How To Play HoYoverse’s Next Game Zenless Zone Zero Ahead Of Launch

Zenless Zone Zero, the next game from HoYoverse, still doesn’t have a concrete release date, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands on it soon. For fans eager to get a taste of what the Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail developer has cooking, there’s a new closed beta for the game. So if you can balance ZZZ on top of the other gacha games you are already playing, you have until March 23 to sign up on the game’s official site. HoYoverse has not yet revealed the start and end dates for this test period.

This will be the third closed beta test Zenless Zone Zero has held since the game was announced back in 2022. The first closed beta ran for only a few days in August 2022. Fans who missed the first closed beta then had to wait over a year to get another chance as the second closed beta was held from November through December 2023. Thankfully, the wait for the third closed beta wasn’t as long. Hopefully, the new closed beta indicates that the game is on track to release in 2024.

Zenless Zone Zero offers a new flavor for fans of HoYoverse’s games. Visually, ZZZ’s urban fantasy aesthetic differs greatly from the traditional fantasy world of Genshin Impact and the sci-fi stylings of Honkai: Star Rail. Mechanically ZZZ is also a departure for the deevloper. Rather than an expansive open-world RPG or turn-based adventure, ZZZ will focus around a roguelite gameplay loop. The game will still retain HoYoVerse’s hallmark gacha mechanics, like banners for new characters and weapons that require in-game or real world currency to purchase. Previews from the game’s second beta praised the game’s style, but were less enthusiastic about the combat systems. Hopefully things have shaped up in the months since that test.

The latest closed beta gives players access to a new character, Zhu Yuan, and a new faction, the New Eridu public security’s criminal special response team. Signing up for the beta will not guarantee you a spot. Then again, Zenless Zone Zero is still slated to release sometime this year, so you won’t have to wait too long to try it out for yourself.