It's announcement after announcement with HoYoverse lately, and just on the heels of its Honkai: Nexus Anima reveal, the publisher has introduced Petit Planet. It's a painfully cute, Animal Crossing-inspired life sim that takes yet another HoYo game setting to the stars. I'm beginning to sense a theme here.
Petit Planet gives us all a little corner of the galaxy to decorate and nourish. Over time, new neighbors show up and shape the world with you. Their friendship impacts how your planet grows, and you'll do all of the day-to-day basics like gardening, crafting, and decorating while seeing your little cosmic community thrive. From beta dates, to neighbor details, here's everything we know about Petit Planet.
Petit Planet release date details and speculation
Does Petit Planet have a release date?
No, there's no release date for Petit Planet yet. HoYo hasn't even given us a general window yet, but Ubatcha, a reliable leaker of the developer's other games, claims that Petit Planet is entering its final stages of development, and that we should be getting some official news and marketing soon.
This probably means that Petit Planet isn't doing the usual three beta tests and then official release schedule that HoYo has stuck to for its last three games (Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero). It's on its way to completing two betas now, so maybe we'll get some release date information after the second beta ends? We'll see if Ubatcha continues their reliable leaking streak soon, I guess.
So what happened to Astaweave Haven? Is it Petit Planet?
Astaweave Haven was never officially announced, though a 2024 VG247 report highlights social media accounts registered in China suggesting that something could have existed with that name. Eagle-eyed fans on Reddit later spotted Astaweave accounts being renamed to Petit Planet, and nothing more came of the name Astaweave, so my assumption is that it was a temporary title they've since replaced.
Petit Planet beta and pre-registration
When is the next Petit Planet beta?
Right now! The second Petit Planet beta kicked off on April 21 for PC, iOS, and Android. However, it's a closed beta, so you can only get access if you received a test invitation and download link, via the email you signed up with. Just keep in mind that you can only play on one device throughout the beta.
If you didn't get selected for this test, fear not, as you might get a chance to play Petit Planet in the future by signing up to be a part of Petit Planet's 'Staycation Program' to playtest the game in a long-term capacity. These are periodically ran as small-scale, closed, and confidential tests.
Is pre-registration for Petit Planet open?
Yes, you can pre-register for Petit Planet now from the game's official website. The only reward we know about so far is the Bestie Star-Light lamp, but we'd hazard a guess there will be more rewards announced later. While HoYo freebies are typically available after launch, even if you didn't pre-register, this hasn't been confirmed for Petit Planet, so there's a chance it may be too late to cash in if you wait until launch.
Petit Planet trailers
First trailer
The first Petit Planet trailer dropped in the midst of the 2025 Tokyo Game Show. If you've played a certain other cozy life sim from Nintendo, then HoYo's project looks familiar. I probably shouted "oh my god, that's like Animal Crossing!" after every few seconds. But I mean that in a good way—Animal Crossing is why I still own a Switch.
Clips showed off its neighborly woodland creatures, resource gathering, and socializing with other players.
Latest trailer
We glimpsed some new neighbours in this latest trailer for Petit Planet's second beta, but really, it's just here to remind us of how dang cute the game is. Plus, that signature stellar HoYo soundtrack makes a welcome appearance, hinting at the relaxing earworms we'll all be humming along to in the future will sound like.
Still no word on how Petit Planet will be monetized though, so I still have all my fingers and toes crossed that HoYo decided they don't like all that money, actually, and threw out the gacha system. Please HoYo, I need this. I'm so sick of doing maths to work out what anime character I can afford each update.
Petit Planet characters and setting
Every Petit Planet neighbor revealed so far
I reckon calling them villagers makes less sense since you get a whole planet to yourself, so Petit Planet is calling its cute little guys "neighbors". As you spruce up your world, neighbors "can connect their home planets" with yours, and you'll deepen your friendship from there.
