Gacha game fans got one of their most anticipated announcements at The Game Awards 2025 when Arknights: Endfield revealed a firm release date of January 22, 2026. The reveal came packaged with an unexpected celebrity collaboration, as pop rock band OneRepublic debuted an original theme song called “Give Me Something” exclusively for the game. The announcement confirms that Hypergryph’s ambitious blend of action RPG and factory management sim will launch simultaneously on PlayStation 5, PC, iOS, and Android.
From Korean Leak to Official Announcement
The release date didn’t come as a complete shock to everyone paying attention. Just hours before The Game Awards aired on December 11, 2025, a Korean advertisement allegedly leaked the January 22 date, giving eagle-eyed fans an early heads up. The leak appeared on Reddit’s Gaming Leaks and Rumours community, where users speculated that the ad jumped the gun ahead of what was clearly planned as a major reveal moment at the show.
When the official announcement arrived during The Game Awards broadcast, it came in the form of a slickly produced music video featuring in-game footage set to OneRepublic’s new track. The collaboration between a major Western pop act and a Chinese gacha game raised eyebrows, but it fits perfectly with Arknights’ reputation for high-quality music production. The band previously worked on tracks for anime properties like Kaiju No. 8, making them no strangers to the world of Asian entertainment.
What Makes Endfield Different
Arknights: Endfield isn’t just another gacha game trying to ride the coattails of Genshin Impact’s success. While it does feature the open-world exploration and anime character collection that defines modern gacha RPGs, Endfield has a secret weapon that sets it apart: an entire factory management simulation baked into the core gameplay loop. Think Factorio or Satisfactory, but with anime girls and real-time combat.
The factory mechanics aren’t just window dressing either. Players establish remote mining operations connected by ziplines, set up conveyor belts to transport materials, manage electricity distribution, and automate resource processing to support their adventures. The developers have stated they’re aiming for a 50-50 split between RPG exploration and factory building, though players can adjust that ratio based on their preferences. Having an efficient factory setup allows you to quickly produce the resources needed for character progression and upgrades, making it genuinely valuable rather than a throwaway minigame.
Combat That Demands Strategy
Combat in Endfield emphasizes tactical thinking over button-mashing reflexes. Your four-character team functions almost like abilities on a hotbar, with each character having skills that can be chained together for maximum efficiency. Time slows when you activate certain abilities, letting you aim area-of-effect attacks precisely to hit multiple enemies or interrupt dangerous boss moves marked with red rings.
The system rewards players who understand character synergies and debuff combinations rather than those who simply spam skills off cooldown. Certain skill sequences spawn energy orbs that can be detonated for heavy damage, while properly managing stagger meters opens enemies up for devastating combos. Characters can swap between different skill loadouts, adding another layer of customization to your combat approach. It’s a deeper system than what you typically find in mobile action RPGs, designed to keep players engaged for the long haul.
The Road to Launch
Endfield has been in development and testing for quite some time. The game was first announced at The Game Awards 2023 with a PlayStation 5 reveal trailer, making this year’s announcement a full-circle moment. Multiple closed beta tests have refined the gameplay experience, with Beta Test 2 running in late November 2025 and giving selected players across PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile platforms a chance to experience 50 to 60 hours of content.
Feedback from these beta tests led to significant improvements. The most recent beta featured noticeably smoother combat, more intuitive controls optimized for each platform, and a simplified factory system that’s easier for newcomers to understand. Developer Hypergryph and publisher Gryphline have been transparent about taking player input seriously, making major system changes between test phases rather than just tweaking numbers.
The Business Model Question
Arknights: Endfield will be free-to-play, which immediately raises questions about its monetization model. While specific details haven’t been fully disclosed, the game will almost certainly follow the gacha model established by its predecessor, the original Arknights tower defense game. That typically means rolling for characters using premium currency, with the factory mechanics potentially providing a way to earn resources for those rolls through gameplay.
Pre-registration is currently open across all platforms, with milestone rewards promised as more players sign up ahead of launch. These pre-registration campaigns are standard practice for gacha games, designed to build hype and give players starting bonuses when the servers go live. Given the January 22 release date, expect a major marketing push throughout the first few weeks of 2026 as Hypergryph works to capture as much of the gacha gaming audience as possible.
Platform Considerations
The simultaneous launch across PlayStation 5, PC, iOS, and Android is ambitious. Mobile gacha games sometimes struggle when ported to consoles, and console-quality experiences can be demanding on phone hardware. Beta testers have noted that the game adopts a tiered compatibility approach for mobile devices, meaning older phones might not run it well or at all.
Platform-specific controls have been implemented for each version, with controller support on PC and PlayStation, and touch controls optimized for mobile. While official cross-save or cross-play hasn’t been confirmed, the multi-platform rollout strongly suggests it’s in the cards. Being able to progress your factory on PC and then check in on mobile during a commute would be ideal for the type of resource management gameplay Endfield offers.
FAQs
When does Arknights: Endfield release?
Arknights: Endfield launches worldwide on January 22, 2026, for PlayStation 5, PC, iOS, and Android simultaneously. The release date was announced during The Game Awards 2025 on December 11.
Is Arknights: Endfield free-to-play?
Yes, Arknights: Endfield is a free-to-play game. While specific monetization details haven’t been fully revealed, it’s expected to follow a gacha model similar to the original Arknights game, allowing players to roll for characters.
What is the factory building in Arknights: Endfield?
Endfield includes a full factory management simulation similar to games like Factorio or Satisfactory. Players build mining operations, set up conveyor belts, manage electricity, and automate resource production. The developers aim for a 50-50 split between RPG gameplay and factory building.
Who is OneRepublic and why did they make a song for the game?
OneRepublic is a popular American pop rock band known for hits like “Counting Stars” and “Apologize.” They composed and performed an original theme song called “Give Me Something” exclusively for Arknights: Endfield, which was revealed in a music video trailer at The Game Awards 2025.
Do I need to play the original Arknights to understand Endfield?
While both games exist in the same universe, Arknights: Endfield is a separate game with its own story set on the planet Talos-II. You don’t need prior knowledge of Arknights to enjoy Endfield, though fans of the original may appreciate connections between the two.
Will there be cross-save between platforms?
Cross-save and cross-play support haven’t been officially confirmed yet, but the simultaneous multi-platform launch suggests strong potential for these features. Players hope to be able to switch between PS5, PC, and mobile seamlessly.
How demanding is the game on mobile devices?
Arknights: Endfield uses a tiered compatibility approach for mobile, meaning it may not run well on older or lower-spec phones. The game pushes graphical boundaries for mobile gacha games, so newer devices are recommended for the best experience.
Conclusion
Arknights: Endfield’s January 22, 2026 release date gives fans a clear target to look forward to after years of development and testing. The OneRepublic collaboration signals that Hypergryph is serious about making a splash in the crowded gacha market, investing in high-profile marketing alongside their ambitious gameplay hybrid. By combining action RPG exploration with genuine factory management depth, Endfield offers something meaningfully different from competitors like Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail. Whether that unique combination will resonate with players or prove too niche remains to be seen, but the beta tests have generated overwhelmingly positive buzz. With pre-registration open and just over a month until launch, early 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting time for gacha game enthusiasts looking for their next obsession. Just make sure your phone or PC can actually run it before you get too hyped.