The site went up over the weekend after the game’s official (English) Twitter account whirred to life. “Dear citizens, a sub-Hollow disaster has occurred in the district you are traveling to,” the tweet revealing the teaser site reads. “We are playing a special entertainment channel for you to enjoy while you wait.”
The other broadcast is a longer message sent from an unknown man – perhaps one of the higher-ups in the faction or squad that Zenloss Zone Zero players will ultimately join in the fight against these sub-Hollows or whatever’s inside them.
“OK, long story short, we’ve recorded this as a declaration, but of course, not officially,” the message begins, broken up by intermittent static. “Just look at these, doomsday … curses. Don’t believe it. Aside from that, doomsday, disaster, curses, lies. In short we are being reborn. You are involved. Partner of ours, a professional. We need you to You must step up and be involved. Don’t be afraid, even if it’s annoying, dangerous, difficult, impossible. It will not be a problem. They aren’t … You can do it, I’m sure of it. When you’re done, you can leave. That’s all I have to say. It’s OK if you didn’t understand, all said and done. ”
Genshin Impact players are no stranger to dangerous, difficult, and indeed annoying commissions, but it’s clear that Hoyoverse has a very different tone and setting in mind for Zenloss Zone Zero.
These teaser messages line up with the “paranormal” vibe first teased when Hoyoverse – then known as MiHoYo before building its global publishing arm – announced a new project with “shooting-based gameplay” featuring vehicles and a destruction system of some sort. By all accounts, this mystery game is Zenloss Zone Zero.
That mystery project was positioned as the primary focus of Hoyoverse’s new Montreal-based studio, meaning the job listings at the company’s Canada location can shed some light on Zenloss Zone Zero. For starters, the studio says it will be hiring “over the next two years,” which suggests this game is still a ways out. It could well launch within two years and continue to grow afterwards, but with “hundreds” of positions apparently still open, it’s likely still relatively young.
Zenloss Zone Zero is never listed by name, but Hoyoverse Montreal does describe its project as “a brand-new, AAA open-world action-adventure title. job listings still mentioning a destruction system – which could be tied to the environments apparently being built in Unreal Engine, or perhaps destroying enemies systematically – as well as “vehicle-related gameplay design” including driving. Online play is also mentioned, which comes as no surprise given Hoyoverse’s multiplayer pedigree. We can assume Zenloss Zone Zero will be a gacha game of some kind, too, but that’s about all we can assume until May 13.