The next miHoYo joint was revealed as part of Gamescom 2026's Opening Night Live, and it's a bit different from Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero. Rather than being all cutesy and anime, it's more gritty fantasy, but it's not just the visuals that are different - gacha mechanics aren't as prominent either.
The game is called Nodusfall, and it's essentially the HoYoverse's answer to Monster Hunter, emphasizing big encounters you can tackle solo or in a group. Although the release is still using a free-to-play model, the devs have confirmed you won't be unlocking characters through a glorified slot machine.
"Nodusfall will be a free-to-play, long-term game," miHoYo says, per PCGamer. "What we can share at this time is that characters are not obtained through random draws. We hope to allow players to unlock this core gameplay experience through continued play. Cosmetic monetization is an important avenue we will be considering."
This is refreshing to hear for a multitude of reasons. The amount of Genshin Impact copycats is growing, and it's good to see miHoYo pushing away from a framework it helped popularise. It's also just nice to know you won't need to engage in gacha simply to get more characters.
Those aspects wound up putting me off Genshin and Zenless Zone Zero. I'm not a gambler, and the consistent reliance on that kind of thinking didn't sit well with me. Nodusfall is inherently more welcoming since that won't be the case.
That said, if we don't see gacha used to update your roster, I suspect we'll definitely see it in getting skins and costumes. Luckily, I care a lot less about how my hero looks over how well they can take down a demonic dinosaur, and I'll be much more preoccupied by doing that when I get to check out Nodusfall.
