HoYoverse updates run like clockwork, so the fact the sci-fi RPG Honkai: Star Rail’s milestone v4.0 update has been delayed by two weeks is quite a surprise.
As part of its most recent Special Programme, the dev announced that v3.8 will run for eight weeks as opposed to its usual six weeks.
It said in a statement earlier today that it hopes to give players “a better experience” when protagonist the Trailblazer arrives on new planet Planarcadia.
It’s offering 1,000 Stellar Jade (which is the game’s form of in-game currency, used for its gacha aspect) and 10 Fuel as compensation for anyone who logs in after 8th December.
But the real shocker here is that Planarcadia wasn’t supposed to be the game’s next destination: a cyberpunk-style Japan location named Benzaitengoku, or Edo Star, has been expected for months now.
The allegations are that due to political tensions between Japan and China, the dev has been forced to change its plans entirely, hence the delay. Considering the scale of these updates and the amount of work that goes into them, we can’t even begin to imagine what’s been happening behind-the-scenes.
While we will need to wait for more information, these first images of Planarcadia appear to show a theme park-like destination based partly on existing assets, suggesting HoYoverse has been working around the clock to come up with something new since changing its plans.
It’s worth mentioning that v3.8 will release as planned on 16th December, and will introduce anticipated new 5-Star character The Dahlia, who should fit in well in Break-based teams.
This update strikes us as a much lighter one overall, although it will take us back to Penacony to wrap up the story there, as the studio had promised previously.
There’ll also be a new event themed around Chimera training, and due to the eight-week schedule, there’ll be various alterations to the usual combat-focused events which cycle in and out over the course of each update.
Ordinarily, HoYoverse would be teasing v4.0 by now, but given all the chaos occurring behind-the-scenes, we’ll probably need to wait until closer to Christmas or potentially even the New Year to see what it’s got in store.
It’s hard not to shake that feeling that a two week delay is no where near enough to rework its entire plans, but let’s wait to see how the team navigates this unprecedented situation.