As a big HoYoverse fan, Zenless Zone Zero is the game that has hooked me the most. It departs from the sci-fi or high fantasy elements we’ve grown accustomed to. In addition, its tight cast of characters and cohesive narrative make ZZZ one of the best in HoYoverse’s lineup. Now, we’re approaching the game’s one-year mark, and looking back at its beginning, it is mind-blowing to see how much it’s grown.
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Zhenyu Li, Zenless Zone Zero Producer, and discuss the many things that have transpired in Zenless Zone Zero’s first year and what’s new in Version 2.0 and beyond. As a day-one player, it was great to talk about the game’s evolution, changes, and design process of its character, places, and gameplay elements. Here’s what Zhenyu Li had to say about it.
With so many characters in Zenless Zone Zero and more coming in future patches, what is the design process for each? How do you get the inspiration for all of them?
We often say that we want players to truly experience the city life of New Eridu in Zenless Zone Zero, and the depth of this immersion largely depends on whether players believe in its characters and stories. To achieve this, we start by making the characters feel “grounded,” with traits that emotionally resonate with players, and then naturally integrate them into this fictional world, leaving lasting impressions through their unique qualities. That’s why, when designing characters, we carefully balance “fantasy” with player “resonance.” There’s no set formula for each character’s creation. Take Yixuan, a character introduced in Version 2.0, for example: Since the 2.0 story is centered on Waycraft and needed a “master” figure to drive the narrative forward, we naturally created Yixuan, the 13th High Preceptor of Yunkui Summit, blending world-building with character-driven needs.
From a broader perspective, to make our characters stand out, we’ve adopted several approaches:
- Factions: By introducing the concept of “Factions,” we can group characters in ways that enhance recognition and cohesion.
- Character Physiques: We like to explore what unexpected and interesting forms players might not have seen in other games. This is why we have such diverse races as the Thiren and robots, and we’ll continue to introduce more eye-catching, fun characters in this vein.
- Weapon Uniqueness: This is another key highlight of our design. To heighten immersion, we try to avoid weapons that vanish outside of combat, which means the team has to consider combat feel, uniqueness, and portability all at once—something our talented action team supports with rock-solid execution.
- Character Personalities: We love to create contrasting personalities to make each character’s profile more distinctive.
With Zenless Zone Zero coming to Xbox players, have you looked at what the Switch 2 will bring to the market and contemplated bringing ZZZ to that audience at some point in the future?
It has always been our Core Aspiration and goal to let more players experience the joy of combat games. We certainly hope that players across different platforms will have the chance to experience and enjoy this game. Right now, we’re continuously optimizing the game’s technical compatibility across platforms. If we have any concrete updates in the future, we’ll share them with everyone right away.
Zenless Zone Zero is the first HoYoverse game that features a story with two playable protagonists. Was it challenging to create a story involving the two while also adapting it depending on the players’ choice of sibling?
First, Wise and Belle are portrayed as two distinct individuals in the game, each with their own unique personalities, backgrounds, and narrative perspectives. Early on, we highlight their personalities and unique charm through various details, such as the different decor in their bedrooms and their contrasting reactions to the Public Security visit in the CG animations.
Secondly, the siblings play different roles in advancing the plot and narrative missions. For example, in the Prologue of Zenless Zone Zero‘s main story, if players choose Belle to venture into the Hollow with the Agent, Wise’s perspective will reveal events unfolding outside the Hollow, complementing the overall narrative. So, while the siblings’ perspectives are independent, they also complement each other. Ultimately, the player’s choice simply determines which protagonist’s lens they’ll use to experience the story of Zenless Zone Zero.
This might be a bit of spoiler territory, but do you see Belle and Wise becoming Agents instead of only Proxies?
