HoYoverse's creature-catching RPG finally has a launch window. Honkai: Nexus Anima will release on iOS, Android and PC in spring 2027, and before that there is one more round of testing: a Final Closed Beta that begins on November 25. Sign-ups are open now through the game's official website, and the iOS version is already listed on the App Store for pre-order.
Nexus Anima is the newest branch of the Honkai family, alongside Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail, but it is a very different kind of game. Instead of a squad of gacha heroes fighting through set-piece stages, you play as an Animaster: a traveller who explores an open world, befriends and catches the creatures called Anima, and builds a team out of them. It is HoYoverse's most direct move yet into the monster-collecting genre, and it is being built for phones first, with a PC client running alongside.
What the Final Closed Beta covers
The new test starts in the town of Iia and is pitched as the fullest look at the game so far. It brings new story chapters and a fresh cast of characters, some of them allies and some rivals. Iia itself opens up as well, with locations that run from the halls of an old-fashioned bank to the floors of a high-rise office tower and out to a windswept lighthouse island.
A couple of quality-of-life ideas stand out. Players get their own RV, which they can return to for a rest at any point, and they can build habitats for their Anima while out on the map. That makes the game feel less like a straight line of quests and more like a road trip with a portable home base.
Rarer Anima, younger Anima and closer bonds
Out in the world, players can now run into Chromatic forms of Anima, the game's take on rare colour variants. More juvenile Anima also join the roster. Those young creatures travel at the player's side and grow up over the course of the adventure, so you can raise a companion from fledgling to full strength rather than simply catching it at its final size.
HoYoverse is also leaning hard on the companionship side of the game. The beta adds new ways for Anima to interact with the player: holding hands, hugging, even lifting the player up into the air. More of these interactions unlock over time as the bond deepens.
Nexus Arena brings ranked battles
Combat gets the biggest single addition. The Nexus Arena mode launches officially in this test: players put together any team they like, get matched against opponents and climb a ranked ladder. Outside the arena, the open world and the challenge stages are getting tougher enemies, so the test should give a much better read on how deep the battle system really is.
Gacha changes
As a free-to-play HoYoverse game, Nexus Anima uses limited-time banners, which it calls Event Bonds. Two of them are being adjusted for the beta. In both the Eidos Event Bond and the Anima Event Bond, the first 5-star Eidos or Anima a player pulls is guaranteed to be the featured limited one. Pulling the current limited Eidos also lets the player claim its matching Anima Companion for free. Rules like these tend to carry over into a launch build, so they are worth watching if you plan to play at release.
How to get in
The Final Closed Beta runs on PC, Android and iOS. Places are limited, and all progress will be wiped when the test ends. To apply, you fill in a recruitment questionnaire on the official site. Selected players will be told through the site's eligibility checker and by email, SMS and other channels. HoYoverse says it will share the full test schedule in a later announcement.
With a Final Closed Beta in late November and a spring launch, Nexus Anima is now on a clear path to release. It joins a busy 2027 for HoYoverse, and it will be one of the most closely watched mobile launches of the year.
