Hello, fellow 2026 gamer. I’m writing this from my suspiciously sticky gaming chair, where my PS5 is currently downloading a 90 GB patch for a game that has already been out for almost two years. But let me take you back—back to April 2024, when I was a younger, more innocent Proxy who thought a 40 GB technical test was a reasonable way to spend a weekend. HoYoverse, the studio behind Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, had been teasing Zenless Zone Zero since 2022, and they finally opened registration for a PlayStation 5 technical test. One week only. No pressure. 😅

I remember the exact registration window because I set three alarms and one passive-aggressive reminder for my cat. The sign-up ran from April 10 at 4 AM PT / 7 AM ET to April 17 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET. If you wanted in, you had to visit the official ZZZ website, create or log into a HoYoverse account, and pray to the gacha gods that your email didn’t end up in the spam folder. There was also a Q&A page that answered the big questions, which I have lovingly recreated below for my fellow time travelers.

Now, if you’re wondering what Zenless Zone Zero actually is—welcome to 2026, where I assume you already know. But for the sake of the time-space continuum, let me explain. ZZZ is a roguelike action-RPG from HoYoverse. You play as a “Proxy,” which is a fancy way of saying “person who gets paid to dive into supernatural disasters.” These disasters are called Hollows, and they pop up all over the city of New Eridu. Inside, you battle monsters, robots, and whatever else crawled out of a corrupted vending machine. It’s stylish, chaotic, and full of characters who look like they walked out of a streetwear catalog and into a boss fight.

At the time, Zenless Zone Zero was expected to launch later that year for PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile devices. Spoiler alert from 2026: it did launch. And I, a humble technical test survivor, got to experience the magic before the servers were flooded with day-one players. Did my progress carry over? Absolutely not. Did I still grind like it would? Of course. I’m only human. Or at least, I’m a human who once spent four hours farming materials for a character who would be deleted from existence. 🫠

One thing I wish I had known back then: check the tier lists. I ignored them because I thought I was special. I was not special. I picked characters based on vibes, and my vibes got me killed by a robot with anger issues. If you ever find yourself in a similar technical test—or a time machine—do yourself a favor and look up the best characters. It’s not cheating; it’s emotional self-defense.

The test itself was a fascinating glimpse into what ZZZ would become. The combat was fast, the animation was slick, and the urban fantasy setting felt like someone mixed a comic book, a cyberpunk alleyway, and a very loud playlist. The Hollows were creepy in the best way, and New Eridu felt alive even in its unfinished state. I remember thinking, “This is either going to be huge, or I’m going to have to explain to my friends why I downloaded 40 GB of a game that doesn’t exist yet.” Luckily, it was the former.

In 2026, Zenless Zone Zero is a fully grown live-service game with updates, new characters, and a community that argues about tier lists like they’re debating ancient philosophy. But I still look back at that one-week registration window with a weird fondness. It was a simpler time. A time when “technical test” meant “we promise not to keep your progress,” and “PS5 exclusive test” meant “your PC friends will never let you forget it.”

So, if you’re reading this from the past—or from a parallel dimension where ZZZ is still a mystery—here’s my advice: sign up early, clear your SSD, don’t get attached to your save file, and for the love of all that is holy, check the Q&A page. The registration only lasts a week. The memories? Those last until the next server shutdown. 😉