Befriending your neighbors is done through "daily activities to unlock deeper connections," which involve gift giving, regular conversations, and distinct interactions. The few we've seen so far are cute as a button, but I'm crossing my fingers for more variance. Someone has got to deliver on the return of sassy Animal Crossing characters since Nintendo won't do it.
Now that the second beta has started, we know of 13 Petit Planet neighbors so far:
- Mobai (Life Coordinator)
- Glenn (Shopkeeper)
- Mors (Curator of the Omni-Gallery)
- Yunguo (Cultivator)
- Isaki (Battle Bee Trainer)
- Medowlyn (Plushie Designer)
- Frostia (Mystic Scholar)
- Dorjelang (Hatmaker)
- Msafiri (Adventure Guide)
- Harpeno (Route Patrol Officer)
- Rebella (Gemsmith)
- Medowlyn (Plushie Designer)
- Nerina (Composer)
These are a mixture of mainstay NPCs (think of Mobai as your Tom Nook, and Mors as your Blathers) and recruitable residents (like those guys I hit with a net until they leave).
Petit Planet gameplay
It's not all about making fuzzy friends, as Petit Planet sports many of the features seen in other life sims and all the life sim cousins like Hello Kitty Island Adventure or Disney Dreamlight Valley. But Animal Crossing is obviously the main inspiration behind Petit Planet, with lots of familiar features, such as:
- Activities like planting, fishing, mining, cooking, crafting, and beachcombing
- Days follow real time
- Choosing a terrain type at the beginning (AKA, your planet's Hemisphere)
- Decorating your own interiors and outdoor spaces
- Getting your house rated
- Designing your own character, and collecting cosmetics for them
- Unlocking reactions from neighbors
- Neighbors can give you a nickname
- Losing strength when you use tools, but gaining it back by eating
- Donating your fish, sea creatures, and bugs to the Omni-Gallery
- Checking off daily and permanent tasks in the Footprints Journal for unique currency (like Nook Miles)
- Booting up the game every day to get messages from Trixie and Kookoo (like Isabelle)
- A community board for people to leave messages
- Farming resources on smaller planets by taking daily trips to the Starsea Voyage (more on this below)
Activities that differ from Animal Crossing include:
- Starsea Voyage is much more expansive than Kapp'n and his boat tours, allowing you to take neigbors and use them to do the gathering, while you hunt for treasure, talk to potential new neighbors, and solved some basic puzzles
- Rewards are dished out for completing tasks and milestones for each individual neighbors, as is each neighbors' lore
- You can create events by placing Blueprint furniture down outside
- Pests will ruin your crops if you don't water them
- Catching saltwater fish makes the fishing mechanic harder
- You can craft in bulk
- There's a better photo mode
- You can haggle prices of items with neighbors after they approach you
- Echoes of Star Notes is a sort of penpal system, letting you write and receive short letters from fellow players
- The cafe in the Galactic Bazaar is ran by an AI chatbot called Nalo
- There are other AI chatbots hanging around the Galactic Bazaar
- StarDash is an Uber Eats spoof app were you make and deliver dishes for neighbors and other players
- The Curio Emporium is Petit Planet's battle pass, with a free and premium tier
How does multiplayer work in Petit Planet?
There might be more multiplayer features added in future betas, but for now, multiplayer in Petit Planet is split between two modes: the Galactic Bazaar social hub, and exploring other people's planets.
In the Galactic Bazaar, you can team up with others to play instruments, take part in a dance battle rhythm game, trade items, and talk to each other outdoors, or in the cafe. You need to be friends with someone to talk to them directly, but the cafe area can be set to private for you and your friends. Or public, if you want to get to know other players. You can also collect a bunch or rewards at the Galactic Bazaar for taking part in its various activities, which can then be redeemed for cosmetics.
Exploring other people's planets is another optional multiplayer feature, but you can set your planet to private if you don't want any visitors. Even if you do let someone in, they can't nab your resources unless you give them permission to, and you even get to check their bag before they leave, just in case they took something you didn't want them to. (Oh how I wish this was a feature in Genshin Impact.)
