVs.

So that’s fascinating. So China is incentivizing consumers to buy EV cars and incentivizing also the whole industry to get its act together by chucking this big American company in the mix and hoping that it will increase competitiveness. What I’m particularly struck by, Mara, in what you said is the concept of leapfrogging over the conventional combustion engine phase, which took us decades to live through. We’re still living in it, in many ways, in the West.

But listening to you, it sounds a little bit like China wasn’t really thinking about this transition to EVs as an environmental policy. It sounds like they were doing this more from an industrial-policy perspective.

Right. The environment and the horrible era at the time was a factor, but it was a pretty minor factor, according to people who were privy to the policy discussions. The more significant factor was industrial policy and an interest in building up a competitive sphere.

So China now wants to become a leader in the global EV sector, and it wants to use Tesla to get there. What does that actually look like?

Well, you need sophisticated suppliers to make the component parts of electric vehicles. And just by being in China, Tesla helped spur the development of several suppliers. Like, for example, the battery is a crucial piece of any EV.

And Tesla, with a fair amount of encouragement — and also various levers from the Chinese government — became a customer of a battery maker called CATL, a homegrown Chinese battery maker. And they have become very close to Tesla and have even set up a factory near Teslas in Shanghai. And today, with Tesla’s business — and, of course, with the business of some other companies — CATL is the biggest battery maker in the world.

But beyond just stimulating the growth of suppliers, Tesla also made these other fish in the pond swim faster. And the biggest Chinese EV company to come out of that period is one called BYD. It’s short for Build Your Dreams.

We are BYD. You’ve probably never heard of us.

From battery maker to the biggest electric vehicle or EV manufacturer in China.

They’ve got a lot of models. They’ve got a lot of discounts. They’ve got a lot of market growth.

China’s biggest EV maker just overtook Tesla in terms of worldwide sales.

BYD 10, Chinese automobile redefined.

I’ve actually started seeing that brand on the streets here in Europe recently, especially in Germany, where my brother actually used to lease a Tesla and now leases a BYD.

Does he like it?

He does. Although he did, to be fair, say that he misses the luxury of the Tesla, but it just became too expensive, really.

The price point is a huge reason that BYD is increasingly giving Tesla a run for its money. Years ago, back in 2011 —

Although there’s competitors now ramping up. And, as you’re familiar with, BYD, which is also —

— Elon Musk actually mocked their cars.

— electric vehicles, here he is trying to compete. Why do you laugh?

He asked an interviewer —

Have you seen their car?

I have seen their car, yes.

— have you seen their cars? Sort of suggesting, like, they’re no competition for us.

You don’t see them at all as a competitor?

Why is that? I mean, they offer a lower price point.

I don’t think they have a great product. I think their focus is — and rightly should be — on making sure they don’t die in China.

But they have been steadily improving. They’ve been in the EV space for a while, but they really started improving a few years ago, once Tesla came on the scene. That was due to a number of factors, not entirely because of Tesla. But Tesla played a role in helping train up talent in China. One former Tesla employee who worked at the company as they were getting set up in China told me that most of the employees who were at the company at the time now work for Chinese competitors.

So they have really played this important role in the EV ecosystem.

And you mentioned the price advantage. So just for comparison, what does an average BYD sell for compared to a more affordable Tesla car?

So BYD has an ultra-cheap model called the Seagull that sells for around $10,000 now in China, whereas Tesla Model 3s and Model Ys in China sell for more than twice that.

Wow. How’s BYD able to sell EVs at these much lower prices?

Well, the Seagull is really just a simpler car. It has less range than a Tesla. It lacks some safety measures. But BYD has this other crucial advantage, which is that they’re vertically integrated. Like, they control many aspects of the supply chain, up and down the supply chain. When you look at the battery level, they make batteries. But they even own the mines where lithium is mined for the batteries.

And they recently launched a fleet of ships. So they actually operate the boats that are sending their cars to Europe or other parts of the world.

So BYD is basically cutting out the middleman on all these aspects of the supply chain, and that’s how they can undercut other car makers on price.

Yeah. They’ve cut out the middleman, and they’ve cut out the shipping company and almost everything else.

So how is BYD doing now as a company compared to Tesla?

In terms of market cap, they’re still much smaller than Tesla. But, crucially, they overtook Tesla in sales in the last quarter of last year.

Yeah, that was a huge milestone. Tesla still dominates in the European market, which is a very important market for EVs. But BYD is starting to export there. And Europe traditionally is kind of automotive powerhouse, and the companies and government officials there are very, very concerned. I interviewed the French finance minister, and he told me that China has a five - to seven-year head start on Europe when it comes to EVs.

Wow. And what has Elon Musk said about this incredible rise of BYD in recent years? Do you think he anticipated that Tesla’s entry into the Chinese market could end up building up its own competition?

Well, I can’t get inside his head, and he did not respond to our questions. But —

The Chinese car companies are the most competitive car companies in the world.

— he has certainly changed his tune. So, remember, he was joking about BYD some years ago.

Yeah, he’s not joking anymore.

I think they will have significant success.

He had dismissed Chinese EV makers. He now appears increasingly concerned about these new competitors —

Frankly, I think if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world.

— to the point that on an earnings call in January, he all but endorsed the use of trade barriers against them.

They’re extremely good.

