Ex-“Honkai Academy” Students Are Now Parents: Why HoYoverse Wants Family-Friendly Honkai in “Honkai: Nexus Anima” [Full Text]

On November 5, 2026, a presentation for the new title *Collapse: Nexus Anima* was held at the “HoYoverse Media Tour 2026” in Seoul, South Korea.

The presenter was David Jiang, the executive producer who has been working on the “Collapse” series for many years. He shared various behind-the-scenes stories about the game’s development, including the background behind its creation, the reasons for adopting the Auto Chess gameplay system, the challenges of creating a story that changes based on player choices, and the thought process behind the Anima designs.

To bring the developers’ words directly to fans eagerly awaiting this title, we are publishing the content of that day’s presentation. We invite you to take your time and enjoy this rare glimpse behind the scenes of the development process.

*For publication, we have streamlined some repetitive translations and certain phrasing without altering the essence of the remarks.

*Perspective has been corrected in photos of slides that were difficult to see.

◆ Three Reasons “Honkai: Nexus Anima” Was Created

David Jiang: First, let me briefly introduce myself. My name is David Jiang.

I joined miHoYo in 2014 and was in charge of marketing and IP-related tasks for *Honkai Academy*, and I was similarly involved in marketing and IP-related tasks for *Honkai Impact 3rd*.

Starting in 2019, I took over the entire *Honkai Impact 3rd* project and served as its producer. After that, I also served as producer for *Honkai: Star Rail*, and I am currently in charge of the development of *Honkai: Nexus Anima*.

Today, I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about this game in detail from a producer’s perspective.

First, why did we decide to create *Honkai: Nexus Anima*? Let me explain the reasoning behind that.

After the release of *Honkai: Star Rail* in 2023, we began exploring ideas for our next game and decided to create a game centered around collecting Anima.

In my opinion, the gaming industry is constantly evolving. In recent years, in particular, AI technology has advanced rapidly, and this has played a role in accelerating progress in game development.

We’ve been experimenting with various approaches in our currently operating games, and we’ve always believed it’s important to continue taking on new challenges through new projects—we hope you’ll look forward to them.

By doing so, I believe we can continuously hone our team’s technical skills and product development capabilities, enabling us to better meet the needs of our users in the future.

Immediately after the release of *Honkai: Star Rail*, we began considering what kind of project we could create next.

Our games are designed for long-term operation. With a new project, we need to be mindful of avoiding overlap with the direction of our existing games as much as possible.

All the games we’ve created so far have been designed around “characters,” and we felt that users had become “accustomed” to that approach. Therefore, we considered adding new elements to our next title, and ultimately chose to introduce “Anima.”

We believed that combining characters with Anima would bring a fresh perspective to the game and open up new possibilities unlike anything we’d done before.

As for the second reason, there was an interesting catalyst behind it.

It was the conclusion of Part 1 of the *Honkai Impact 3rd* story in early 2023.

In fact, our company has many employees who were originally players of the *Honkai* series. Students who played *Honkai Academy* around 2014 have since entered the workforce in 2023, gotten married, and started having children.

So, we thought that if we created a game the whole family—including partners and children—could enjoy together, we could continue to deliver games that players who have supported us since the *Honkai Academy* days would enjoy for years to come.

In fact, during the two beta tests we’ve conducted so far, some of our staff members played *Honkai: Nexus Anima* at home with their children. Apparently, the kids really enjoyed the game.

The third reason is very simple.

Ever since I was working on *Honkai Academy*, I’ve wanted to convey the values of “love and justice” through the *Honkai* series. I believed that by having humans and Anima grow and go on adventures together, we could effectively convey those values.

For these reasons, we decided to take the approach of making a game centered on collecting Anima.

Next, I’d like to talk about the new challenges we’re taking on with this game.

After deciding on the theme of an Anima-collecting game, we began exploring specific game systems. At first, we considered adopting the “turn-based battle” and “action” mechanics that we’ve always excelled at.

