Images: HoYoverse
Zenless Zone Zero has lots of juicy content left to reveal in 2025.
It’s almost the end of 2024, and Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)’s fifth chapter felt like the closing of the first season of a TV series. However, there are too many unanswered questions left over from the end of this story arc, and as we get pre-introduced to future characters, excitement for the year to come is building up too.
As the year comes to a close, let’s take a look at the five things we’re most excited about for ZZZ next year.
Astra Yao, Evelyn, and the Stars of Lyra
The game recently revealed two upcoming S-rank characters coming in version 1.5: Astra Yao and Evelyn, who are both from the new faction, the Stars of Lyra. While little has been officially revealed about the combat kits of both new agents, we know that Astra will be an Ether Support unit, while Evelyn will be a Fire Attack unit.
Right after the events of version 1.4, the Proxy was dragged into a minor conundrum by Astra Yao, who briefly sought to escape her responsibilities as a celebrity. Later on, Evelyn caught up to the Proxy and thanked them for giving Astra some much-needed vacation time on her birthday. We’re looking forward to the story behind New Eridu’s superstar and her manager, and their importance in the mysterious events surrounding the next campaign chapter in 2025.
Obol Squad
Soldier 11, ZZZ’s forever solo-bolo agent is still the lone member of the Obol Squad faction at the end of 2024. This poses a mystery all players have been left to ponder: where is her squad and why is she alone?
“She's shed her weakness along with her name, leaving only resolve... At least that's what Soldier 11 thinks,” said Soldier 11’s character profile on the website. Is there a tragic story behind all of this?
It’s also interesting to note that Soldier 11 has many elements in her design that’s similar with Anby—and in the Chinese dub, she calls Anby 零 (líng), which meant zero. So it’s possible that Anby is Solider Zero. So what connection does Soldier 11 and Anby have, and were they both part of the same squad before?
New Locations
What I really love about ZZZ so far is the consistency in which new locations are added for players to explore in every every patch. Even if it’s just one room or building, rather than one entire planet or country, it’s enough to slowly build the world of new Eridu up, especially since the game isn’t an open-world title.
The most exciting addition in 2024 was Blazewood, as its vibe was entirely different from the rest of New Eridu—even the climate, the way the people spoke, dressed and interacted was distinct. We hope that in 2025, we’ll see more of these locations, along with new areas to interact with in the game to keep things interesting.
More revelations about Belle and Wise
As the story progresses, the story of Belle and Wise has become more mysterious and complex. At first, players would have thought they were just Phaeton, Proxies, and the Video Store managers, merely side characters helping the Agents out.
However, as we get more invested in being Belle or Wise, and their commissions, adventures and *ahem* relationships with the agents, we also get new glimpses of their dark past. We get our best look into their past lives yet during Act 5 of Tour De Inferno, named Gates of the Past, when Belle and Wise took a detour and talked to Fairy about their teacher (and parental figure), Carole Arna, who was said to be the main culprit of the fall of Eridu. Carole was apparently abducted by a hand that looked like Bringer's when he became an Ethereal, but not before she saved Belle, Wise, Eous, and the HDD.
But the most mysterious bit is…how did Belle and Wise get out of the explosion in Chapter 5: A Storm of Falling Stars unscathed? Their eyes glowed like they were computers themselves—and that makes us wonder, are they human at all? As usual, ZZZ leaves us with more questions than answers, so we’re all looking forward to more about Phaeton in the next year.
Who’s the 'Creator'?
The final mystery that we’re looking forward to getting answers to is the identity of “the Creator," who we only started hearing about in Chapter 5. “May the Creator refine me/you,” is the phrase that Bringer, Sarah, and those following the same sinister path repeat.
Is the Creator the actual culprit of the Hollows? Did someone deliberately create the Hollows, or is this Creator someone who wants others to turn into Ethereals instead? It looks like the “Creator” is the main villain of the story—one whose motivations couldn’t be predicted at this moment, so any lore dropped in the future will be quite an exciting reveal.
