Wee-Hour Self-Reveal by Zenless Zone Zero: New Project and New Faction?

On May 14th, MiHoYo's self-developed anime action game "Zenless Zone Zero" suddenly revealed an ongoing character design project at 2:22 AM local time. The odd timing and the unexpected exposure of unfinished character designs raise questions: what exactly happend?

Direct Confrontation: MiHoYo Forced to Self-Reveal

MiHoYo provided a complete explanation for this sudden revelation in their post: an insider illegally obtained the development data of Zenless Zone Zero, including unreleased character concept drafts, prompting MiHoYo to reveal them themselves.

Compared to Genshin Impact handling leaks quietly through legal actions and Honkai: Star Rail angrily confronting leakers and exposing the test server content in advance, Zenless Zone Zero took a further step by directly exposing the concept drafts.

This response was swift, catching most players (including myself) off guard, as we were unaware of such a serious leak.

Some players even questioned whether this self-reveal was necessary, wondering if it unintentionally spoiled content for those unaware of the leaks.

However, I agree with Zenless Zone Zero's approach. Firstly, these character designs are not as sensitive or experience-ruining as spoilers. Secondly, from previous Genshin Impact leaks, it was evident that the most damaging aspect was the forced negative interpretations following the leaks.

By exposing the designs themselves, Zenless Zone Zero effectively preempted potential negative narratives.

Virtual Idol: Will Zenless Zone Zero Also Have A Robin?

The official reveal included four images, all related to the "Virtual Idol (tentative name)" faction.

Besides one combined CG image, three design drafts for individual characters were shown:

A virtual idol with a mechanical girl inside her costume, contrary to intuition (a human exterior with a robot interior)

A dual-wielding meteor hammer girl, possibly serving as a comic relief.

A Harajuku-style girl with a speaker gun and a backpack.

The official statement mentioned that Zenless Zone Zero would introduce these characters in a way that builds a realistic virtual idol experience, including live broadcasts and character songs.

In other words, MiHoYo is advancing further in ido character design. Previously, Honkai Impact 3rd featured Vodka Girls and Shigure Kira, who were more conceptually aligned with idols within the story line, but not in reality.

While in Honkai: Star Rail, the character Robin not only fits the ido image in combat design but also has a dedicated album.

It can be expected that Zenless Zone Zero's new characters will bring even more creative concepts, appealing to fans of combat songstresses and idol-related themes.

Sons of Calydon: Is the Biker Gang the Seventh Faction?

In this response, the official did not reveal much about the new faction, only stating that the leaked character designs were part of exploratory process, with some content now discarded. However, from the Ridu Journal published on April 17th and Billy's related backstory, we can make some basic guesses about this faction.

From the logo and introduction, it appears that this faction might be a biker gang based in the outer ring of New Eridu. The biker theme is suggested by the logo featuring a boar head wearing a motorcycle helmet and goggles.

Billy's jacket also features a boar head logo, albeit different from the Sons of Calydon. In Billy's character PV at 01:13, it's shown that his first buyer was from the outer ring of New Eridu.

"I used to live in New Eridu's Outer Ring, serving a man with lofty ambitions... named me Billy, and gave me a mission..."

After some events, this buyer's faction collapsed.

"...but some things went down, and my first home fell apart..."

And Billy was released by the inheritors of this faction.

"I had a long talk with the people who were following my boss, and in the end, they decided to let me go..."

This points to a possible inspiration from Greek mythology's Calydonian Boar Hunt.

According to mythology, King Oeneus of Calydon forgot to sacrifice to Artemis during the harvest season, prompting the goddess to release a giant boar to destroy Calydon's crops and livestock. Prince Meleager gathered Greek heroes to hunt the boar, eventually killing it, but infighting led to the prince's death soon after.

This story of "heroes' infighting and the prince's death" could correspond to the first leader of the Sons of Calydon, Billy's buyer. The second-generation leader then altered the logo, explaining the connection but noticeable differences in Billy's logo.

Considering this as an outer-ring gang, the faction's character designs might feature classic street elements like biker gangs, street dancing, and graffiti.

Fans of the game Hearthstone might be familiar with the boar rider image. However, Zenless Zone Zero may depict boar-related characters differently from Hearthstone.

What's your opinion on Zenless Zone Zero's self-reveal? Share your thoughts in the comments!