Nexon hosted the 5th Anniversary Festival celebrating the global service of 'Blue Archive' at KINTEX Exhibition Center 2 from November 7 to 8. The festival offered a wide variety of activities, including Sound Archive—which has become a signature format for Blue Archive music performances—an Event Zone featuring main story-themed exhibitions and mini-games, and a dedicated area for user-generated content creators.
Additionally, on November 8, 'Kivotos Live' was held on the main stage, where key development staff, including Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim and Associate Producer Jun-ho Lee, unveiled major upcoming updates. Before a crowded audience of fans, Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim and Associate Producer Jun-ho Lee spent time engaging with attendees and discussing the future roadmap for 'Blue Archive.'
Gehenna Takes the Lead Next: Part 2 Vol. 1 'Flame and Shadow' Chapter and 'Set Sail! Pandemonium Society' Event
Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim teased the continuation of the Main Story into Part 2 for the 5th anniversary. Gehenna, which had mostly appeared in event stories until now, takes center stage in Part 2 Vol. 1. Teaser stills raised anticipation by showcasing a trio of freshmen striving to make Gehenna great again, as well as adversaries Hina and Makoto unexpectedly joining hands.
Next, the event story starring the Pandemonium Society, 'Set Sail! Pandemonium Society: President Makoto's Splendid Summer Vacation,' was introduced. The event depicts the mishaps the Pandemonium Society members encounter during their summer getaway, introducing swimsuit alternate versions for Chiaki, Makoto, Satsuki, and Ibuki. Chiaki (Swimsuit), distributed free through the event, is a Piercing-type Special student who provides allies with ATK boosts and Piercing Effectiveness buffs. She also possesses a Basic Skill that reduces enemy Critical Damage Resistance and an EX Skill that pierces shields to inflict damage proportional to ATK on nearby enemies, showing high efficiency against shielded bosses and targets.
Makoto (Swimsuit) is a Mystic-type Striker student specialized in dealing damage, increasing Crit Rate and applying a DEF decrease debuff to enemies when in the Charisma state triggered by her Basic Skill. Satsuki (Swimsuit) is a Sonic-type Striker student who supports steady team damage output through healing scaled to Healing power and applying DEF reduction debuffs on enemies. Iroha (Swimsuit) is an Explosive-type Striker student who boosts overall team damage with skills that increase Crit DMG, Crit Rate, and ally ATK.
Ibuki (Swimsuit) is added as an Explosive-type Special student who not only heals allies but also supports them with a Cost Recovery boost buff. She also possesses two types of EX Skills. First, with 'Today, Ibuki's Partner!', she designates two ally Strikers as partners and draws one of their EX Skills. When cost is spent using a partner's skill, Ibuki gains 3 Seashells; once 12 Seashells are accumulated, they are all consumed to gain a Shell Sunflower, after which no more Seashells are obtained. She then applies the EX Skill 'Make It Pretty~' to her partner, increasing their Crit DMG. If she holds a Shell Sunflower at this time, the skill is enhanced, adding an additional Crit DMG boost effect.
Alongside the event launch, the 5th Anniversary Fest Recruitment will run from November 17 to November 24. During Fest Recruitment, the 3-star student drop rate doubles from 3% to 6%, and alongside featured rate-up Fest students like Iroha (Swimsuit) and Ibuki (Swimsuit), characters such as Rio and Neru (School Uniform) will return in reruns.
Soft Pity System and Mileage Boost Rate-Up Odds: Monetization System Overhaul Teased
Following the Fest Recruitment announcement, an overhaul of the recruitment system was revealed. Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim explained the intention behind the revamp: "At launch, the roster of recruitable students wasn't very large, but after five years, the pool has grown immensely. Realizing this could pose a burden for Senseis, we felt the need to make it easier for players to team up with the students they want."
