In case you missed it, gacha titan HoYoverse anchored itself in the busiest hall of Gamescom, curating a smooth 5-way gaming experience flow between their pre-established, beloved titles and those yet to release.
Within this apex hall, I had the enriching opportunity to visit two of the HoYoverse booths, chat with staff, earn scavenger-hunt-style freebies, and get insider scoops on their upcoming titles, Petit Planet and Honkai Nexus Anima.
If you’ve been here before, you’ll know I played the latest Petit Planet beta and LOVED every minute of it. I even wrote a feature with Five Petit Planet Tips and Tricks, which is more appropriate now than ever.
Introductions out of the way, here’s what HoYoverse revealed at Gamescom 2026!
Prepare For a Winter Landing…!
After voyaging the Starsea for what felt like forever, Petit Planet had finally landed an official release announcement during the Gamescom 2026 Opening Night Live in Cologne, Germany.
Coming in Winter 2026, players worldwide will finally log into this cosy, neighbourly farming simulator and begin their planetary restoration via iOS, Android, and PC, with seamless cross-platform support.
This warm and anticipated announcement also coincided with a new official trailer showcasing gameplay and announcing the final beta test.
To sign up for the final beta and pre-register to secure the enticing launch freebies, check out the Petit Planet official website. The registration has already reached a massive 4,000,000 sign-ups, though I’m selfishly hoping it reaches the final tier at 10,000,000, so I can wear the silly Sproutling Outfit.
What Is Petit Planet?
This intergalactic life simulation deploys players onto a planet in need of nurture. Through tireless efforts, farming, fishing, bug catching, exploring, building, and more, the planet will slowly thrive and expand into a fully customisable utopia to the creator’s design.
Tender hands will commit to a cosy daily life of gathering resources, crafting furniture, cooking, completing requests for furry neighbours and developing mutually beneficial friendships with them. My personal favourite is Yunguo; she’s so charming, and I love her southern accent. She’s like if Fluttershy and Applejack from MLP fused into a total sweetheart red panda.
After cultivating to the planetary needs, players will voyage into the Starsea to discover Islets; material-rich galactic quarries teeming with new life, plants, seeds, dishes, and friendly faces. Or, skip the labour entirely and head into the Bazaar, a social hub to meet other players, play minigames, or relax with a soothing hot drink in Nalo’s Cafe. On another note, I love Nalo. She’s so cute and friendly.
Gamezebo at Gamescom
Needless to say, I was enthralled by the theatrics HoYoverse planned for Gamescom.
In particular, the plushie mascot of Elsasani was adorable! I had to snap a picture of her, which, funnily enough, reminded me of an early-game quest. Oh, how I cannot wait to relive that moment in-game.
I also loved the little digital challenges to earn all freebies at the booth. It made the whole experience so interactive and enjoyable.
Of course, the highlight for me was reliving the early game of Petit Planet. Being able to experience the beta again felt like coming home in that it was familiar, comfy, and sentimental, letting me remember exactly why I missed it so much in the first place.
However, Petit Planet wasn’t the only booth I Hoyo-vered around (Get it?), as beside it was the equally decorated Honkai Nexus Anima stall.
Honkai Nexus Anima
Granted, I never got to play the beta for this game, and with its recency, I’m much less familiar with the overarching vibe. So, I played the demo blind and let myself be pleasantly surprised by how charming this game is.
Dare I say, it’s a game I’ve been soul-searching for for many years… (I’m looking at you, Pokémon).
Honkai Nexus Anima is an open-world creature-catching adventure game with rich story immersion and conversational choice plot beats. In a world of pairs- light and dark, love and hate, reality and illusion- a shattering event scattered these once synergised bonds across the vast world in the form of Anima.
Players set out to reforge bonds and harness the potential power of Anima through challenging battles, all while completing quests, interacting with the largely uncharted world, and discovering intricate lore.
I called attention to the Pokémon similarity, which I’m sure isn’t a unique breakthrough, but in all honesty, Honaki Nexus Anima feels so standalone. It isn’t trying to pioneer off the success of another game, and is instead harnessing several desirable gaming qualities and corralling them into one very enjoyable playthrough. I’d say their only overlap is the creature-catching.
Though there’s an Anima-shaped elephant in the room I’d love to address. Some of the VAs are ENGLISH? As a Brit, I was not expecting to hear local accents, but I LOVED it. The familiarity immersed me so effortlessly, and I loved the diversity in line delivery from each talented voice behind the cast.
Evolution Test – The Next Beta!
My favourite Anima so far is Corvariatio, a crow-jester hybrid with such a beautiful design, with powerful skills to boot. I’m hoping to find and train my own in the upcoming beta test, taking place via iOS, Android, and PC, for a limited time to lucky attendees who sign up through the official Honkai Nexus Anima website.
Until Winter 2026
I think a winter release for Petit Planet is perfect timing. The cold will keep me indoors, and the warmth of the game will bestow its digital light on the otherwise early-dark, gloomy days. Until then, here’s to hoping I’m part of the lucky few who get into the final beta before release. Either way, I’ll catch you all in the Bazaar this winter!
And to HoYoverse, thank you for giving me such a memorable first-ever Gamescom.
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