Today HoYoverse hosted the Honkai: Star Rail Concert, and during the show, the developer had a surprise for the fans to reveal the details of the upcoming collaboration with the anime Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works.
As part of the collaboration, which was announced in 2024, two crossover characters will debut in the free-to-play turn-based RPG.
Specifically, Saber and Archer, two of the Fate series’ most popular characters, will appear in Honkai: Star Rail as five-star heroes.
When the collaboration launches on July 11, Archer will be available for free as a login bonus. He’s a Quantum character following the path of the Hunt.
Likely surprising no one, Saber will be available only via the Event Warp gacha. She will be a Wind character following the path of Destruction.
Interestingly, we learn that the concept art for the characters was created by Takashi Takeuchi himself, while the story part of the collaboration is supervised by Fate creator Kinoko Nasu.
Honkai: Star Rail is available for PC, iOS, Android, and PS5, and it was recently updated to version 3.2.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, it’s one of the most beloved anime series dedicated to the popular Fate franchise.
The series originally debuted in 2004 with Fate/stay night (which was released in English officially for the first time last year with a remaster, which will be followed by the sequel Fate/hollow ataraxia Remastered), and it has been Type-Moon’s household name for two decades.
While the original was an adult game, the franchise has since shifted to an all-ages target. This is quite common among Japanese franchises that started as eroge, especially when releasing on consoles or getting anime adaptations.
Its popularity has grown exponentially over the years, culminating with the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, which still enjoys a massive audience in Japan and worldwide.
Later this year, we’re also expecting the release of another remake, Fate/Extra Record. Fate fans are surely eating well as of late.