Accordingly, following the November 12 update, the existing points earned from Regular and Pick-Up Recruitments will be discontinued, and a new Recruitment Mileage system will be introduced. Unused Recruitment Points will be converted 1:1 into Keystone Pieces used in the Craft Chamber after maintenance. The rate-up chance per pull remains unchanged at 0.7%, building 1 stack every time a rate-up student is not recruited. Reaching 100 stacks guarantees a 3-star character; if the rate-up character is not obtained on that pull, a soft pity mechanism ensures the rate-up character is guaranteed on the next 100th pull. Recruiting the rate-up character resets the stack count to 0. Stacks are divided between Regular Pick-Up and Special Pick-Up (including Fest), and are shared within the same category.
Detailed information was then shared regarding the 'Recruitment Mileage' system added alongside the revamp. Under this system, first-time rewards are granted based on mileage accumulated during Pick-Up Recruitment, handing out rewards—including 10-Recruitment Tickets—every 20 pulls from pull 10 up to pull 390. A 10-Recruitment Ticket is awarded a total of 8 times: at 70, 130, 150, 170, 270, 330, 350, and 370 pulls. Through this change, pulling up to the previous pity threshold of 200 pulls now effectively costs only 160 pulls worth of currency.
Furthermore, Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim presented a cumulative acquisition probability chart and explained the math behind it. Previously, the probability of failing to recruit a rate-up student even after 200 pulls was approximately 24.5%, which was supplemented by exchanging Recruitment Points. However, he explained that the objective of this overhaul is to increase the overall likelihood of obtaining the desired rate-up character at the 100-pull milestone and up through the 200-pull mark.
In particular, since Blue Archive updates often feature two or more rate-up banners simultaneously rather than just one, he detailed the difference between the old and revamped systems in such scenarios. Under the former Recruitment Point system, the probability of failing to get both rate-up characters within 200 pulls was about 75.5%. After the revamp, thanks to tickets earned via Recruitment Mileage and the 50% guarantee applied at the 100th pull, this rate is reduced to 64.1%. Moreover, performing 200 pulls yields 40 tickets, effectively increasing the total pull count to 240 for the same Pyroxene expenditure.
Along with these changes, Special Eleph Packages will be added, unlocking when a player recruits a given character for the first time. These packages will be available in the shop for 14 days after initial recruitment. On November 10, packages for Makoto (Swimsuit) and Satsuki (Swimsuit) open, followed on November 12 by Iroha (Swimsuit), Ibuki (Swimsuit), Rio, and Neru (School Uniform). Additionally, 14 cost-reducing packages will be added—including the Flame and Shadow 3-Star Selective Recruitment Package and Special Recruitment Packages—along with the launch of a Battle Pass. Purchase limits for 9 Pyroxene packages will also be reset.
In addition to paid packages, various rewards have been prepared to commemorate the monetization overhaul and update. First, a total of 1,800 Pyroxenes and various growth materials will be distributed through episode tie-in rewards for the 'Set Sail! Pandemonium Society' event and web events. The daily 10 free recruits event running from November 10 to 17 (totaling 100 free recruits) will receive an additional 100 free recruits for the 5th anniversary, totaling 200 free recruits. Furthermore, a [Special] Fest 3-Star Student Selector will be granted, allowing players to pick any one of the 13 Fest characters ranging from Wakamo to Key for free.
Login rewards are also being expanded further. First, a Growth Support Login Event for the 5th anniversary will allow players to immediately level a student to Level 90 and equip them up to T10 gear. In addition, a 7-day 5th Anniversary Login Event will grant a total of 1,200 Pyroxenes and the 'Seaside Party Set' furniture item, which features interaction animations with the Pandemonium Society swimsuit students. Furthermore, the 5th Anniversary Work Cheer Campaign offers various rewards including a 10-Recruitment Ticket, and the 'Kivotos Tour' campaign will grant rewards based on cumulative login days following the November 10 update. A Special Mission Event Season 2 for new and returning users will also run for four weeks from November 10 to December 8.
