Skip to content

The guide

12 Cultivation Idle Games: Xianxia Idlers From Immortality Idle to Chinese-Only Gems

Cultivation idle games for 2026: 12 xianxia idlers on browser, Steam and mobile, with which ones are in English, which are Chinese-only, prices and caveats.

Source-checked guideMaintained by Maxwell PrehodaHow we choose

The best cultivation idle game to start with is Immortality Idle: free in the browser, in English, and built around the core cultivation fantasy of living, dying and reincarnating stronger until you become immortal. On a phone, Overmortal and Immortal Taoists are the big English-language xianxia idlers. On Steam, xiuzhen idle and Sect And Monsters are the cheapest ways in. Twelve picks below, including several excellent games that are only in Chinese, clearly labelled.

Cultivation (xiuxian) stories follow a mortal training qi through realms such as Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment and Golden Core toward immortality, and that ladder of breakthroughs maps neatly onto idle game prestige. The catch for English readers is language: many of the best-reviewed cultivation idlers on Steam list Simplified Chinese only. We checked every store page's language list in November 2026. Steam review percentages come from the IncrementalGames.org catalog.

01

Immortality Idle: best for the reincarnation loop, free and in English

Platform: Browser · free

Immortality Idle is a time management incremental inspired by cultivation stories. You choose daily activities to survive, grow and thrive, with the goal of immortality. You will probably die before you get there, and that is the design: the attributes you build in each life improve your aptitudes when you reincarnate, until you develop magical abilities and perform impossible tasks.

It is free and open source on galaxy.click, where it has been played over 11,000 times for more than 22,000 hours and rated 4.0 stars from 105 ratings. A 2024 update added a tablet-friendly interface with movable panels and kept a classic version for players who preferred the old layout. The catalog records an ending.

Pick it first if you love cultivation novels. It is the closest any idle game gets to the "reincarnate and try again" arc.

Watch out for: It has not been updated since April 2024, and the text-heavy planning loop is slow until a few lifetimes in.

Read the profile →Play on galaxy.click ↗

02

Overmortal-Idle RPG: best for a polished English cultivation RPG on phone

Platform: Mobile · free-to-play

Overmortal is a text-based adventure card RPG about rising from a nobody to an immortal. You explore realms, talk with NPCs in story-driven dialogue, fight bosses from different worlds, evolve pets into human-like companions, combine skills and choose between darker and brighter paths, each with its own gift of fate.

It is free on iPhone with 4.8 stars from about 16,500 ratings as of November 2026, and was updated in October 2026.

Pick it if you want the full xianxia fantasy in English with modern mobile polish.

Watch out for: It is a free-to-play server game (the listing talks about soaring to the top on your server), so expect purchases and online requirements.

Read the profile →App Store ↗

03

Immortal Taoists-MUD Wuxia: best for a playable xianxia novel on your phone

Platform: Mobile · free-to-play

Immortal Taoists is an idle game adapted from a xianxia novel, where you cultivate toward immortality in a relaxed fantasy world. You join immortal sects, learn martial skills, adopt spirit beasts, fight demons and socialise with other cultivators. The listing calls it a playable novel.

It is free on iPhone with 4.7 stars from about 27,300 ratings as of November 2026, the most of any cultivation game here. The listing was last updated in November 2025.

Pick it if you want story first and are happy reading.

Watch out for: It is free to play with an online, social side, and the listing has not been updated in about a year.

Read the profile →App Store ↗

04

xiuzhen idle: best for a cheap Steam cultivation idler with English

Platform: Steam · paid

xiuzhen idle is a text idler about cultivating toward immortality, with skilling, alchemy and magic systems. It is one of the most-reviewed cultivation idlers on Steam: 79% positive from about 2,250 reviews as of November 2026, at $4.79 on Windows.

English is listed, but read the store page first. The developer explains that English comes from a fan-made translation mod, uploaded to an "english" beta branch that you select in the game's Steam properties.

Pick it if you want a classic Chinese-style cultivation idler on PC and do not mind a community translation.

Watch out for: The translation is a fan mod on a beta branch, so expect rough English. Steam lists no cloud saves and two DLC items.