In Season 2, the siblings will learn mystical arts from Yixuan, the High Preceptor of Yunkui Summit, further honing their ability to manipulate Ether. They’ll wield Eye Arts—Break, Reveal, and Seek—within the Hollow, giving Phaethon an even bigger role in more open-ended, explorable 3D stages. While they work to resolve the Sacrifice crisis, the secrets behind the siblings’ eye implants begin to surface. With the HDD system upgrade, their Ether compatibility has been restored, allowing them to enter the Hollow in their own bodies—and the true power of their eye implants goes far beyond that. In the future, the Phaethon siblings will undergo transformations and upgrades, evolving in both identity and ability. Though the Hollow remains a dangerous place, stay tuned to discover the siblings’ future powers and how their roles within the Hollow will expand.
We’ve seen sci-fi and high-fantasy games, which have been gorgeous and extremely fun. Yet, what inspired you to follow a more urban style for Zenless Zone Zero?
From the very beginning of Zenless Zone Zero‘s development, we focused on character-driven narratives that prioritize individual stories over grand heroism. We also wanted to leverage our team’s strengths to create a live-service game that delivers an immersive experience and resonates emotionally with players. With these goals in mind, the urban street style aligned perfectly with our vision.
With season one over, what would you say was the biggest piece of feedback you received from players?
For our team, Zenless Zone Zero is a long-term service game, and we’re committed to listening closely to players and polishing content to serve everyone well. Player feedback never comes as a surprise to us. Whether it was in the previous Version 1.4 or the current 2.0, we’ve made it a priority to extensively collect feedback and, while considering our design philosophy and game content needs, incorporate players’ voices into our updates wherever possible. Moving forward, we’ll continue to refine the gaming experience, creating an ever-evolving game world that’s truly worthy of players’ long-term commitment.
The roster in Zenless Zone Zero grows with every patch. Are there plans to update some of the first Agents so they stay relevant in all content? For example, Ellen Joe, Jane Doe, etc.
As a game designed for long-term operation, our team crafted every character in Zenless Zone Zero with tremendous dedication. We need fresh spaces to tell new stories as new plot points unfold. Season 2’s story takes place in the new region, Waifei Peninsula, and accordingly, we’ll be introducing more new characters from this area. However, whether through the main story, in-game events, or Agent recruitment gameplay, Agents from Season 1 will continue to play an active role in New Eridu’s daily ecosystem, accompanying Proxies in their city life. While we can’t reveal exactly which characters will appear, players can look forward to seeing more familiar Agents potentially showing up in future main story chapters, possibly with new appearances and identities.
Zenless Zone Zero already had a lot of side activities during Version 1.0, such as the Arcade, and we saw many additions throughout season one. Can we expect the same amount of side content for Version 2.0 and onwards? With events like Grand Marcel Adventure returning, are there other events you’d like to bring back to the game?
We want players to enjoy various mini-games in a relaxed setting, offering a break from the intense Hollow exploration and combat. This was our original intention in introducing these mini-game activities, and it’s one way we’re building the immersive lifestyle of New Eridu. In the future, we’ll continue to create new mini-games to enrich the arcade experience. Players can enjoy single-player games or team up with friends for multiplayer action to fully experience the arcade fun. We’ll also bring back popular events based on player feedback. So if you have favorite events, be sure to let us know!
Out of all the playable factions in the game, which one would you say was your favorite to design, both in style and gameplay?
Each faction and character is a unique creation brought to life through the dedication of myself and the team, so it’s hard to pick favorites. But if I had to name a character that feels particularly smooth to play, I’d say it’s Corin—her sustained damage output and skillset rhythm make combat feel incredibly satisfying.
Are there any other game franchises outside of HoYoverse that you would like to collaborate with?
The dev team is currently focused on delivering the story of New Eridu, and while we have no collaborations to announce at this time, we’re actively exploring similar partnership opportunities. Please stay tuned for official updates!
If it were up to you, can you name one character from Genshin Impact and one from Honkai: Star Rail that you think would fit great in the ZZZ universe?
The world of Zenless Zone Zero is an urban fantasy realm without labels, where diverse races and richly developed characters coexist harmoniously in New Eridu during the post-apocalyptic era. From a purely imaginative standpoint, as long as it aligns with narrative logic and mutual needs, any character’s presence in New Eridu can be considered reasonable.
