Being a HoYoverse game means being compared to, and often theorized to be part of, the other games in the developer’s library. That’s not different from Zenless Zone Zero – from day one after its reveal, interested parties have been dissecting footage and designs to try to glean insights into where the game is situated in the larger universe of HoYo titles. That being said, there really hasn’t been much to go on. With only a handful of trailers/reveals and barely any story to parse through, much of Zenless Zone Zero‘s New Eridu remains mysterious.
That’s likely by design, but during an interview with Zenless Zone Zero producer Zhenyu Li at Gamescom 2023, Screen Rant had the chance to ask a burning question – what’s the potential for crossover with ZZZ and other HoYoverse games? Predictably, Li wasn’t willing to comment on it much, but he did offer a bit of hope for those that want to see familiar faces in New Eridu at some point:
Screen Rant: This is a question that I feel like most fans would kill me for not asking. Does Zenless Zone Zero exist separately from the rest of the HoYoverse titles? Are there any chances of crossovers or familiar faces appearing?
Zhenyu Li: It is an individual IP, but we are then going to blend with other products. So, there are possibilities.
It’s not much to go on, but what’s there is still exciting: it’s not an outright no, which means it could happen. Li did state that the Zenless Zone Zero team will eventually “blend with other products” – whether that means crossovers like Genshin Impact x KFC or more substantial blends like, say, ZZZ x Honkai Star Rail, that’s up to interpretation, and he wasn’t willing to elaborate beyond that statement, preferring to leave it a tantalizing mystery.
If Zenless Zone Zero wants crossovers, though, it doesn’t necessarily have to be narrative ones. Familiar faces from Honkai pop up in Genshin often, even if they’re different characters with similar builds. And the obvious ties between Honkai Star Rail characters and counterparts in Honkai Impact 3rd already set a precedent for more meaningful ties between games, so it’s not like HoYoverse is entirely averse to doing so.
That said, as the HoYoverse portfolio continues to expand, it feels like the developer is well aware of the potential it has – and especially sales potential – with crossovers between two successful IPs. It wouldn’t be surprising to see these events, but it also would make a lot of sense not to pull the trigger on them too early.
Either way, at least Zenless Zone Zero isn’t outside the realm of crossover potential. Despite its unique style and approach to gameplay, there aren’t many players familiar with HoYoverse IPs that would be against a reference to Welt or a poster of Dainsleif appearing somewhere – or something much bigger, if they would be so lucky.
Check out more Gamescom 2023 coverage here!
Zenless Zone Zero will launch on PC and mobile devices. A release date has not been announced at time of writing.
