HoYoverse Details Petit Planet's AI NPCs And Switch 2 Plans
HoYoverse lead designer Murphy and lead artist Yinli gave a joint interview during a media tour in Seoul held November 3 to 5, 2026, ahead of Petit Planet's December 4 launch.
2 sources 22m ago
Reporting from 2 sources: 4Gamer.net, Game Spark.
Why it matters
HoYoverse is entering a genre it has never built for, and its stated pitch leans on AI NPC memory and user-made terrain rather than on the character-collection model its RPGs run on.
Key Facts
- The Petit Planet interview took place during a HoYoverse media tour in Seoul held November 3 to 5, 2026.
- Petit Planet will offer over 1,000 furniture and costume items obtainable for free, according to lead designer Murphy.
- Petit Planet's NPCs use an AI memory system that remembers player conversations and gestures, lead designer Murphy said.
The two fielded questions on what separates the slow-life game from its predecessors. Murphy named four points: Petit Planet runs as a live service, the setting is a planet with space to explore beyond it, NPCs use AI memory to recall player conversations and gestures, and a UGC system lets players adjust terrain height, interiors, and the colors of rivers, sky, and sea. The final beta ran in September, and developers said adjustments since then focused on game progression and friction points. More than 1,000 furniture pieces and costumes will be obtainable for free, with a shop run by the NPC Glenn updating its lineup daily. A Switch 2 version is in development, and account linking with PC and smartphones is still under discussion with Nintendo.
Yinli said the project began because HoYoverse had never handled the genre. "Precisely because we have never handled one before, the desire to take on a new genre has been a major motivation," the lead artist said, adding that rising player demand for slow-life games shaped the pitch.
Murphy named the AI neighbor Naro as the example of the memory system. Relationships with neighbors develop to the level of best friends, and each NPC has a backstory that unlocks as the bond deepens. Yinli said the neighbors are fully voiced because they are treated as characters with their own lives and emotions, not as pets or item dispensers.
On the comparison to Animal Crossing, Murphy said: "It is a very excellent work, and it is a title we respect." He added that the team analyzed it and that "I cannot deny that we have been influenced by it." The four points he offered are the game's answer.
Seasons run longer than in existing HoYoverse titles, with shorter content updates inside each one. The Snow-Viewing Season shown at the tour is playable in full by players who join midway. Limited-time neighbors may be unreachable for a while after an event ends, but Murphy said a mechanism to meet them again is under consideration.
Other details from the tour:
- Star Market is the social hub, with spaces for players who want to dance together and places to fish alone.
- Snow was kept off small furniture and NPCs after early builds turned the screen too white.
- Paid content is limited to appearance items such as furniture and costumes.
- Furniture and costumes drawing on Chinese culture are included, with plans to draw on other cultures later.
- Switch 2 features such as Joy-Con 2 motion controls are not in development yet; release comes first.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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