Is there a release date?
No. HoYoverse has not announced a global release date for Honkai: Nexus Anima, and as of October 2026 there is still nothing on the board.
Here is the fact most coverage skips: the game is two closed tests deep and still undated. Plenty of pages describe the July 2026 Evolution Test as the first beta. It was the second. The Nexus Bond Test came and went in September 2025, a year earlier, and neither test shipped with a launch window attached.
Nothing is open to sign up for right now, and no third test has been announced. The only thing you can act on today is pre-registering on the official site, which costs nothing and banks milestone rewards for launch.
What Is Honkai: Nexus Anima?
Nexus Anima is HoYoverse's take on the creature-collector, the genre that Pokemon built and that everyone from Palworld to a dozen gacha games has chased since. The pitch, per HoYoverse's reveal, is an adventure-strategy game built on three pillars:
- Anima bonding. You collect and raise creatures called Anima, building a bond with them rather than just filling a box. Expect the studio's usual character and creature art quality.
- Strategic, auto-battler-style combat. Early previews describe auto-chess-style battles, where you build a lineup and positioning wins the fight rather than twitch inputs. That is a real departure from the action combat of Genshin and Zenless Zone Zero.
- Light open-world exploration. You roam and discover Anima in the world, closer to a cozy collect-and-explore loop than a sprawling open world.
In short: HoYoverse production values pointed at a Pokemon-shaped, strategy-flavored collector. It is the studio's first real move into the genre, and the reason interest is this high.
[!NOTE] "Nexus Anima" is a new HoYoverse IP under the Honkai umbrella, not a sequel to Honkai: Star Rail or Honkai Impact 3rd. You do not need to have played those to jump in.
Both closed tests, side by side
Ten months separated the two, and the platform list grew between them. This is the entire public testing record:
| Test | Ran | Platforms | Recruitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nexus Bond Test (CBT1) | September 17 to 23, 2025 | PC, iOS | August 29 to September 12, 2025 |
| Evolution Test (CBT2) | July 9 to 27, 2026 | PC, iOS, Android | Closed July 3, 2026 |
Two things that table makes obvious. The first test ran about a week and left Android out completely, with HoYoverse saying at the time that it had nothing to share for Android yet; the second ran nearly three weeks and added it. And save data was wiped at the end of both, so nothing anyone did in either carries into the live game.
Both tests were lottery-access builds with partial rosters and resets, which is the normal shape for this stage. Treat anything you read from either as a preview rather than a head start.
[!NOTE] The Nexus Bond Test window above is reported by outlets covering HoYoverse's recruitment announcement rather than read off a live official page, since the 2025 recruitment page is long gone. The Evolution Test dates are confirmed by HoYoverse's own recruitment post for it.
Getting into the next test
Nothing is recruiting at the moment. When a third test opens, the drill is the one HoYoverse has now used twice:
- Go to the official Honkai: Nexus Anima site.
- Log in with your HoYoverse account (the same one you use for Genshin, Star Rail, or ZZZ).
- Complete the recruitment questionnaire. It asks about your device and play habits.
- Wait for the lottery. Selection is random from the applicant pool, so a sign-up is an entry, not a guarantee.
- Watch for a notification by website message, email, or SMS if you are picked.
Both previous rounds ran recruitment for roughly two weeks and then closed, so the window to act is short once one opens.
Pre-Registration and Rewards
Separate from the beta, pre-registration for the full launch is open, with milestone rewards that unlock as the total sign-up count climbs, the same model HoYoverse used for Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero. Pre-registering costs nothing, does not affect your beta lottery odds, and banks launch-day rewards, so there is no reason not to. Register through the official site or your platform's app store listing when it appears.
When Is the Global Release Date?
HoYoverse has not announced a global release date. Our read, and it is an estimate rather than anything the studio has said, is late 2026 at the earliest and more likely 2027.
The reasoning is the test cadence. Two rounds are done, ten months apart, and HoYoverse has historically run several before a launch. A third test has not been announced, which means the earliest a date could even be set is after one more round. If a third test turns up in the next few months, a 2027 launch is the shape to expect; if the studio skips straight to a release announcement, that would be a break from how it has handled Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero. We will update this page the moment a date is confirmed.
Will It Be Free-to-Play Friendly?
It is too early to know the exact monetization, but HoYoverse's track record is a strong signal. Genshin, Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero all run fair, PvE-first, free-to-play-friendly economies where spending buys convenience, not power over other players. If Nexus Anima follows the house model, expect a generous pity system and fully free-clearable content. We rank every major gacha economy on our gacha cost and pay-to-win page, and we will add Nexus Anima there once its systems are known.
Why This One Matters
HoYoverse rarely misses, and this is the studio aiming its budget and art team at the most commercially proven genre in gaming. A polished, gacha-friendly creature-collector with HoYo production values could be one of the biggest launches of the next year. Whether it becomes a genre-defining hit or a cozy side-game, it is the most interesting thing HoYoverse has announced since Zenless Zone Zero, which is why a year-old beta still draws this much search traffic.
Questions people actually ask about this one
When does Honkai: Nexus Anima release? There is no confirmed global release date. Two closed tests have finished, the most recent in July 2026, and our estimate for launch is late 2026 at the earliest, more likely 2027.
Has a third beta been announced? No. The Evolution Test ended July 27, 2026, and nothing has been announced since.
What kind of game is Honkai: Nexus Anima? It is HoYoverse's first creature-collector: an adventure-strategy game about bonding with creatures called Anima, auto-battler-style strategic combat, and light open-world exploration.
How do I join the Honkai: Nexus Anima beta? You cannot right now. Recruitment for both finished tests is closed and no third one has been announced. Pre-register on the official site so you are in position when the next window opens; access has been lottery-based both times.
What platforms is it on? PC, Android and iOS are the announced platforms. The first test was PC and iOS only; Android arrived with the second. Consoles have not been announced, though PlayStation later would follow the pattern of other HoYoverse titles.
Is Honkai: Nexus Anima connected to Honkai: Star Rail? No. It is a new HoYoverse IP under the Honkai brand, not a sequel, and you do not need to have played the other Honkai games.
Keep Up With the Launch
We will keep this page current as betas run and a release date lands. In the meantime, explore the studio's other worlds on our Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero wikis, browse every game we cover in the gacha hub, and see how free-to-play friendly each one is on our cost and pay-to-win ranking.
Sources: Honkai: Nexus Anima official site, HoYoverse; HoYoverse's Nexus Bond Test and Evolution Test recruitment announcements, as covered by Game8 and GamingOnPhone.
