Undoubtedly, as MOBA games pass their peak era, Project ZETA is using unprecedented designs to try and breathe new life into this aging genre. At the same time, it faces questions like "Can this path succeed?" and "Is this innovation for innovation's sake?"
With these mixed feelings, we interviewed the production team of Project ZETA—NIRVANANA CEO Kim Nam-seok—and asked him to provide a comprehensive introduction to the game's mechanics and potential issues.
If you're also looking forward to the MOBA innovations Project ZETA might bring, check out this interview.
Here are the details of the interview:
Q: "Multi-Team Arena" (MTA) is a brand-new genre definition. Can you explain this concept in detail? What are the essential differences from traditional MOBA and hero shooter games?
A:Project ZETA is a third-person Multi-Team Arena (MTA) game where four teams of three compete for core objectives, with matches lasting about 20 minutes. Unlike traditional MOBAs, there are no minion lanes, bases, or ancient structures; team fights erupt around key objectives within approximately 2 to 3 minutes of the start.
We don't believe MTA fundamentally negates the fun of MOBAs; on the contrary, it focuses more directly on the core MOBA experience—growing through wisdom and winning team fights. To achieve this, we removed the traditional laning phase, combining the multi-team free-for-all structure with infinite respawns, faster-paced combat, the "Battle Spirit" mechanic, and a prism-based scoring system. Our goal is to get players into meaningful team fights earlier and create power fantasy moments beyond the traditional Pentakill—such as the Deca-kill.
Unlike traditional hero shooters that primarily test aim accuracy, Project ZETA emphasizes reading the battlefield, predicting opponents, positioning, dodging, teamwork, and skill timing. We designed basic attacks to land more reliably, allowing players to focus less on precise aiming and more on interpreting opponent intentions and creating openings for attack. Therefore, we believe this combat style is closer to a 3D fighting or action game than a conventional hero shooter.
Q: Why choose a structure of three players per team, with four teams total? What unique strategic fun does it bring?
A:Choosing this structure also aims to present more condensed hero skill confrontations and the core team fight fun of MOBAs.
In Project ZETA, strategy isn't just about defeating the opponent in front of you. Players must constantly evaluate the other three teams—their rankings, growth progress, positions, and potential routes—before deciding when and where to engage. A team temporarily behind might contest high-value growth objectives, predict the route of leading teams, and set up ambushes. Another team might avoid combat, using the time to farm elsewhere.
We initially tested a 5-team mode on a larger map, but player feedback and behavioral data led us to switch to 4 teams and redesign the map around this structure. This increased engagement density, made the battlefield easier to read, and simplified strategic route planning.
Q: Eliminating the laning phase is a bold design choice. What was the reasoning behind it? How do you ensure high intensity throughout the 20-minute match?
A:Project ZETA eliminates the traditional laning phase, allowing players to engage in strategic roaming from the start of the match, with team fights naturally erupting around key objectives within about 2 to 3 minutes.
Removing minion lanes doesn't mean removing the sense of progression players enjoy in MOBAs. Players still grow through combat and objectives—it's just that they no longer need a long early game to farm before entering combat; growth and team fights happen simultaneously throughout the match.
Matches progress through multiple phases. Early on, players clear regular minions while planning routes and deciding which objectives to contest next; afterwards, higher-value objectives like Prism Bosses continue to spawn, driving strategic decisions and team fights throughout the match. The value and rewards of these objectives increase as the match enters its late stages, building tension until the end.
In the first global community test, matches lasting about 20 minutes averaged 18.3 team fights, with the highest single match reaching 34.
Q: As the core objective, what are the specific rules for contesting and transporting the Prism? Why is it the most valuable resource on the battlefield?
A:The Prism is the core objective in Project ZETA. Teams must compete for it and escort it to the stabilizer in the center of the map to score, with the first team to reach 5 points winning. Think of the prism like the ball in a basketball game.
Contesting the prism requires combining objective team fights, growth development, and harassing the escorting team. Teams can choose not to contest the objective directly, but instead focus on killing the prism carrier. However, securing major objectives themselves brings tangible growth and combat benefits—avoiding objectives entirely may lead to a disadvantage later in the game.