Read the profile →Steam page ↗

05

Sect And Monsters: best for running a whole sect instead of one cultivator

Platform: Steam · paid

Sect And Monsters puts you in charge of a once-powerful sect as monsters overrun the land. The sect has servant disciples, cultivators and elders: handyman disciples chop trees, dig mines and gather resources, and a team of four grinds equipment and develops characters.

It costs $4.99 on Windows, lists English, and is 81% positive from about 130 Steam reviews as of November 2026.

Pick it if the management side of cultivation stories, keeping a sect alive, appeals more than a solo climb.

Watch out for: It is a small game with few reviews, and the English store text is rough in places, which hints at the in-game translation.

Read the profile →Steam page ↗

06

Cultivation Magic World: best for a 3D cultivation RPG with AFK loot farming

Platform: Steam · paid

Cultivation Magic World is a 3D fixed-view single-player RPG that blends idle loot farming with a cultivation progression system. Classes include Sword Cultivator, Body Cultivator, three kinds of Mage and Beast Tamer, and you fight in the air on flying swords or mounts, with one-click AFK farming between realm breakthroughs.

It is in Early Access for $12.99 on Windows, lists English with full audio, and is 78% positive from about 280 Steam reviews as of November 2026. The older XiuzhenWorld on Steam now calls itself an outdated version and syncs with Cultivation Magic World, so new players should start here.

Pick it if you want to see your cultivation, with sword rain and flight, instead of reading about it.

Watch out for: It is the most expensive game here and still in Early Access. Mixed reviews suggest waiting for updates if you are unsure.

Read the profile →Steam page ↗

07

ShuXian Chronicles: Idle Ascension: best for deep party building, if you read Chinese

Platform: Steam · paid

蜀仙传·挂至飞升 (ShuXian Chronicles: Idle Ascension) is an idle loot RPG with turn-based cultivation themes. You collect over 30 Immortal Companions, each worth 1 to 6 Destiny Points, and build a party of 2 to 8 within a 10-point limit, with forging, affixes, artifacts, immortal beast taming and breeding, and alchemy.

It costs $11.99 on Windows and is 84% positive from about 520 Steam reviews as of November 2026.

Pick it if you read Chinese and want the most build depth of any cultivation idler here.

Watch out for: The store page has an English description, but Steam lists Simplified Chinese as the only supported language.

Read the profile →Steam page ↗

08

修仙小屋: best for a free online text cultivation idler to chat in

Platform: Steam · free

修仙小屋 (roughly "Cultivation Hut") is a multiplayer online text idler about cultivating at work, with a chat that the developer keeps relaxed and moderated. The store page says it is a non-commercial project made by one developer after work, with no paid currency and no top-ups, and that the game has been rebalanced so no player is simply the strongest.

It is free on Windows and is 92% positive from about 3,040 Steam reviews as of November 2026, the highest score of the Steam games on this list.

Pick it if you read Chinese and want a social idle cultivation game with no monetisation.

Watch out for: Steam lists Simplified Chinese only, it needs to be online, and the developer warns that antivirus software sometimes flags the updater.

Read the profile →Steam page ↗

09

我的放置仙途: best for a free open-source browser cultivation idler

Platform: Browser · free

我的放置仙途 ("My Idle Immortal Path") is an open-source cultivation idle game that runs in the browser. The GitHub feature list includes a character system, random encounters, exploration, inventory, achievements, spirit pets and pet raising, equipment and upgrades, a lottery draw, alchemy and save management.

It is free to play at idle-xiuxian.wenzi.games, MIT licensed, and has about 300 stars on GitHub, far more than the other open-source cultivation games on this list.

Pick it if you read Chinese and want something to open in a tab with no install.

Watch out for: It is in Chinese, and the repository was last updated in January 2026.

Read the profile →Play in the browser ↗Source on GitHub ↗

10

Inner Realm (内景天地): best for Antimatter Dimensions with a cultivation skin

Platform: Browser · free

Inner Realm is a Chinese incremental that its README says is inspired by Antimatter Dimensions. The theme is the inner landscape of cultivation: qi flows in a cascade through eight heaven-and-earth realms inside the body, breakthroughs open new realms and later trade them for global multipliers, and eventually you shatter the void and reincarnate to cultivate again.

It is free in the browser on GitHub Pages and MIT licensed. The catalog records offline progress.

Pick it if you like pure number layering and want a cultivation flavour on it.