However, we had several concerns.

Players of the *Honkai* series have already experienced action games in *Honkai Impact 3rd*. And in *Honkai: Star Rail*, they’ve experienced turn-based battles. In other words, we felt that even if we offered a similar game system again, players would already be accustomed to it, and the novelty would be lost.

Furthermore, even though our development team excels at creating these types of games, we believed that for a new project, we should set new challenges and grow as a team by venturing into uncharted territory.

So, after researching the various game genres on the market, we realized that we had never made a “strategy game” before. Strategy games are a popular genre with a long history and have had a large, dedicated fan base for a long time.

However, in recent years, an increasing number of players have come to prefer faster-paced games and gaming experiences that provide immediate feedback to their actions. For these players, traditional strategy games can sometimes feel a bit slow-paced.

That’s why we turned our attention to the “Auto Chess” genre.

Auto Chess is characterized by relatively minimal direct player input and provides quick, direct feedback on in-game events. After considering these factors, we determined that it was entirely feasible to create an Auto Chess-style game centered around PvE. Ultimately, we decided to proceed with development in this direction.

However, since this was a relatively new game system for us, we faced greater challenges than ever before during development.

Over the course of about three years, through repeated improvements and numerous tests, and by incorporating feedback from over 10,000 players, we were finally able to arrive at the game experience you see today—one that we hope you’ll find “fun.”

◆ Attempting a “Story That Truly Changes Based on Player Choices” in a Live-Service Game

David Jiang: During the development of *Honkai: Star Rail*, we received feedback from many players.

Among them, there were many requests asking, “We’d like to be able to change the course of the story more significantly through our own choices.”

However, implementing such a system in a long-term service game is extremely difficult. This is because allowing the story to branch based on player choices would multiply the amount of required scenario content many times over.

Furthermore, in long-term games, the story continues for years. If a choice a player makes in the first year of service were to change the story in the third year, it would require an extremely high level of creativity from the scenario writers.

Due to these challenges, most current long-term games do not incorporate systems where the story truly branches.

However, we have decided to take on this challenge in our new title, *Honkai: Nexus Anima*.

The high standards for storytelling and presentation cultivated in the *Honkai* series have been carried over to *Honkai: Nexus Anima*.

We’re taking it a step further: we want the player’s choices to influence not only how the world itself changes, but also the characters’ fates, the characters who appear, the content of conversations, and even the ultimate way the story is resolved.

The story’s progression isn’t determined solely by the choices the player makes. The protagonist you control has ability stats such as Intelligence, Charisma, and Luck.

These stats affect the options displayed during conversations and the clues the player can uncover. Depending on the combination of stats, the story the player experiences may unfold differently.

This kind of system isn’t particularly rare in many single-player games or in the genre known as “CRPGs.” However, our challenge is to naturally integrate it into a game designed for long-term operation. We hope you’ll look forward to it.

◆A Perfect Match in Both Appearance and Abilities? The Development Approach That Treats Characters and Anima as a Single Entity

David Jiang: In our previous games, we’ve generally designed gameplay and story around characters. In *Honkai: Nexus Anima*, we want to create a world where humans and Anima live and fight together.

Therefore, in every aspect of development, we’re thinking about how to effectively combine humans and Anima.

Take “character visual design,” for example.

From the very first stage of character design, we consider what kind of Anima would be a good fit for that character.

We pair “cool-looking characters with equally cool Anima” and “gluttonous characters with gluttonous piglets.”

For a mentally unstable character, we designed an Anima with two heads that are constantly arguing with each other. This helps the character and Anima’s personalities mesh more naturally.

Furthermore, we’ve hidden little Easter eggs in the designs of both the characters and their Anima. Sometimes, elements in a character’s design hint at their partner Anima, and conversely, the Anima’s design may reflect the character’s traits.

We really hope you’ll take the time to discover these subtle details.

This approach is also reflected in the gameplay.

