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Honkai
Honkai
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Honkai
GenreRole-playing
DevelopermiHoYo
Publishers
Creators
WritersLing Yi (Guns Girl Z)
Manager Zhou (Guns Girl Z)
Egg (Guns Girl Z)
Ai Er (Guns Girl Z)
Shaoji (Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail)[1]
Fanchuan (Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail)
ComposerHOYO-MiX
Platforms
First releaseFlyMe2theMoon
28 September 2011
Latest releaseHonkai: Star Rail
26 April 2023

Honkai[a] is a video game franchise developed by miHoYo, published by miHoYo in mainland China and worldwide by Cognosphere (trading as HoYoverse). Initially led by Cai Haoyu, David Jiang took over as the series producer as of present.[2][3][4]

The series originates with FlyMe2theMoon, a paid mobile game for iOS released in 2011,[5] which was developed by the five-person "miHoYo studio" startup team.[b] The first installment of the Honkai series was Zombiegal Kawaii released in 2012. The series has seen several more games since, with the most recent main entry being 2023's Honkai: Star Rail.[9]

The Honkai series is set in a universe called the "Imaginary Tree" and follows the adventures of characters such as Kiana, Mei, and Bronya.[10][5] While the series features recurring characters such as Kiana, each installment has different backgrounds and character settings and can be considered as stories that take place in different worlds in the same universe without absolute connectivity. The series primarily revolves around the theme of "rebellion against the end and saving the world" and features "Honkai" disasters as the core setting.[5][10]

Common elements

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Plot and themes

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The "Honkai," a term coined within the Honkai series, is the core concept and foundation of the Honkai universe. It is an interdimensional alien force with a certain level of intelligence and various emanations whose goal is to assimilate developed civilizations through any means. The Honkai can be spread as energy, through beasts and humans, causing them various symptoms, and can also trigger viruses, natural disasters, world wars, or any other form of damage to civilisation. The highest manifestation of the Honkai is a "Herrscher," which are emanations of the Honkai with powerful specialized abilities and will. Whenever civilization arises, the Honkai will appear, and the strength of the Honkai is always proportional to the degree of human civilisation in that region.[11] Worlds devoured by the Honkai will fall from the Imaginary Tree and enter the Sea of Quanta, becoming "bubble universes" that gradually disappear. The English term "Honkai" is a coined word that specifically refers to the "Honkai" disaster, which intentionally avoids using Hepburn (Hōkai) or kana spelling (Houkai) of the Japanese word 崩壊 due to proprietary naming considerations.[10]

In order to connect multiple Honkai games to build one "Honkai Universe," the "Imaginary Tree" and "Sea of Quanta" are brought up by Honkai Impact 3rd as the multiple universe settings in the Honkai series.[12] The maximum scale of the Honkai universe is the Sea of Quanta, in which the Imaginary Tree is located and multiple worlds are born. The worlds on the Imaginary Tree are stable and follow the rules of history and time, developing in chronological order, with a linear structure of history. On the other hand, the Sea of Quanta can form "bubble universes" during natural fluctuations, which are unstable and lack complete history, only having fragments of time periods in specific regions.[13] In this multiverse, the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta have a long-standing rivalry. The Imaginary Tree seeks to absorb the Sea, while the Sea seeks to drown the Tree. To facilitate this cycle, worlds are like leaves growing on the Tree, and when they fail to persist, they fall from the Tree into the Sea and become fragmented versions of themselves, known as bubble universes, some of which have more stability than others. This multiple universe setting is followed in all the Honkai series games. Genshin Impact is also often considered as one of the parallel worlds on the Imaginary Tree and shares the same universe as the Honkai series.[14][15][16] Besides Genshin Impact, Tears of Themis's universe is also hinted to be connected via Imaginary Tree.[citation needed]

Characters

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Kiana Kaslana, who first appeared in FlyMe2theMoon, is the first and foremost character designed by miHoYo and the protagonist of multiple works in the Honkai series. Mei and Bronya, who first appeared in Zombiegal Kawaii, formed the trio protagonists with Kiana and are the core characters of the Honkai series.[5] The plot of Guns Girl Z continues the story of Zombiegal Kawaii,[17][18] and after the conclusion of the "Retrace" arc, the new chapters "Inheritance" and "Rebirth" begin to use a parallel world setting to tell new stories with existing characters. Honkai Impact 3rd continues the approach of Guns Girl Z by introducing the main characters of the previous game with new personalities and designs.[19][20] Honkai: Star Rail also follows this tradition and features well-known characters from the Honkai series, such as Bronya, Himeko, and Welt Yang.[21][22][23]

While every game in the Honkai series is considered a "spiritual sequel" of its predecessor, many share similar characters within the series. The practice of miHoYo adopting the character designs but endowing them with entirely new personalities and character settings is often referred to as "expy" (unofficial term) (Japanese: 同位体, "isotope"). In an interview with Den Fami Nico Gamer, the writing team explains that the concept of "expy" (alternative term: variant[c]) is the most effective way to demonstrate connections within the series. Through this technique, fans can observe how a single character can explore different possibilities across parallel worlds while each work maintains its own independent identity.[27] Genshin Impact, another game developed by miHoYo, also heavily borrows the character designs of the Honkai series,[28] and is thus considered by fans to be a spin-off of the Honkai series. This was confirmed by CEO Cai Haoyu in 2021, who named the Honkai Universe as one of the primary reasons for Genshin Impact's development.[29] Some character names in Genshin Impact are similar to those in the Honkai series but not exactly the same,[30] and the Chinese and Japanese voice actors are the same as in the Honkai series. For example, the character Raiden Shogun in Genshin Impact mirrors Raiden Mei in the Honkai series, though their personalities differ significantly. Both the Chinese and Japanese voice actors for the two characters are the same: Juhuahua for Chinese and Miyuki Sawashiro for Japanese.[31][32][33]

