Overview
The Nexus Bond Test was Honkai: Nexus Anima's first closed beta test, held in September 2025. All player progress was wiped after the test concluded. Participants were free to share gameplay footage without any content restrictions.
Schedule and Platforms
Detail | Information |
|---|---|
Registration period | August 29 to September 12, 2025 (UTC+8) |
Test period | September 17 to September 23, 2025 (UTC+8) |
Platforms | PC and iOS only (Android version under development) |
Languages | Five: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean, with support for more planned |
Data policy | Full data wipe after test completion |
Content sharing | No restrictions on sharing gameplay footage |
Application | Required HoYoverse account and questionnaire |
System Requirements
The PC version recommended an 11th Gen Intel i5 processor, RTX 2060 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM. The iOS version required at least an iPhone 12 Pro.
Content Available
The beta included 66 Anima to discover, multiple characters, the Auto-Chess Combat system, open-world exploration, Mini-Games, and the main story up to a certain point. The store system was accessible from Level 14 onward.
Developer Response
In a post-test DevTalk, the developers acknowledged that the beta version was unpolished. They committed to several improvements before launch.
Better environment models, textures, rendering, and lighting
Expanded character customization with more clothing and accessory options
Overhauled quest system with branching choices
Improved translation quality for certain languages and support for more languages
Android version development
New faction storylines for the Nexus Association and Nexus Syndicate
In the post-beta DevTalk, the developers described the game as still in early development and said: "The current version is still a long way from our ultimate vision and the game we want to present." No launch window had been announced as of October 2026.
Aftermath
The Nexus Bond Test was succeeded by the Aspect Exploration Project, a smaller and stricter closed beta announced in 2026. Where the Nexus Bond Test was open about footage and ran on PC and iOS only, the Aspect Exploration Project is invite-only, NDA-locked, and adds Android support. Improvements promised in this page's Developer response section have been tracked across the DevTalk series, with Phase II (February 2026) showcasing new Anima Fyrklor and Hoggit, and Phase III (April 2026) revealing three new Iia districts: Kakatini Grand Hotel, Pedestrian Street, and Fleming Tower.
Place in the Beta Cycle
The Nexus Bond Test, known in the Chinese build as the Affinity Test, was the first of three closed betas announced so far. It was followed by the Aspect Exploration Project (first recruited in February 2026, invite-only and under a non-disclosure agreement) and the Evolution Test, which opened recruitment on June 22, 2026 and ran from July 9 to July 27, 2026 across PC, iOS, and Android. Unlike this first test, the Evolution Test ran on Android as well, and like it, the Evolution Test allowed players to share footage.