Player stories transformed into short dramas, creating a museum for players! A roundup of the fan-favoring feats in Rise of Kingdoms!

Recently, the Rise of Kingdoms Player Story Museum opened at Yingtian Gate in Luoyang. This museum contains many artifacts symbolizing player stories: the “Princess Baixing” figure, the authentic “Heartbreaking Manifesto,” and a grandfather’s hand-written guide notes for his grandson...

While other games are just games, Rise of Kingdoms offers not only engaging gameplay and abundant rewards but also the chance to see your own story adapted into short dramas, your battles turned into shadow puppetry, your manifestos archived in the national library, and now your stories preserved in a museum — this is probably the ultimate service a player can enjoy.

The “crazy” things Rise of Kingdoms has done for its players over the years

If there were a ranking for fan-favoring moves in the gaming world, Rise of Kingdoms would definitely top the list.

Back in 2017, when most games were still relying on rebates and exclusive skins to attract players, Rise of Kingdoms did something unexpected: they adapted the classic player battle “Night Raid on Xuzhou” into a shadow puppet play, officially performed at the Chinese Folk Shadow Puppet Art Museum. For the first time, players who strategized in-game saw their tactics brought to life through ancient intangible cultural heritage art, a shock beyond words.

In 2024, Rise of Kingdoms redefined fan appreciation in the industry. Player-created classical Chinese manifestos and Three Kingdoms poetry were included in the National Library’s special Three Kingdoms exhibition, displayed alongside millennia-old texts. CCTV covered this grand event, making the identity of “Rise of Kingdoms player” shine for the first time on a national cultural platform.

For its tenth anniversary in 2025, Rise of Kingdoms made a big move: launching the first-ever “Rise of Kingdoms Player Story Museum.” Starting September 11, they collected exhibits, with players rummaging through their belongings to send in cherished items — the first tablet bought for battles, alliance-issued commemorative coins, nighttime promise notes, strategy guides recording lineups... On October 25, all these seemingly ordinary objects became the museum’s most treasured collections.

In terms of dedication to fans, Rise of Kingdoms truly reached the pinnacle.

Why can’t other games replicate such a simple approach?

At this point, some might ask: these actions don’t seem complicated, so why don’t other games do the same?

The answer is simple: because most games never truly value their players; making money always comes first.

In many games’ operational logic, players are just “users” — traffic to be converted and harvested. What’s standard for anniversary events? Exclusive skins, recharge bonuses, gacha draws — all designed to make you spend. But Rise of Kingdoms is different; they genuinely pamper their fans, dedicating every resource to serve the players.

From shadow puppetry to museums, every fan-favoring move by Rise of Kingdoms sends a message: you are not just consumers, you are co-creators of this world.

From player “Xianhu”’s “Funeral Clothes Crossing the River” strategy being made into a short drama, to the legendary “Princess Baixing” figurine representing her solo conquest of a province, to “Tusha” receiving the “Best Spy Award” at the New Year’s Eve party for his espionage tale... these protagonists are not cold user data in the game world, but real, vivid players with their own stories.

More importantly, Rise of Kingdoms’ respect for player stories as the core of community culture is not superficial — they genuinely put a lot of effort into it. When players’ classical manifestos enter the national library, when their battle stories become material for shadow puppetry, and when their game-related items are displayed in museum cases — this kind of recognition far outweighs any virtual items or in-game perks.

Other games may talk about pampering fans, but few implement it with the consistency of Rise of Kingdoms over ten years. This persistent commitment is what other games truly cannot replicate.

A decade of unwavering fan devotion: the secret to Rise of Kingdoms’ enduring success

The opening of the Rise of Kingdoms Player Story Museum is not the end of the fan-loving journey, but a new beginning.

Ten years is enough time for a game to rise and fall. Yet Rise of Kingdoms still maintains strong vitality, with an active player community and new seasons sparking discussions. The secret behind this lies within this museum.

When you see your story preserved and your creations acknowledged, the relationship between you and the game becomes more than just player and game — it becomes a mutual emotional bond. The official’s persistent fan care nurtures players, while countless player-created stories continue to write the saga of Rise of Kingdoms.

This emotional connection is the fundamental reason a game can remain vibrant for ten years or even longer. Technology becomes outdated, gameplay ages, but human connections and the soulful resonance between stories never expire.

Rise of Kingdoms has proven over ten years that only games that truly respect players and make them the protagonists can go further. While other games are still scheming how to extract money from players, Rise of Kingdoms is already thinking about how to let more people see players’ stories. This gap cannot be closed overnight.

Closing remarks

The Rise of Kingdoms Player Story Museum officially opened on October 25, but the stories belonging to Rise of Kingdoms players will never end. In the next decade of Rise of Kingdoms, we will continue to witness new players, new stories, and new legends.