Gameplay

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Apart from many elements present in games that emphasize on elemental strengths and weaknesses, two unique elements are shared in the Honkai series, namely Imaginary and Quantum.[34]

Like most RPGs, the Honkai series use an experience level system for character advancement, in which experience points are accumulated by killing enemies. Certain materials can be used to speed up the character advancement. Level caps on certain levels for each character are placed, and players need to do ascension quests or submit materials to ascend further.[35]

History

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Release timeline
Main titles in bold
2011FlyMe2theMoon
2012Zombiegal Kawaii
2013
2014Guns Girl Z
2015
2016Honkai Impact 3rd
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023Honkai: Star Rail
2024
2025
TBAHonkai: Nexus Anima

Origin

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The Honkai series began with the release of FlyMe2theMoon, a 2D side-scrolling paid game. FlyMe2theMoon is the first-ever game in the Honkai series, developed and released as an independent game by "miHoYo Studio" before the establishment of miHoYo company.[6][36] On 28 September 2011, miHoYo released FlyMe2theMoon, a paid game priced at 18 Chinese yuan, on the App Store as an independent developer.[37] FlyMe2theMoon is a 2D side-scrolling game with 60 levels across four game modes, including exploration, puzzle solving, racing, and survival. The game's story follows Kiana Kaslana, a genius witch, as she travels to the Lunar Ruins to uncover the truth about her past after completing the Mage's brutal trials.[5] The game's title and theme are inspired by the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion's ending song "Fly Me to the Moon."[7][8] FlyMe2theMoon was developed using the Cocos2d software and the Box2D physics engine. The game's main theme song, Moon Trip, was composed by Yu Jianliu, with lyrics by Lemonjolly and performed by the VOCALOID software Hatsune Miku.[38][39]

Main series

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Zombiegal Kawaii, also localised as Houkai Gakuen, is the first installment of the Honkai series. Although the miHoYo startup team received little financial success on FlyMe2theMoon, they eventually got an angel investment of 1 million yuan from Skye.[8] To spend the investment funds,[40] miHoYo began developing Zombiegal Kawaii in December 2011, releasing on the iOS platform in December 2012 as a paid single-player game.[41] Influenced by the 2D side-scrolling shooter game Zombie Town and the Japanese anime Highschool of the Dead, the game is set in a world undergoing a zombie invasion, known as "Houkai," which later became the name of the series. The game's protagonist, Kiana Kaslana, was directly borrowed from FlyMe2theMoon, and she eventually became one of the core character of the Honkai series. The project began in December 2011 and underwent four to five iterations within three months. The game was developed using the Unity engine and Maya graphic software, and the values were fine-tuned and the systems improved for eight months. The game was released in version 1.0 in November 2012 and entered public testing in December of that year.[40] Zombiegal Kawaii is an action game set in a school campus in the near future. The protagonist, Kiana, fights against zombies using various weapons in the besieged campus.[5]

Guns Girl Z, also localised as Houkai Gakuen 2, is the second installment of the Honkai series, inheriting data, code, and art design from Zombiegal Kawaii.[42] Guns Girl Z was initiated in June 2013. Comparing with Zombiegal Kawaii, the biggest change was from a paid game to a free-to-play game with live service business model. The game's core gameplay is inspired by Puzzle & Dragons. Guns Girl Z adds new characters, weapons, and costumes that were not present in Zombiegal Kawaii. miHoYo started designing the server architecture in August and began the art design and system development in November. The development was faster than the original due to inheriting a large amount of data, code, and art assets from Zombiegal Kawaii.[42][40] The game released on 26 January 2014, becoming miHoYo's first successful commercial game. On 6 July, Cai Haoyu shared his experience in developing and promoting Guns Girl Z at the GameLook Open Day in Shanghai.[43] The concept of the "Honkai Universe" was also proposed during this period.[44]

Honkai Impact 3rd is an action role-playing game developed by miHoYo, based on the manga spin-off Honkai Impact 3rd.[5] Honkai Impact 3rd was initiated in June 2014.[42] Starting in March 2015, miHoYo began developing the 3D game engine for Honkai Impact 3rd. They developed a physics-based animation system that could simulate different materials using physical calculations, presenting more realistic character movements and destructive scene effects. It can also correct abrupt transitions between animations, making the animations smoother and more natural. In addition, miHoYo developed its technologies for 3D modeling, light mapping, and real-time and pre-rendering systems. Content production for the game began in October of the same year.[42] During the development process, since no member on the team knew how to do 3D projects, transitioning from 2D to 3D was a challenge. Creating the artwork, model, and animation of Kiana Kaslana took six months. After a test run, the team discarded the work and restarted from scratch to establish the current system.[7] It was first released for iOS in March 2016[10] and entered open beta in September of the same year.[45] The game was released in October 2016.[46][42]

