HoYoverse is branching out from action RPGs. The studio behind Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero has announced that Petit Planet, a cosy free-to-play galactic life sim, is coming to Switch 2, with launch set for 2027, per Nintendo Life.

It's a notable genre swerve for a company built on gacha-driven combat games. Where HoYoverse's flagship titles lean on flashy real-time battles and sprawling open worlds, Petit Planet pitches something closer to the Animal Crossing mold — life-sim comfort with a galactic twist.

The Switch 2 announcement also matters strategically. HoYoverse's biggest games have historically led on mobile and PC, with Nintendo hardware largely left out; Genshin's long-promised Switch version became a running joke before the original console's lifecycle wound down. Committing a new title to Switch 2 suggests the studio sees Nintendo's install base as worth courting this generation.

The free-to-play model carries over from the studio's other games, though how monetization works in a cosy life sim — versus a character-collecting RPG — is the open question fans will be watching between now and 2027.