Watch out for: It is in Chinese and a small hobby project, so expect a short content runway compared with its inspiration.

Read the profile →Play in the browser ↗Source on GitHub ↗

11

Spirit Mountain Sect Master: best for an ink-wash browser idler with no store at all

Platform: Browser · free

灵山掌门 (Spirit Mountain Sect Master) is an ink-wash style cultivation idle game. You breathe to gather qi and cultivation, choose between three strategies when attempting breakthroughs, and face heavenly tribulation lightning from the Golden Core realm onward, where failure can lead to qi deviation. The catalog adds alchemy, card-based duels and rebirth bonuses.

The README says it is free with no in-app purchases, no ads, no registration and local saves. It is MIT licensed and runs in the browser.

Pick it if you want a calm, good-looking browser cultivation game with nothing to buy.

Watch out for: It is in Chinese and very new, and its optional "dynamic encounters" can be generated by a large language model if you connect one. Over 60 built-in events work without it.

Read the profile →Play in the browser ↗Source on GitHub ↗

12

仙途 · 文字修仙: best for 26 realms and reincarnation in plain text

Platform: Browser · free

仙途 · 文字修仙 ("Immortal Path: Text Cultivation") is a pure front-end text cultivation idler. The GitHub description promises the climb from Qi Refining to Ascension across twenty-six realms, with reincarnation, and the catalog adds alchemy and crafting.

It is free in the browser on GitHub Pages, MIT licensed, needs no install, and the catalog records offline progress. The repository was updated in September 2026.

Pick it if you want the classic text cultivation format of older Chinese idle games in a browser tab.

Watch out for: It is Chinese text only. Browser translation can help, but cultivation terms rarely translate cleanly.

Read the profile →Play in the browser ↗Source on GitHub ↗

How to choose a cultivation idle game

Language decides more than anything else here, so start there.

01

Check the language list first

In English: Immortality Idle, Overmortal, Immortal Taoists, Sect And Monsters and Cultivation Magic World. English by fan translation: xiuzhen idle. Chinese only: ShuXian Chronicles, 修仙小屋 and the four browser games. On Steam, scroll to the language table on the store page, because an English description does not mean an English game.

02

Pick solo, sect or server

Solo cultivator: Immortality Idle, xiuzhen idle, Cultivation Magic World and the browser games. Running a sect: Sect And Monsters. Online with other players: Overmortal, Immortal Taoists and 修仙小屋. If you want more games where other players matter, see our idle MMO guide.

03

Decide what you will pay

Free with no store: Immortality Idle, 修仙小屋 and Spirit Mountain Sect Master, according to their pages. Paid once: xiuzhen idle ($4.79), Sect And Monsters ($4.99), ShuXian Chronicles ($11.99) and Cultivation Magic World ($12.99). Free to play with purchases: Overmortal and Immortal Taoists.

Begin your first breakthrough tonight

Open Immortality Idle now and live your first life; it is free and you will know within an hour whether the reincarnation loop grips you. If you want something on your phone, Overmortal is the most polished English option.

For more idle games with RPG progression beyond the cultivation theme, browse our incremental RPG list.

Browse incremental RPGs →

Common questions

What is a cultivation idle game?

It is an idle or incremental game themed on xianxia cultivation stories: you train qi, break through realms such as Foundation Establishment and Golden Core, and often reincarnate stronger, which works like prestige. Immortality Idle and Overmortal are good English examples.

Is Immortality Idle free?

Yes. Immortality Idle is free and open source, playable in the browser on galaxy.click, and the catalog records that it has an ending.

Are there cultivation idle games in English on Steam?

Yes, but fewer than in Chinese. Sect And Monsters and Cultivation Magic World list English, and xiuzhen idle offers English through a fan translation on a beta branch. Several of the best-reviewed ones, like 修仙小屋 and ShuXian Chronicles, list Simplified Chinese only.

What is the difference between xianxia and wuxia idle games?

Wuxia stories are about martial artists in a mostly grounded world, while xianxia adds immortality, qi cultivation and magic. Most idle games in this list are xianxia, though titles like Immortal Taoists mix in martial skills.

Can I play Chinese-only cultivation games with a translator?

For browser games, your browser's page translation can make menus readable, though cultivation terms rarely translate cleanly. Steam games with Chinese-only text are harder, so check the language table before buying.

Sources