Honkai Impact 3rd is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where players can take on the role of various Valkyries and fight against enemies using a variety of weapons and skills. The game features characters from the previous game, including Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya Zaychik. In addition to the game itself, Honkai Impact 3rd also has an anime series, visual novels, manga, and live-action promotional materials. It has gained a following worldwide since its release.[47] After being released in mainland China for several months, the game was launched in Japan on 22 February 2017, Taiwan on 18 May 2017, Southeast Asia on 1 November 2017, and North America and Europe on 28 March 2018. A PC version was released on 26 December 2019.[48]

Spin-offs

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On 15 February 2017, miHoYo filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to the China Securities Regulatory Commission when the company was planning to raise over a billion CNY. During the process, several concerns were under attention, including the company's dependence on a single intellectual property, the Honkai series. The main source of miHoYo's revenue was Guns Girl Z, accounting for 96.34%. The risk is that the company may not be able to continue to launch new products to meet the needs of players or update the content of their games, and they could face the loss of users. Another issue is that the company might fail to grasp changes in preferences, and the Honkai series loses appeal.[42] On 19 December, miHoYo submitted an updated prospectus that included Honkai Impact 3rd in its revenue, accounting for 98.82% with Guns Girl Z,[49] which did not help much in the situation. Instead, miHoYo renamed the project Honkai 4th, also named Honkai: Chronicles and initialized in January 2017,[d] to Genshin Impact, which is no longer a title in the Honkai series.[50][51] miHoYo withdrew its IPO application in 2020.[52][46][53] Although not part of the Honkai series, Genshin Impact is often considered a spin-off of the series,[by whom?] with similar character design[28][33] and was confirmed to be set in the same multiverse[14] as the Honkai series.

In November 2018, another Honkai 4th project, originally named Honkai 4th: Galaxy, was initiated.[54][55] Later, the game was reinitiated in 2019 as Honkai: Star Rail,[56] with the plan being a lighter live service game, intending to run for at least six years after launch.[57][58] Since the setting of the previous game Honkai Impact 3rd was Earth, and other planets were mentioned in the storyline, the production team decided to set Honkai: Star Rail in the "universe."[57] Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based role-playing game set in a galaxy of the Honkai universe. Players play as the Trailblazer, a mysterious amnesiac possessing within them a Stellaron, a world-ending catalyst given by the Aeon Nanook. To find their purpose, the Trailblazer joins the crew of the "Astral Express" to follow the path of the deceased Aeon Akivili, and to help and connect the worlds raptured by the Stellaron incidents by Nanook, while encountering various friendly and opposing factions, including the Stellaron Hunters, who has an interest in the Trailblazer's journey. Due to player feedback about the high difficulty of Honkai Impact 3rd, the team decided to focus more on strategy for Honkai: Star Rail, lowering the difficulty and barrier to entry, creating a "playable anime."[57] Honkai: Star Rail was globally launched on 26 April 2023.[10]

Sequels and expansions

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After the completion of Guns Girl Z's main story "Retrospect Chapter," the game continued to update with new storylines in the form of side story chapters such as "Reborn Chapter."[59]

A massive expansion of Honkai Impact 3rd, titled "Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2" was released on 29 February 2024. Built upon the existing game, the update marks the start of the second major story arc of the game, with new characters, reworked UI, an updated engine, and a shift from a mission-based structure to a limited open-world structure similar to Honkai: Star Rail.[60]

Development

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Writing

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Currently, the writing team for the Honkai series consists of dozens of people. Rather than having each project create independently, the conceptualization, setting, and creation of the entire Honkai series is carried out within a higher-level "IP team."[27]

Shaoji is the main writer for Honkai Impact 3rd's main story chapters including "Final Lesson," "Elysian Realm," and "Everlasting Flames." During the preview livestream of Honkai: Star Rail version 2.0, Shaoji appeared as a program guest and revealed his new role as a narrative designer for the entire Honkai series, and he is also the main writer for the Penacony chapter in Honkai: Star Rail's main story.[61] In an interview with Den Fami Nico Gamer, Shaoji stated that the Honkai series' storylines are built around modern pop culture. Therefore, they first consider "what problems and difficulties people face in reality today," assign these issues to various characters, and show different characters' understanding of these problems through the story. Based on this foundation, the story ultimately reaches a conclusion that is more romantic, positive, and idealistic than reality, allowing players to resonate with the story. Shaoji expressed that his creative starting point is to share a feeling of "shared experiences and mutual companionship" with players through stories, hoping that players can gain beautiful and valuable memories after playing. He stated that the theme of the Honkai series is "humanistic care," where through various "anthems of humanity" stories, players can discover the beauty of life and find courage and warmth. The writing team hopes to pass on this "flame of human civilization" to more people.[27]

Art design

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The lead artist for the Honkai series is CiCi (Zhang Qinghua), who is also the art director at miHoYo. During the development of FlyMe2theMoon, miHoYo discovered CiCi, then a senior student majoring in animation at Guangdong University of Technology, through social media.[42] He was invited to join miHoYo and became the lead artist. CiCi's first character design was for the protagonist Kiana in FlyMe2theMoon, who is the prototype for the main character Kiana Kaslana in the Honkai series. As the only artist in the startup team, he designed almost all of miHoYo's early art.[7][8]

