HoYoverse has lifted the lid on Honkai: Nexus Anima, a new entry in the Honkai franchise that shifts the series from turn-based RPG into creature collecting and strategy. Announced over the weekend, the studio also began recruitment for the title’s first closed beta, the Nexus Bond Test, with registration open now through 12 September 2025. The test will run on PC and iOS with a full data wipe when it concludes.
First teased during Honkai: Star Rail’s anniversary concert in May, Nexus Anima introduces a world built around the concept of the Nexus, described as unseen bonds tying pairs such as Love and Hate, Light and Dark, and Life and Death. A sudden rupture severs these connections and scatters their remnants across the land as beings called Anima. Players set out to restore balance by forging bonds with these companions, then bringing them into exploration and combat as the narrative unfolds.
Each Anima embodies a distinct concept and brings unique abilities that can be combined to form varied tactics. HoYoverse positions this as feeding directly into overworld design, with bonded powers influencing how you move through and interact with the environment as well as how you approach Nexus Battles.
Nexus Anima also frames its story around a plane-hopping traveller who has escaped captivity. The journey starts in a quiet town before opening into uncharted realms where you meet Anima with defined personalities, uncover the protagonist’s past, and expand your party. HoYoverse bills the project as carrying forward the franchise’s emphasis on high production values and story while pushing into new gameplay and worldbuilding territory.