For the 5th anniversary, the sequential in-game implementation of Korean versions of music videos was announced. First, the Korean version of the Decagrammaton music video 'Echoes of Longing' will be added. Additionally, the 'Lift' animation for Special students will be applied to the Korean server, starting with 15 Special students in this update. Korean voice dubbing for Part 1 Final Chapter was also teased. Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim shared, "We will continue to update Korean dubbing for the Main Story moving forward, so please stay tuned."
From Mom's Touch to MapleStory: Wide Range of Merch and Collab News Unveiled
The second segment, following the Developer Commentary, featured news on special merchandise prepared for the 5th anniversary. First, vinyl LP records of the Blue Archive OST will be released alongside pre-orders for a custom LP turntable. In Q4, tracks including Kagerou, Protocol Supernova, and Following the Petals will be released on digital streaming platforms.
Collaboration news was also revealed. First, a voice collaboration with Samsung Bixby will be rolled out, with further details to be disclosed in 2027 via the Samsung Electronics website and other channels. Next, a fourth collaboration with Mom's Touch was announced. Themed around the Gehenna Prefect Team's Christmas, the event will run from December 1 to December 27 across Mom's Touch and Mom's Pizza locations nationwide. Merchandise will include photo cards, Korotto acrylic blocks, acrylic stands, and mood lights.
Announcements for official art books and manga followed. First, Official Artworks Vol. 3 will officially launch in mid-December. Prior to that, 2,000 copies will be available for early purchase starting December 4 at the D&C Media booth during AGF 2026. The first 1,000 buyers will receive an exclusive zigzag postcard bonus. Additionally, a special edition of Vol. 2 of the official 4-panel manga 'Youth? Daily Life! Blue Archive' will be officially released in December.
For the winter season, Season 5 of Blue Archive's official themed cafe, 'Cafe Memorial,' was announced. Season 5 adopts a "Jersey Maid" theme, featuring fresh cafe visuals of Hanako, Akari, Noa, and Nonomi. Special beverages such as Hanako's Peach Cream Oolong Milk Tea, Nonomi's Lemon Elderflower Ade, and Marshmallow Choco Latte will be offered. Additionally, key ring holders and Capsule Zone merchandise that sold out quickly at the 5th Anniversary Festival will be available for purchase at Cafe Memorial. Detailed announcements regarding Cafe Memorial Season 5 will be released in mid-December.
Furthermore, in celebration of AGF, new Seminar dress-themed merchandise created in collaboration with Haksan Cultural Company's Comicpop will be introduced. Beyond AGF, an Animate collaboration cafe themed after Highlander Railroad Academy was announced, alongside a diorama set featuring mini figures and photo cards in collaboration with Oxford, releasing in November. Additionally, following the launch of TCG starter decks with Nivel Arena on November 6, a booster pack will be released on November 20. Notably, the booster pack will include cards signed by Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim, with further details available on the Nivel Arena website. Blue Archive-related Nivel Arena merchandise will also be available at the Nivel Arena booth during AGF 2026.
Meanwhile, an unfortunate update regarding a collaboration was also shared. A collaboration with Logitech had been announced during the 4.5th anniversary, but due to circumstances on Logitech's end, the previously teased products could not be produced. Executive Producer Yong-ha Kim stated, "We offer our sincere apologies to those who were looking forward to it. We are seeking other collaboration opportunities with Logitech and hope to bring you good news in the future."
After briefly announcing the release of LINE Sticker Volume 4, a collaboration with MapleStory was teased. Students from Blue Archive will appear in MapleStory, with further details to be revealed on Maple NOW on November 12.
Finally, special on-time rewards were announced to celebrate the Blue Archive 5th Anniversary Live. Following the stream's conclusion, rewards including a total of 1,200 Pyroxenes will be distributed to all players at once, collectible via the in-game mailbox after logging in. Additionally, pre-registration on-time rewards—including a 10-Recruitment Ticket and various items—will be distributed following the update on November 10.
The Blue Archive 5th anniversary update will take place on November 10, with full details available on the official community channels.