In terms of character design, Game Daily summarizes the art design of the Honkai series as "amplifying character traits," which means strengthening the characteristics of characters through various forms of expression, such as character portraits, skill effects, and trailers, to make a lasting impression on players about the characters' appearances. The goal is to make all kinds of characters seem "as if they truly live in the game world," in harmony with other materials including the plot and lore bits.[62] Regarding scene art, the art designers of Honkai: Star Rail stated that industrializing the game's sticker work is part of miHoYo's "industrialization" goal, and the pursuit of perfection in art effects and performance is to provide the best gaming experience for players. As for the design of promotional videos, miHoYo's trailer designers said that in addition to the pursuit of beauty in art design itself, promotional videos also need to "convey information and share emotions" to create an appropriate and immersive worldview.[63]

Music

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The music for the Honkai series is composed by several composers from HOYO-MiX. In 2011, miHoYo acquired the rights to Gradually Collapsing Hatsune Miku[e] and subsequently, composers Cai Jinhan, Zheng Xiaoyu, and Xia Yihan joined miHoYo and co-founded the HOYO-MiX studio to create soundtracks for miHoYo's games. Cai Jinhan serves as the principal of HOYO-MiX and also as the music director at miHoYo.[64] Later, HOYO-MiX recruited composers such as Gong Qi, Wen Chi, and Lin Yifan to create original soundtrack music for all works in the Honkai series. The first original soundtrack album of the Honkai series, Honkai World Diva - Guns Girl Z OST, was released on 11 November 2014.[65] Since 2017, HOYO-MiX has continued to collaborate with several well-known singers, with the first collaboration being with Japanese pianist and singer Mika Kobayashi to release singles such as Girl Inside and Honkai World Diva. Just half a month after release, Girl Inside entered the NetEase Cloud Music chart at top 6, and Honkai World Diva also entered the top 10.[66]

Localisation

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In an interview by Play magazine, HoYoverse explained the unique challenges encountered in the English localisation of Honkai: Star Rail. The localisation process involves creatively translating cultural and pop culture references, especially those deeply rooted in Chinese society and language. To make the game accessible to English-speaking players, HoYoverse adapts Chinese idioms, memes, and references. For instance, an in-game achievement paying tribute to a Jay Chou song All the Way North was renamed "Sweet Pom-Pom O'Mine" as a nod to Guns N' Roses. The game also features Classical Chinese elements, which are meticulously translated to maintain their essence.[67]

Reception

[edit]
Aggregate review scores
Game Year Metacritic
Honkai: Star Rail Edit this on Wikidata 2023 80/100

The Honkai series of games has received recognition from both the market and players. Guns Girl Z won awards such as the "2014 Best 2D Online Game Golden Peng Award" and the "Most Popular Online Mobile Game Award." As of 30 June 2017, Guns Girl Z's cumulative revenue from in-game purchases exceeded 1 billion yuan. Honkai Impact 3rd received Apple's homepage recommendation on the App Store the next day after release. Honkai Impact 3rd also garnered accolades from China's Mobile Hardcore Alliance, winning the "Top 10 Popular Games" and the "2016 Best 2D Online Game Golden Peng Award." As of 30 June 2017, Honkai Impact 3rd had over 22 million registered accounts and accumulated revenue exceeding 1.1 billion yuan.[68]

Honkai: Star Rail had 22.98 million pre-registered players in mainland China and 10 million outside China during its pre-release period.[69] On 23 April 2023, Honkai: Star Rail topped the free charts in over 113 countries and regions on the App Store,[70] and topped the grossing charts in mainland China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea.[69] After its global launch on 26 April, the game reached the top spot on the App Store bestseller list in mainland China within 5 hours, and it ranked in the top ten in other 42 countries. miHoYo announced that the game's downloads had exceeded 20 million by 28 April.[71] GameLook estimates that Honkai: Star Rail's global revenue on its launch day likely exceeded 100 million yuan.[72] According to Sensor Tower, the mobile version of Honkai: Star Rail generated over 100 million USD in global revenue within 10 days, with China accounting for 44%, Japan for 22%, and the United States for 12%.[73][74] DataEye statistics show that within 15 days of its launch, the iOS version and the Android version (downloaded via Google Play) had already generated at least US$65 million in revenue, with Japanese revenue reaching 120 million yuan.[75]

According to the review aggregator website Metacritic, Honkai: Star Rail has received predominantly positive reviews.[76] Another review aggregator, OpenCritic, compiled 20 review articles, with 88% being positive.[77] Jess Reyes from IGN referred to it as the best free-to-play game of 2023.[78]

Notes

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Honkai is a franchise developed by the Chinese company and published internationally by its subsidiary HoYoverse, encompassing titles that revolve around humanity's struggle against the Honkai, a mysterious and destructive cosmic force that corrupts life and reality. The flagship entry, , launched in 2016 as a fast-paced 3D for mobile and PC, where players control teams of Valkyries—elite female warriors resistant to Honkai energy—to battle beasts and prevent apocalyptic events in a richly detailed sci-fi world. Subsequent releases expand the : Honkai: Star Rail (2023) shifts to a turn-based strategy RPG, following a traveler aboard a cosmic exploring galaxies influenced by god-like Aeons, blending exploration, storytelling, and gacha mechanics. The franchise has grown into a multimedia property, including adaptations, animated shorts, and merchandise, with recent announcements like Honkai: Nexus Anima (upcoming 2026), a creature-collecting adventure that further diversifies gameplay while tying into the core lore of interdimensional threats and heroic resistance. Known for high-production values, intricate narratives, and crossover character cameos across titles, Honkai has amassed a global fanbase, grossing billions in revenue through its engaging combat systems and emotional character arcs.

