Honkai: Nexus Anima Beta Tests

Full timeline

Every time below is UTC+8, exactly as HoYoverse published it. These have deliberately not been converted — a converted time that is off by one is worse than a labelled one you convert yourself.

Where two sources are listed, both were checked and agreed. Where a line says "no announcement exists", that is a statement about the public record as of September 26, 2026 — not a claim that HoYoverse has ruled the thing out.

The Nexus Bond Test — first closed beta

The first test followed the reveal almost immediately. Honkai: Nexus Anima was announced on August 28–29, 2025, and sign-ups for the Nexus Bond Test opened on August 29, 2025 at 12:00 and ran to September 12, 2025 at 23:59.

The test itself ran September 17–23, 2025 — a week. This was the public's first hands-on with the game at all. HoYoverse did not publish how many places it had, so this page does not put a number on it.

The Evolution Test — second closed beta

Roughly ten months later came the Evolution Test (进化测试), and this one is documented in far more detail. Sign-ups ran from June 22, 2026 at 12:00 to July 3, 2026 at 23:59; qualification notices went out from July 6 at 19:00; and the test itself ran from July 9 at 10:00 to July 27 at 18:00.

What kind of test it was, precisely, because these details get garbled in aggregation:

• Closed and limited. Invite-only, with a capped number of places. Applying was not the same as getting in.
• Wipe test. All progress was deleted at the end. Nothing carries forward.
• No payments. Nothing in the build could be bought.
• Three platforms. PC, Android and iOS all took part — which is where the confirmed platform list on this site comes from.

HoYoverse also attached a caveat that is worth carrying forward: the game is still in a development and polishing phase, and the test build does not represent the quality of the finished game. That framing is the strongest available signal on why there is still no release date.

Can I sign up right now?

Not from outside China. No public test is recruiting. The one open sign-up is for the China-only confidential programme described below, and it is gated on a real-name miHoYo account and a WeChat binding.

One thing to know before you go looking: as of August 11, 2026, the official site's page title still reads "Evolution Test Recruitment Now Open". That is leftover copy from the June–July recruitment window, not a live sign-up. A stale title on an official page is exactly the sort of thing that gets screenshotted and passed around as news, so check the dates on any recruitment post you are sent.

When a new test does open, it will be announced through the official site, HoYoLAB and the Chinese community channels — the same route both previous rounds took. Worth noting that the Chinese-language channels carried the fullest detail on the Evolution Test, so they are worth watching even if you do not read Chinese.

What is the 「位面探索计划」 confidential test?

「位面探索计划」 — roughly "Plane Exploration Project"; we have not found an official English name, so that gloss is ours — is a China-only programme that the official Miyoushe account describes as a long-running, small-scale confidential test with rolling recruitment. It is not a third round of the Nexus Bond / Evolution series: the same notice says outright that the two kinds of test are not the same.

• First recruitment: February 26, 2026. PC only, with mobile promised for later rounds.
• Phase 3 recruitment: September 17, 2026. iOS, Android and PC. There is no closing date; the questionnaire is updated from time to time and players are picked in batches.
• Eligibility. 18 or older, with a real-name-verified miHoYo account that matches the player's ID, plus a WeChat binding.
• Confidential. Testers sign a non-disclosure agreement and may not share screenshots, streams or video. No top-ups, and data is wiped at the end.

In practice it is not a way in for players outside China. And because testers are under an NDA, nothing about what the confidential builds contain is public, so this page does not describe them.

Will there be a third test?

A third public test is unannounced. Two closed tests in and a game the studio says is still being polished, another round of testing is a reasonable thing to expect — but expecting it is not the same as it being scheduled, and this page will not list a test that has not been announced.

On timing, the only interval anyone has is the roughly ten months between the Nexus Bond Test and the Evolution Test. That is a single gap, not a pattern, and projecting a third test from it means assuming a cadence that has never once repeated. It is the reason there is no predicted date anywhere on this site.

Cross-referencing Chinese-language sources

Both tests were announced in Chinese first, and the English coverage followed. If you want to check something at the source, these are the terms that map cleanly:

The setting has more Chinese vocabulary than this — several worldview terms appear on the Chinese site with no published English equivalent. Those are left out rather than translated here, because a fan translation invented on this page would end up being quoted back as official.

Beta Test FAQ

Can I still sign up for the Honkai: Nexus Anima beta?

Not for a public test, and not from outside China. Sign-ups for the Evolution Test closed on July 3, 2026 and the test itself ended on July 27, 2026. The only recruitment open now is phase 3 of 「位面探索计划」, a China-only confidential test that opened recruitment on September 17, 2026 and is limited to adults with a real-name miHoYo account and a WeChat binding.

How many beta tests has Honkai: Nexus Anima had?

Two public ones. The Nexus Bond Test ran September 17–23, 2025, and the Evolution Test ran July 9–27, 2026. Both were closed, invite-only tests rather than open betas. Separately, since February 2026 miHoYo has run 「位面探索计划」, a China-only programme of small confidential tests, which its own notices describe as a different kind of test from those two.

When exactly did the Evolution Test end?

July 27, 2026 at 18:00 UTC+8. The test had started on July 9, 2026 at 10:00 UTC+8, giving it a run of a little over two and a half weeks.

Was progress from the Evolution Test wiped?

Yes. The Evolution Test was explicitly a wipe test — all progress made during it was deleted when it closed. Nothing carries over to any future test or to launch.

Did the Evolution Test cost money?

No. The Evolution Test took no payments at all — there was no way to spend money in the build. That was a property of the test and says nothing about how the finished game will be monetised, which has not been announced.

Has a third Honkai: Nexus Anima beta been announced?

No third public test has been announced. What opened on September 17, 2026 is recruitment for phase 3 of 「位面探索计划」, which the official notice calls a long-running, small-scale confidential test. It runs in China only, under a non-disclosure agreement, for players 18 or older whose real-name miHoYo account matches their ID, on iOS, Android and PC. It is not open to overseas players, and the notice itself says it is not the same kind of test as the Nexus Bond and Evolution Tests.

How were Evolution Test invites sent out?

Qualification notices went out from July 6, 2026 at 19:00 UTC+8, three days before the test opened, to a limited number of applicants from the June 22 – July 3 sign-up window. Applying did not guarantee a place.