The scoring threshold increases as the match progresses. At a certain point, teams need an "S Prism," which can be obtained in two ways: securing three kills or assists while carrying the prism, or defeating the ultimate boss in the final stage. This adds extra risk and decision-making pressure for leading teams, while giving those who successfully cross this threshold a greater sense of accomplishment.
But no matter how skilled or well-developed a team is, they must ultimately capture the prism and score to come out on top. In Project ZETA, no team can ignore the value of the prism.
Q: The "Battle Spirit" mechanic—immediate respawn with restored HP and skill cooldowns after a team wipe—is very aggressive. How will it change the flow of battle?
A:In multi-team games, players are naturally hesitant to initiate combat, as third-party teams are likely to arrive once a fight breaks out. The "Battle Spirit" mechanic is designed to reduce this passive观望 (waiting/watching) and reward teams that engage decisively—allowing winners to immediately jump into the next engagement.
When a team wipes out three enemy players, any fallen teammates on their side will immediately respawn on the spot, with the entire team regaining health and refreshing skill cooldowns. This significantly reduces downtime between fights, allowing high-intensity engagements to roll continuously from one team to the next. Combined with a faster combat pace, the "Battle Spirit" mechanic helps maintain the highly aggressive team fight experience we aim for.
"Battle Spirit" itself is not an isolated anti-snowball mechanism. The real counterbalance comes from the broader multi-team structure—rankings, growth, and position constantly shift the tendency of who to focus fire, while the prism scoring system adds extra risk for leading teams. Balance comes from the interaction of these systems, not from "Battle Spirit" alone.
Q: A "Deca-kill" sounds incredibly satisfying. How frequently does it occur in actual matches? What was the goal behind designing this mechanic?
A:During the first global community test, the highest record for multi-kills in a single instance was 11 kills; matches with ten or more consecutive kills accounted for about 1.1% of all matches, with an average of 4.4 multi-kills per match.
We didn't design the game around the isolated goal of achieving a "Deca-kill." Rather, as we built the game around high-aggression, high-density combat between multiple teams, multi-kills surpassing the traditional pentakill emerged naturally. In this sense, the Deca-kill has become a natural hallmark of Project ZETA's combat identity.
Q: Project ZETA is described as feeling more like a 3D fighting game than a hero shooter—how should this be understood?
A:Project ZETA emphasizes reading the battlefield, predicting opponent movements, dodging attacks, and then creating openings for counterattacks, rather than simply aiming at a target.
Our slogan "Predict-Dash-Dominate" embodies this combat philosophy. We don't encourage players to compete on basic attack accuracy, but rather to read the situation, win the contest of positioning and timing, and convert that advantage into team fight victories.
Ultimately, the focus is on psychological warfare and timing—predicting opponent intentions, avoiding their turns, and creating your own offensive opportunities. This is why we say it feels more like a 3D fighting and action game than an aim-driven hero shooter.
Q: What are the design concepts behind the four roles: Warrior, Marksman, Assassin, and Mage?
A:These four roles are broad categories designed to help players quickly find heroes that fit their preferred playstyle. Within each role, individual heroes can still lean more towards offense, defense, or support.
Project ZETA has no pure tanks or pure healers. This reflects our overall design philosophy—with infinite respawns, fast-paced combat, and multi-team competition, we want every player to remain actively engaged in combat. Roles provide a useful framework for playstyles, but specific hero designs and team compositions still allow players to contribute in offensive, defensive, or supportive ways.
Q: Currently, how large is Project ZETA's hero pool? What are the plans for future update frequency and direction?
A:The first global community test launched with 14 heroes, and the second test will add 2 more, bringing the total to 16. Although this is not the final number, we currently estimate there will be around 17 heroes at official launch. After that, our goal is to continue releasing new heroes at a relatively fast pace while maintaining high quality.
Q: How deep is the item system? In what aspects is the diversity of hero builds reflected?