Franchise overview

Core concept and setting

The Honkai franchise centers on a destructive cosmic phenomenon known as the Honkai, portrayed as an adversarial will of the that seeks to erode and reset civilizations through recurring cycles of calamity. This force manifests in various forms, including a corrupting viral energy that infects living beings, catastrophic , and aggressive entities called Honkai Beasts, which are biomechanical monsters designed to overwhelm human societies. In response, humanity develops technologies and warriors to resist it, but the Honkai's influence perpetuates a pattern of civilizational rise and fall, with advanced eras collapsing approximately every 50,000 years due to its escalating threats. At the heart of the franchise's cosmology is a structured around the Imaginary Tree, a metaphorical infinite tree that represents the interconnected framework of all existence, where each branch and leaf symbolizes a stable world or universe evolving through time. The Tree gives birth to diverse realities, including parallel Earths and interstellar realms, allowing the games to explore connected yet distinct narratives across dimensions. Complementing this is the Sea of Quanta, a chaotic, extradimensional void encircling the Tree, which absorbs "failed" worlds that succumb to the Honkai, transforming them into fragmented bubble universes that may spawn new possibilities or anomalies. This duality between the ordered Tree and the entropic Sea underscores the Honkai's role as a universal entropy-like mechanism, testing the resilience of life across the multiverse. Key to combating the Honkai are the Herrschers, exceptional humans selected as vessels by itself, granting them god-like over fundamental laws of nature—such as reason, thunder, or void—while often twisting their minds toward destruction unless resisted. Opposing them are , elite female fighters genetically enhanced or naturally resistant to Honkai corruption, who wield advanced battlesuits and divine keys (relics from fallen eras) to purge beasts and contain outbreaks. The primary settings reflect this conflict: a near-post-apocalyptic in , scarred by repeated Honkai eruptions and defended by organizations like Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, and a vast interstellar cosmos in Honkai: Star Rail, where explorers navigate the stars amid shared cosmic perils tied to the same multiversal threats.

Shared themes and motifs

The Honkai franchise consistently explores themes of and humanity's resilience in the face of inevitable destruction, portraying characters who endure profound losses to protect what remains beautiful in the world. These elements are deeply intertwined with the cyclical nature of creation and destruction embodied by the Honkai itself, a cosmic force that repeatedly tests civilizations through cataclysmic events. In narratives across the series, is not merely a but a philosophical , as seen in the stories of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers in Honkai Impact 3rd's Elysian Realm, where individuals relinquish personal desires for collective survival against overwhelming odds. This resilience underscores a belief in , emphasizing growth through adversity rather than passive acceptance of fate. Motifs of female empowerment are prominent through figures like and Herrschers, who embody the franchise's central tenet of "the growth of girls," transforming personal vulnerabilities into sources of strength amid existential threats. Exploration of identity recurs via variants, where characters confront alternate versions of themselves, highlighting the fluidity of amid infinite possibilities. Anti-fatalism emerges as characters defy the cosmic will of Honkai and Aeons, asserting agency to forge paths beyond predetermined ruin. These motifs evolve from intimate portrayals of personal bonds and tragedies in earlier entries to expansive inquiries into interconnected worlds and universal harmony in later installments. Recurring symbols reinforce these themes, with the Imaginary Tree serving as a metaphor for fate's intricate structure, its branches and leaves representing branching universes born from and sustained by imaginary energy. Quantum shadows, manifestations from the Sea of Quanta, symbolize alternate selves and the echoes of collapsed realities, underscoring the fragility of existence across bubble universes. Music motifs further evoke loss and hope, as in Honkai: Star Rail's "Hope Is the Thing With Feathers," a composition that musically captures perseverance amid despair through harmonious, uplifting progressions.

