HoYoverse has confirmed that Nodusfall will be free-to-play, and that players will not get new characters through random draws. The studio said that to PC Gamer after the game’s Gamescom Opening Night Live reveal, and it is the clearest answer yet on the question hanging over the trailer from the start.
That question was simple. Nodusfall comes from the same company behind Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero. Those games sell characters on banners. A dark co-op hunter with Elden Ring lighting and Monster Hunter sized bosses was always going to get the follow-up: do I have to pull the roster to play this?
HoYoverse’s answer, at least on characters, is no.
The full statement to PC Gamer reads:
"Nodusfall will be a free-to-play, long-term game. What we can share at this time is that characters are not obtained through random draws. We hope to allow players to unlock this core gameplay experience through continued play. Cosmetic monetization is an important avenue we will be considering."
There are four pieces in that quote, and they are not the same thing. The game is free. It is meant to run as a long-term live service. Characters are not sold through gacha pulls. The studio wants the main loop unlocked by playing. Cosmetics are the money plan they were willing to name.
What they did not name is how the unlocks work. There is no mention of a story beat, a hunt rank, a reputation board, or a free starter roster that grows over seasons. "Continued play" is the entire mechanic they would put on the record. Until that screen exists, the honest version of this news is narrower than some headlines have made it. Character banners look like they are out. Everything else is still being designed.
That includes the shop. HoYoverse did not say Nodusfall has no gacha at all. It said characters are not random draws. Outfits, hairstyles, and accessories are still on the table, and the studio did not say those items will be a straight purchase. A cosmetic banner later would not contradict the quote they gave this week.
PC Gamer’s hands-on already pointed at that layer. Four characters were available in the demo, and each one could be changed with different outfits, hair, and extras. That is the obvious place for a cash shop. It is also the place a lot of players will watch after launch.
Nodusfall itself first showed up during Gamescom 2026 Opening Night Live on August 25. We covered that reveal here when HoYoverse put Weavers and huge mythic bosses on stage. Geoff Keighley described a world where divine authority has crumbled and players have to stand together against mythic beings. Official materials call it a multi-mythology co-op action game with a more realistic look than the studio’s anime catalog.
The trailer comparisons came fast. Some bosses lean hard on Elden Ring. The hunt structure leans on Monster Hunter. FromSoftware already tried a multiplayer version of that fantasy with Elden Ring Nightreign in 2025, so the screenshot sport wrote itself. The hands-on notes are more useful than the side-by-side stills. Some have said the fights felt snappier and more forgiving than a Souls run, and not a straight copy of either game people immediately named.
The demo also fills in the party setup. This is being treated as a four-player co-op hunt, with characters built around roles instead of one custom hero. Preview coverage has described tank, damage, and support reads, plus a kit of four regular skills and a bigger divine ability on a cooldown. That is closer to a live-service hunt roster than the open-world traveler fantasy Genshin Impact is built on.
Reports out of the show have also said the project has been in development for more than four years and that the build is on Unreal Engine 5. That last detail is why a lot of people assume PC first, with consoles in the conversation and phones in doubt. HoYoverse still has not published a platform list or a year.
It is also worth keeping the rest of the slate in view. This is not HoYoverse walking away from gacha. Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero are still the games paying the bills. Honkai: Nexus Anima and Petit Planet are already in testing. Varsapura is another open-world project further back. Those titles can keep selling banners while Nodusfall tries a different door.
If the quote holds, that door is the one that matters for players who bounced off HoYoverse on principle. A hunt where the roster comes from play is a different game than a hunt where someone in voice chat missed the 50/50. The remaining risk is the usual live-service stuff. A free character can still be weak. A cosmetic shop can still feel like a pull. A long-term hunt needs a reason to log in after the first dozen bosses. HoYoverse has never had to answer those problems on a major title without a character banner underneath them.
My read is that the character line is the right promise for this trailer, and the cosmetics line is the one that tells you the business model is not finished. If they sell skins in a shop and let the cast come from play, Nodusfall can reach people who would never download Genshin Impact. If the first big post-launch update adds a weapon banner or a "signature accessory" with rates, the goodwill from Gamescom will not last. The studio has earned the chance to prove the first version. It has not earned a victory lap.
There is still no release window. The next update that actually changes the story is the unlock method, the platform list, or a straight answer on whether cosmetics are a direct purchase. Until one of those arrives, treat this as a character-gacha cancellation, not a brand-new HoYoverse.
Would you try Nodusfall if the roster is earned through play, or are you waiting to see the shop? Let us know in the comments.