I think it’s so interesting, in a way — of course, with perfect hindsight — the kind of maybe complacency or naivete with which he may not have anticipated this turn of events. And in some ways, he’s not alone, right? It speaks to something larger. Like, China, for a long time, was seen as kind of the sweatshop or the manufacturer of the world — or perhaps as an export market for a lot of these Western companies. It certainly wasn’t putting out its own big brand names. It was making stuff for the brand names.

But recently, they have quite a lot of their own brand names. Everybody talks about TikTok. There’s Huawei. There’s WeChat, Lenovo. And now there is BYD. So China is becoming a leader in technology in certain areas. And I think that shift in some ways has happened. And a lot of Western companies — perhaps like Tesla — were kind of late to waking up to that.

Right. Tesla is looking fragile now. Their stock price dropped 30 percent in the first quarter of this year. And to a large degree, that is because of the threat of companies like BYD from China and the perception that Tesla’s position as number one in the market is no longer guaranteed.

So, Mara, all this raises a much bigger question for me, which is, who is going to own the future of EVs? And based on everything you’ve said so far, it seems like China owns the future of EVs. Is that right?

Well, possibly, but the jury is still out. Tesla is still far bigger for now. But there is this increasing fear that China owns the future of EVs. If you look at the US, there are already 25 percent tariffs on EVs from China. There’s talk of increasing them. The Commerce Department recently launched an investigation into data collection by electric vehicles from China.

So all of these factors are creating uncertainty around what could happen. And the European Union may also add new tariffs against Chinese-made cars. And China is an economic rival and a security rival and, in many ways, our main adversary. So this whole issue is intertwined with national security. And Tesla is really in the middle of it.

Right. So the sort of new Cold War that people are talking about between the US and China is, in a sense, the backdrop to this story. But on one level, what we’ve been talking about, it’s really a corporate story, an economic story that has this geopolitical backdrop. But it’s also very much an environmental story. So, regardless of how Elon Musk and Tesla fare in the end, is BYD’s rise and its ability to create high-quality and — perhaps more importantly — affordable EVs ultimately a good thing for the world?

If I think back on those years I spent living in Shanghai and Beijing when it was extremely polluted and there were days when you couldn’t go outside — I don’t think anyone wants to go back to that.

So it’s clear that EVs are the future and that they’re crucial to the green energy transition that we have to make. How exactly we get there is still unclear. But what is true is that China did just make that transition easier.

Mara, thank you so much.

Thank you, Katrin.

Here’s what else you need to know today.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Millions of people across North America were waiting for their turn to experience a rare event on Monday. From Mexico —

Cuatro, tres, dos, uno.

— to Texas.

Awesome, just awesome.

We can see the corona really well. Oh, you can see —

[BACKGROUND CHATTER]

Oh, and we are falling into darkness right now. What an incredible sensation. And you are hearing and seeing the crowd of 15,000 gathered here in south Illinois.

Including “Daily” producers in New York.

It’s like the sky is almost —

— like a deep blue under the clouds.

Wait, look. It’s just —

Oh my god. The sun is disappearing. And it’s gone. Oh. Whoa.

All the way up to Canada.

Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s what I’m talking about.

The moon glided in front of the sun and obscured it entirely in a total solar eclipse, momentarily plunging the day into darkness.

It’s super exciting. It’s so amazing to see science in action like this.

Today’s episode was produced by Rikki Novetsky and Mooj Zadie with help from Rachelle Bonja. It was edited by Lisa Chow with help from Alexandra Leigh Young, fact checked by Susan Lee, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Diane Wong, Elisheba Ittoop, and Sophia Lanman and was engineered by Chris Wood.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m catching Katrin Bennhold. See you tomorrow.

• April 11, 2024   •   28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
• April 10, 2024   •   22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma
• April 9, 2024   •   30:48 How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall
• April 8, 2024   •   30:28 The Eclipse Chaser
• April 7, 2024 The Sunday Read: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’
• April 5, 2024   •   29:11 An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth
• April 4, 2024   •   32:37 Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen
• April 3, 2024   •   27:42 The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief
• April 2, 2024   •   29:32 Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
• April 1, 2024   •   36:14 Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem
• March 29, 2024   •   48:42 Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband
• March 28, 2024   •   33:40 The Newest Tech Start-Up Billionaire? Donald Trump.

Hosted by Katrin Bennhold

Featuring Mara Hvistendahl

Produced by Rikki Novetsky and Mooj Zadie

With Rachelle Bonja

Edited by Lisa Chow and Alexandra Leigh Young

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Diane Wong ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Sophia Lanman

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

When Elon Musk set up Tesla’s factory in China, he made a bet that brought him cheap parts and capable workers — a bet that made him ultrarich and saved his company.

Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains why, now, that lifeline may have given China the tools to beat Tesla at its own game.

On today’s episode

Mara Hvistendahl , an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading

A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also bound him to Beijing .

Mr. Musk helped create the Chinese electric vehicle industry. But he is now facing challenges there as well as scrutiny in the West over his reliance on China.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Fact-checking by Susan Lee .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Katrin Bennhold is the Berlin bureau chief. A former Nieman fellow at Harvard University, she previously reported from London and Paris, covering a range of topics from the rise of populism to gender. More about Katrin Bennhold

Mara Hvistendahl is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on Asia. More about Mara Hvistendahl

Advertisement