Games and media

Mainline video games

The Honkai franchise's mainline video games form the core narrative backbone, evolving from mobile action titles to expansive RPGs within a shared framework. The series originated with Guns GirlZ (also known as Houkai Gakuen 2), a 2014 mobile 2D side-scrolling shooter developed by . In this foundational entry, players control teams of schoolgirls, led by protagonist Kiana Kaslana, who wield various weapons to battle Houkai beasts—zombie-like entities unleashed by a catastrophic on March 28, 2014, that corrupts their urban campus setting. The game's visual novel-style storytelling and fast-paced shooting mechanics introduced proto-Honkai concepts, such as otherworldly threats invading human society, establishing early lore elements like character backstories and the destructive force of Houkai that would recur across the series. Building directly on these origins, (2016) marked a significant evolution into a 3D , emphasizing combo-driven aerial combat and team-based battles. Set on a modern plagued by Honkai eruptions—cataclysmic events spawning beasts and corrupting humanity—players assemble squads of , genetically enhanced female warriors with innate resistance to Honkai energy, to defend civilization. The narrative centers on Schicksal and Anti-Entropy organizations combating Herrschers, god-like beings awakened by Honkai who embody calamities like fire or void; key arcs explore Kiana's journey from student to Herrscher, interstellar captain missions, and multiversal incursions. Part 2, launched in 2024, shifts focus to a Mars storyline and remains ongoing as of 2025, with version 8.5 updates in October 2025 continuing to explore unresolved threads involving and the Sea of Quanta. Innovations like quick-time events, stigma augments for ability customization, and open-world hubs deepened player engagement while expanding the lore to include ancient civilizations and bubble universes. Honkai: Star Rail (2023) diverged into a turn-based strategy RPG, transporting the franchise to a vast interstellar setting aboard the Astral Express, a cosmic train traversing star systems. As the Trailblazer—a customizable implanted with a Stellaron, a volatile seed of discord mirroring Honkai cores—players recruit allies to seal these crises, forging paths aligned with Aeons, transcendent entities embodying ideals like destruction or that shape reality. The story unfolds through episodic adventures on planets like Jarilo-VI and Xianzhou Luofu, with the Penacony arc (completed by mid-2025) introducing dream-realm intrigue, family legacies of the IPC (Interastral Peace Corporation), and philosophical clashes among Aeons, blending tactical combat with dialogue-driven progression and relic optimization for character builds. This entry innovated with its gacha system for weapons and simulated universe modes, simulating multiversal scenarios to tie back to Honkai's existential threats. The upcoming Honkai: Nexus Anima, announced in August 2025 with pre-registration open and a projected release in 2026 or later, introduces a creature-collector adventure strategy genre to the lineup, focusing on auto-battler mechanics and . A occurred in September 2025. Players bond with Anima—cute, summonable entities—in a centered on traversing points across branches, resolving quantum anomalies through strategic team deployments and hybrid combat that combines real-time positioning with automated fights. This title aims to weave connective threads between prior ' lore, emphasizing Anima as manifestations of Honkai-derived energies and quantum travel to link Earth-bound eruptions with cosmic phenomena. Collectively, these games expand the Honkai —conceptualized as the Imaginary Tree, a multiversal structure where leaves represent parallel worlds—by layering premises from localized disasters in Guns GirlZ and Impact 3rd to galaxy-spanning crises in Star Rail, with Nexus Anima poised to bridge quantum and narrative gaps; for instance, Stellaron instabilities parallel Honkai awakenings, reinforcing themes of inevitable decay countered by human (and beyond-human) resilience.

Adaptations and spin-offs

The Honkai franchise has expanded beyond its mainline video games through various series that provide prequels, side stories, and character backstories integral to the lore. The primary Honkai Impact 3rd , launched in 2017 and ongoing, serves as a serialized adaptation that precedes the events of the game's first chapter, detailing the catastrophic Honkai outbreak in Nagazora in 2014 where protagonists Kiana, Mei, and Bronya unite to escape the city amid chaos from a secret organization. Additional titles include Island of Memories, a side story exploring fragmented recollections and alternate scenarios tied to the central narrative, and St. Freya High, which delves into the daily lives and training of at their academy. Character-focused prequels, such as those outlining Kiana Kaslana's origins and her ties to the Kaslana family lineage, further enrich the backstory by illustrating her early encounters with Honkai energy and familial conflicts. Animated adaptations complement the franchise by offering visual extensions of the story, often blending lore depth with lighter elements. Cooking with , a that premiered in 2019 with its second season in 2020, adapts the eponymous into short episodes featuring Valkyries in non-combat scenarios, such as culinary challenges in their dormitory, providing while subtly referencing ongoing battles against Honkai threats. Similarly, Will of the Herrscher consists of animated shorts released starting in 2018, which dramatize key Herrscher awakenings and Valkyrie confrontations, enhancing the emotional stakes of elements like the Imaginary Tree without deviating from established canon. These animations, produced by , released episodes up to the early . Spin-off games extend the Honkai universe through lighter, accessible formats that echo core mechanics. Mobile gacha modes like Divergent Universe, introduced in Honkai Impact 3rd's Part 2 updates, function as semi-independent spin-off experiences with roguelike elements, allowing exploration of parallel timelines and Herrscher variants through randomized challenges. These adaptations and spin-offs play a crucial role in the franchise by bridging narrative gaps in the main games, such as the manga's elucidation of multiverse crossovers involving the Sea of Quanta and bubble universes that connect disparate timelines without resolving core plotlines. Animations contribute lore depth by visualizing abstract concepts like Herrscher wills and providing comic relief through character interactions, ensuring accessibility for broader audiences while maintaining thematic consistency. Cross-media connections are preserved through strict adherence to canon, where spin-offs reference mainline events—such as Nagazora's fallout or Valkyrie evolutions—via Easter eggs and shared artifacts, fostering a unified universe without altering primary story arcs.