A:Project ZETA does not require players to memorize a complex item system like traditional MOBAs from the start. We want players to first become familiar with hero skills, movement, battlefield awareness, and strategy.
Players can still adjust their builds based on team composition and the current situation, but we want to reduce the burden of purchasing and upgrading—recommended builds, auto-buy, and auto-upgrade options allow players to focus more on objectives, team fights, roaming, and strategy during matches.
Afterward, players can apply the experience gained in one match to their equipment planning before the next match begins—the same hero can develop in different directions depending on the situation and player choices.
Q: In Project ZETA's four-team free-for-all format, what special challenges does balance design face?
A:Different hero compositions and growth levels will show varying strengths and weaknesses at different stages and situations in a match (including objective team fights and prism escorts). Players need to judge whether a strategy is viable at the moment, and when at a disadvantage, the multi-team structure itself can become a strategic tool.
The game provides various means to gather intelligence on other teams, directly or indirectly, allowing players to choose to engage a team they feel more confident against, or to avoid conflict and focus on farming elsewhere. Even situations that would be almost certainly losing in a two-team matchup may still offer opportunities to improve one's position in a multi-team format.
Ultimately, our balance goal is to ensure that no single hero composition, growth path, or strategy becomes the "optimal solution" for every situation. Compositions, growth, rankings, match timing, and the actions of other teams should constantly force players to re-evaluate the best decision for the moment.
Q: What are the plans and ambitions for Project ZETA in the competitive esports scene?
A:We don't believe esports is something we can simply force into existence. It only becomes possible when players love the game enough to constantly pull off amazing comeback plays and godlike team fights—and when viewers watching these moments get pumped up and feel the urge to pull off similar plays themselves.
What we can do is provide heroes and battlefields capable of generating these moments, while keeping combat and decisions clear enough for spectators to understand.
If Project ZETA truly grows into an esports title in the future, we envision it having a fast-paced and dense competitive and viewing experience—within a roughly 20-minute match, every team is making routing and strategic decisions every second, team fights erupt continuously around core objectives, and comebacks and consecutive engagements become increasingly intense towards the end.
Q: How are the matchmaking and ranking systems designed? How do you ensure fairness in matchmaking for the multi-team mode?
A:Since the first global community test, we have been working towards more balanced matches, striving to separate solo queue players from duo and trio queues, while strengthening skill-based matchmaking.
We also plan an early safety period for new accounts—new players won't lose CP (Clout Points) even if they finish third or fourth. In most PvP matches, first and second place earn CP, while third and fourth place lose CP, making "second place" a meaningful achievement.
As for rank tiers and rewards, there are no current plans... We intend to gradually introduce them once Project ZETA's PvP matches become more stable and firmly established.
Q: NIRVANANA is a new team established in 2022. Can you introduce the team's background and the original intention behind developing Project ZETA?
A:NIRVANANA was founded in 2022 with the ambition to create a unique IP for global players. The team brings together veteran developers with experience in developing and operating globally successful titles, including battle royale-style MOBAs.
Project ZETA is the studio's debut title, born from a simple desire—to propose a new gameplay style and aesthetic at the intersection of MOBA, 3D action, and hero shooters.
Q: How will the global publishing partnership with KRAFTON benefit Project ZETA?
A:We believe KRAFTON and Project ZETA share similar ambitions in exploring new frontiers and gameplay experiences.
With PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, KRAFTON has experience bringing new genres and gameplay experiences to a global audience. As Project ZETA reaches global players, collects feedback, and enhances its global competitiveness, this experience and KRAFTON's global publishing capabilities will be significant assets.
This allows NIRVANANA to focus on developing the game and refining its core fun, while reaching global players together with KRAFTON to continuously improve Project ZETA.
Q: What is the schedule for upcoming tests and the launch of Project ZETA?
A:After Gamescom, the second global community test will take place on Steam from September 4th to 6th, open to all players. It will include improvements based on feedback from the first test, two new heroes, and the Gamescom demo version.
Project ZETA is currently being developed for PC (Steam) and PlayStation 5, with no final release date announced yet.