Zenless Zone Zero is HoYoverse's most stylish game. You run a video shop in a city built next to dangerous rifts, and by night you guide teams of Agents through them. The first hour is all flair: slick parries, chain attacks and a cast with plenty of personality. The money works exactly like its stablemates, with new Agents sold through randomised Signal Search.
The first hour, minute by minute
- 00:00
Account and download
Create or sign in to a HoYoverse account. The PC version installs at 57 GB but needs around 115 GB free while it unpacks.
- 00:25
Choose a sibling
You pick Belle or Wise, the brother and sister who run a video shop and guide Agents through the Hollows.
- 00:32
First Hollow run
Your first job with the Cunning Hares mixes a board-like map with short fights, and introduces the team.
- 00:40
Combat tutorial
Dodging, perfect dodges, parries and chain attacks between Agents. It feels good immediately.
- 00:55
First boss
The prologue closes with a boss that tests your timing. It is tough enough to feel earned and fair enough to finish.
- 01:00
Where you stand
Back in the city hub of New Eridu. Signal Search, the game's character banners, is introduced soon after.
What the first hour gets right
Zenless Zone Zero has the best-feeling fights in HoYoverse's range. Perfect dodges slow time, parries land with a satisfying crunch, and chain attacks pass the action between Agents in a burst of style. The prologue introduces all of it in under half an hour.
The presentation is superb: comic-book cutscenes, a sharp soundtrack and characters who each bring their own attitude.
Where it asks a lot
The install needs far more free space than its final size while it unpacks, which catches out smaller SSDs. A HoYoverse account comes first, as with every game from the studio.
The world is a hub city rather than an open world, and some of the map-based Hollow runs between fights can feel slow. Players who come for the combat may want more of it, sooner.
Money: Monochromes, Inter-Knot and Signal Search
Monochromes are the paid currency, from 60 for 99p to 6,480 for £99.99 on PC and phones, with the first purchase of each size doubled. On PlayStation the largest pack is £79.99. Monochromes turn into Polychromes, and 160 Polychromes buy one search.
Inter-Knot Membership at £4.99 gives 300 Monochromes straight away and 90 Polychromes for each day you log in over a month. The New Eridu City Fund battle pass is £9.99. A month of both costs £14.98.
Signal Search is the character banner: a 0.6% base rate for a top-rank Agent, one guaranteed within 90 searches and a guaranteed featured Agent within 180 at worst. At around £2.42 a search, that worst case is roughly £435. We'd keep searches to the Polychromes the game gives you.
Who should play it
Action fans who want flashy, skill-based combat and a stylish urban setting, and who can enjoy free Agents without chasing every new one. Parents should set a platform spending limit first.
What we liked, what we didn't
Worth your hour
- The best combat feel of any HoYoverse game
- Superb style: cutscenes, music and characters
- Available on Xbox as well as PC, PS5 and phones
- Inter-Knot Membership is honest value at £4.99
Watch out for
- New Agents sold through random Signal Search at 0.6% base
- A guaranteed featured Agent can cost around £435
- Needs about 115 GB free while installing
- Hollow runs between fights can drag
What Zenless Zone Zero really costs
Free, or included in the price
- Main story chapters and endgame modes
- Free Agents through the story and regular events
- Polychromes from daily activity, story and events
- City life and side activities in New Eridu
Price list (UK, VAT included)
| Item | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 60 Monochromes | £0.99 | First purchase of each size is doubled |
| 300 + 30 Monochromes | £4.99 | |
| 980 + 110 Monochromes | £14.99 | |
| 1,980 + 260 Monochromes | £29.99 | £28.99 on PlayStation |
| 3,280 + 600 Monochromes | £49.99 | |
| 6,480 + 1,600 Monochromes | £99.99 | £79.99 on PlayStation |
| Inter-Knot Membership | £4.99 | 300 Monochromes now, 90 Polychromes a day for 30 days if you log in |
| New Eridu City Fund, Growth Plan | £9.99 | Paid track of the battle pass |
| New Eridu City Fund, Premium Plan | £19.99 | Growth Plan plus extra levels and items |
| One Signal Search | about £2.42 | 160 Polychromes; worked out from Monochrome prices |
New Agents and W-Engines are sold through Signal Search. HoYoverse publishes the rates: 0.6% base chance of a top-rank Agent, one guaranteed within 90 searches, and a guaranteed featured Agent within 180. At about £2.42 a search, the worst case is roughly £435.
Our month-one advice
Finish the prologue and the first chapters free. If you want to spend, Inter-Knot Membership at £4.99 is the value purchase, and the City Fund at £9.99 only makes sense if you play most days. Don't buy searches.
Prices checked 24 September 2026 on the official UK stores. They change with sales and currency updates, so the store checkout price is the one that counts.
How to pay for Zenless Zone Zero in the UK · Set a spending limit first
Questions people ask
Is Zenless Zone Zero free?
Yes. The story and modes are free. Money buys Monochromes, Inter-Knot Membership, the City Fund battle pass and Signal Search for new Agents.
How much space does Zenless Zone Zero need on PC?
HoYoverse lists 57 GB installed, plus about the same again while it unpacks, so have around 115 GB free during installation.
What are the Signal Search rates?
0.6% base chance of a top-rank Agent, one guaranteed within 90 searches, and a guaranteed featured Agent within 180.
Is Zenless Zone Zero on Xbox?
Yes, since June 2025, alongside PC, PS5, iOS and Android, with cross-save through a HoYoverse account.