Development and production

Creative team and process

The Honkai franchise was developed by , a company founded in January 2011 by , Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao, three classmates at , with initial operations beginning in 2012. In 2022, the company rebranded to HoYoverse to emphasize its global vision for immersive virtual worlds, while retaining as the primary development entity for its titles. Key figures include co-founder , who served as CEO and early producer for Honkai Impact 3rd until 2017, contributing to narrative direction, and stepped down as chairman in 2023 to focus on ; Liu Wei, who has acted as president, chairman since 2023, and producer overseeing operational and creative aspects of the series. The writing process for Honkai emphasizes collaborative scriptwriting rooted in Chinese development practices, with teams focusing on emotional to foster deep player connections to characters and themes, drawing from and gaming influences popular in . This approach incorporates elements of branching narratives, where player choices influence dialogue and immersion in lore events, though the overarching plot maintains a linear structure to ensure cohesive multiverse continuity. Since 2014, under Cai Haoyu's early guidance, the team has built a shared "Honkai Universe" framework, allowing interconnected stories across titles while prioritizing emotional arcs over exhaustive exposition. The franchise evolved from its 2D origins in the 2014-2015 side-scrolling game Guns Girl Z (Houkai Gakuen 2), a zombie-themed action title that established initial Honkai lore, to the 3D action RPG format of in 2016. This shift marked a pivot to gacha monetization post-2016, integrating mechanics with narrative-driven progression to expand accessibility and revenue, transforming the series into a multimedia phenomenon. A core challenge in development has been balancing continuity across games, ensuring shared elements like the Imaginary Tree and Honkai energy align without contradicting individual titles' arcs. By 2025, efforts intensified on integrating Honkai: Star Rail's lore into Honkai Impact 3rd's Part 2 finale through official collaborations, such as the November 2024 crossover event, to unify the expanding universe while concluding long-running storylines.

Art, music, and technical design

The art design of the Honkai franchise draws heavily from influences, employing 3D cel-shaded graphics to create vibrant, stylized visuals that emphasize dynamic character expressions and environmental details. In Honkai Impact 3rd, this cel-shading technique renders and battles in a fluid, hand-drawn-like aesthetic, enhancing the fast-paced action sequences with sharp outlines and bold colors. Similarly, Honkai: Star Rail incorporates anime-inspired 3D models with elements in regions like Punklorde, blending neon-lit urbanscapes and high-tech motifs to evoke a futuristic interstellar vibe. The franchise's music is composed by the in-house studio HOYO-MiX, which produces orchestral scores infused with vocal elements to heighten emotional and narrative intensity. Tracks often feature sweeping symphonic arrangements layered with electronic and pop influences, as seen in Honkai: Star Rail's "," a battle theme with driving rhythms and lyrics that underscore themes of defiance and renewal during key story climaxes. For upcoming titles, HOYO-MiX released teaser albums in 2025 for Honkai: Nexus Anima, including extended OSTs that preview creature-collector mechanics through ambient, adventurous soundscapes. Technical design emphasizes immersive gameplay across platforms, with utilizing quick-time events (QTEs) in its combat engine to enable seamless tag-ins and combo extensions, allowing players to chain attacks based on enemy states like stun or freeze. In Honkai: Star Rail, the turn-based system is optimized for cross-play between mobile, PC, and , supporting unified progress and real-time synchronization without performance degradation on lower-end devices. To maintain visual consistency across the narrative, the franchise employs shared design motifs such as glowing Honkai energy effects, which recur in character abilities and environmental hazards to unify disparate worlds like and the stars. This approach ensures that variants of recurring characters retain core stylistic elements, reinforcing thematic connections without disrupting individual game identities.

Release history and localization

Global releases and platforms

The Honkai franchise originated with Guns Girl (also known as Houkai Gakuen 2), which launched in on January 26, 2014, exclusively for and Android devices. This mobile shooter marked miHoYo's entry into the series, focusing on side-scrolling action gameplay. Global releases followed shortly after, with and receiving the title on April 4, 2014, under the name Guns GirlZ. The North American and European servers were shut down on October 11, 2021, though Chinese and Japanese servers remain active. The flagship title, , debuted in on October 14, 2016, again prioritizing mobile platforms with and Android support. A global beta version emerged in late 2017, introducing English and Japanese localizations to test international appeal. The official global launch occurred on March 28, 2018, for and Android. The Windows PC client was released on December 26, 2019, with macOS support added on April 25, 2024, enabling . Further platform integrations included on October 20, 2021, and on October 27, 2022. Honkai: Star Rail adopted a simultaneous global strategy from launch, releasing on April 26, 2023, for Android, , and Windows PC, with macOS support added later. Console expansion arrived with the version on October 11, 2023, through a partnership with . No ports for platforms have been announced for any Honkai title as of 2025. In terms of publishing, handles distribution in for all titles, leveraging local app stores and regulations. Internationally, HoYoverse (operated by miHoYo's subsidiary Cognosphere Pte. Ltd.) oversees global releases, enabling unified branding and server infrastructure across regions. This dual structure supports seamless cross-region play while complying with varying content guidelines. Early localization for began with English and Japanese dubs during the 2017 global beta, facilitating broader accessibility. By 2025, the franchise's major titles support over 10 languages, including Simplified and Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, , Russian, and Thai, with full in select tongues like English and Japanese. This multilingual approach, refined through HoYoverse's global teams, has been integral to the series' international rollout. The latest announced entry, Honkai: Nexus Anima, was revealed on May 3, 2025, as a creature-collecting , with a following on August 28, 2025; no release has occurred by November 2025, and platforms remain unconfirmed beyond anticipated mobile and PC support.