We designed the characters and Anima not as independent entities, but with the premise that they work together. When a character and their Anima appear on the battlefield together, their respective skills can combine to produce even more powerful effects.

For example, Ha’s skill restores HP to her partner Anima, Mukuroshi, but when Mukuroshi defeats an enemy, Ha’s energy is restored in turn. Additionally, when Shiraume’s skill freezes an enemy, her partner, Meiliu, can deal greater damage to that enemy.

We also place great importance on the relationship between characters and Anima within the story. How did they meet? How do they grow together? And how do they overcome challenges when they face them? We intend to depict these aspects with great care.

◆ How Do We Express the Bond Between Humans and Anima? From Interaction Mechanics to Townscapes: Attention to Detail in Every Aspect

David Jiang: So far, we’ve discussed the various new initiatives we’ve been working on for *Honkai: Nexus Anima*. From here on, I’d like to show you the Anima, characters, and backgrounds that actually appear in the game.

As mentioned earlier, this game features various new innovations, such as the strategic elements of Auto Chess and story branching where the world changes based on the player’s choices. However, at the heart of it all are the Anima themselves.

So, first, let me introduce the design of the Anima themselves.

When designing the Anima, we felt we shouldn’t limit their potential to the form of “specific animals.” Therefore, they aren’t necessarily based on animal motifs. Everything—from plants and food to weather, and even the emotions that threaten to overwhelm us in daily life or the daydreams we have in our everyday routines—can serve as inspiration for creating an Anima.

For example, there’s an Anima called “Koahhee.” At first glance, it looks like it’s receiving an IV drip, but if you look closely, you’ll see it’s actually drinking the coffee inside the IV bag (laughs).

In the world of this work, Anima derives from a concept called “Genri.”

What the Anima embody is not the specific wish of any one individual. Rather, they represent the more universal emotions shared by all of humanity. That’s why we believe that everyone—whether child or adult—will be able to find something in the Anima’s designs that resonates with them.

We’ve also devoted a great deal of effort to the in-game ecosystem and the intricate details of the world.

In *Honkai: Nexus Anima*, Anima are not merely entities that players collect and battle with. Anima actually live all over this world and blend naturally into people’s daily lives.

It is the combination of people and Anima that forms the very foundation of towns and daily life.

We’ve put a great deal of thought not only into the Anima’s ecology but also into the interactions between characters and Anima. Whether riding an Anima to get around, walking hand-in-hand, or through various other intimate interactions, we aim to express the bond between humans and Anima in an intuitive and tangible way.

Our attention to detail extends beyond just the characters and Anima. We have also spent a great deal of time crafting the environments that serve as the game’s setting.

The story of *Honkai: Nexus Anima* unfolds in a seaside town called “Ia Town.” Many people live in this town, which features a variety of locations—including the Old Town, the New Town, schools, the mountains behind the town, and the beach—each with its own unique characteristics and stories.

We’d also like you to pay attention to details like the way light reflects off the ground on rainy days and the lighting effects. We’ve also implemented various upgrades in terms of technology and rendering.

The scenery you’re seeing now wasn’t always this way. We started with early concept designs, gradually added detailed elements, and made repeated adjustments. It was through this long process of refinement that we were able to achieve the current visuals.

So far, we’ve shared various insights about *Collapse: Nexus Anima*, including the background of its development and our design philosophy. However, there’s still so much more we haven’t been able to convey to you.

We hope you’ll play the game yourselves to see exactly how the details we’ve shared translate into the actual gaming experience.

To reiterate, the Final Beta Test will begin on November 25, 2026. We would be delighted if you could experience firsthand everything we’ve introduced today.

*Honkai: Nexus Anima* is scheduled for official release in the spring of 2027.

We plan to listen closely to feedback from our players to further refine the game. I believe there is still plenty of big news we’ll be able to share with you in the future.

Please look forward to the future of *Honkai: Nexus Anima*.

Finally, thank you very much for your time today. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude for your interest in and support of *Honkai: Nexus Anima*.

Thank you very much.

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