Ongoing updates and expansions

operates on a live-service model with regular updates that introduce new gacha banners for characters and weapons, alongside story chapters advancing the narrative. Part 2, launched on February 29, 2024, shifted the setting to Mars and overhauled combat mechanics, with ongoing chapters such as "A Crime Foretold" exploring planetary conflicts through 2025. These patches typically release every six weeks, balancing new content with balance adjustments and quality-of-life improvements. Honkai: Star Rail follows a similar structure, featuring phased gacha banners and expansive story arcs in major version updates. , released on February 6, 2024, introduced the Penacony region as the Planet of Festivities, adding new maps, companion missions, and characters like and Sparkle. Subsequent expansions, including Versions 3.0 through 3.7 by November 2025, have built on this with additional Penacony lore, new realms, and event-driven narratives. Expansions include collaborative events that enrich the universe, such as the x Honkai: Star Rail crossover in Impact's Version 7.9 on November 28, 2024, which integrated Star Rail's Sparkle as a playable with dedicated story and battlesuit content. For Star Rail, the Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] collaboration launched in Q3 2025, introducing crossover characters like Saber and event modes blending the franchises' themes. DLC-like additions in Impact 3rd, such as the Part 2 open-world modes on Mars, provide persistent exploration and challenge content beyond the main story. By 2025, the update model has evolved toward integrated events, linking Impact 3rd and Star Rail through shared characters and lore crossovers, exemplified by Sparkle's dual appearances and narrative ties across titles. This approach fosters a cohesive , with events like the 2024-2025 Impact-Star Rail collab emphasizing interdimensional connections. Community-driven elements include beta testing for expansions, such as the closed beta for the upcoming Honkai: Nexus Anima, a creature-collector spin-off, held from September 17 to 23, 2025, to refine mechanics based on player feedback. Fan input also influences cosmetics, with HoYoLAB polls and popularity votes guiding skin comebacks and event rewards in both titles.

Reception and impact

Critical reception

Honkai Impact 3rd received praise for its dynamic combat system, with critics highlighting the depth and fluidity of its action-oriented mechanics. Reviews noted the game's high production values, including impressive 3D cel-shaded and engaging short missions that kept varied. However, reception was mixed regarding its gacha monetization model, often described as pay-to-win, which drew criticism for potentially limiting progression without spending. Honkai: Star Rail earned strong critical acclaim, aggregating an 80 on for its PC version based on professional reviews. Outlets lauded the polish of its turn-based combat system, which emphasizes strategic team composition and elemental synergies, alongside a compelling narrative driven by quirky sci-fi storytelling. awarded it a 9/10, praising the satisfying progression and dozens of hours of content accessible to both newcomers and veterans. The game won Best Mobile Game at , recognizing its excellence in the category. Across the Honkai series, critics have consistently praised the emotional depth of the , which weaves complex character arcs and high-stakes sci-fi plots, often evoking strong player investment through animated cutscenes and . Visuals have also been a highlight, with vibrant, anime-inspired designs and smooth animations enhancing immersion. Criticisms frequently center on the gacha-based monetization, which can encourage spending for optimal team builds, and the repetitive grind required for endgame content. However, the game is balanced enough that players can enjoy a robust experience and progression without spending money. The series' reception has evolved from early niche popularity in , where Honkai Impact 3rd built a dedicated fanbase following its 2016 Chinese launch, to broader global appeal. The 2023 release of Honkai: Star Rail marked a breakout moment, drawing widespread international attention through its accessible entry point and cross-platform availability, expanding the franchise's reach beyond regional markets.

Commercial performance and cultural legacy

The Honkai franchise has achieved significant commercial success, with Honkai Impact 3rd surpassing $1 billion in lifetime as one of over 100 mobile games to reach this milestone since its 2016 launch. Honkai: Star Rail generated approximately $130 million in mobile during its first month after the April 2023 release, escalating to over $500 million within three months and exceeding $2 billion on mobile platforms by March 2025. Across the series, cumulative has topped $3 billion by late 2025, driven primarily by in-app purchases in the gacha model. The games have amassed over 150 million downloads globally, with Honkai: Star Rail alone exceeding 150 million across platforms by November 2025. Player engagement remains robust, evidenced by large-scale events such as the 2024 and 2025 Star Rail LIVE concerts in , which drew full-house attendance and were worldwide to thousands of viewers. The franchise's cultural legacy extends beyond gaming, establishing benchmarks for gacha titles through innovative storytelling, high-production visuals, and character-driven narratives that blend action RPG elements with emotional depth. It has cultivated a dedicated global fanbase, manifesting in widespread communities and prolific on platforms like , where thousands of user-generated works celebrate characters from Honkai Impact 3rd and Star Rail. miHoYo's (now HoYoverse) expansion into international markets, including localized releases and events, has amplified this influence, contributing to 2025 trends in multiverse-themed gaming narratives as seen in creator contests like "Multiverse Vistas." Challenges included geopolitical tensions, such as India's 2020-2023 bans on numerous Chinese apps amid data security concerns, which created hurdles for Chinese-developed titles. The series navigated recovery through miHoYo's 2022 rebranding to HoYoverse—a Singapore-based entity—for non-Chinese operations, enabling sustained global accessibility and growth without direct bans on Honkai games.

References

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