If you play modern action RPGs, you usually expect your rewards to stay trapped behind a glass screen. But starting March 3, 2025, players can walk into a bakery and order a physical piece of New Eridu. HoYoverse is officially partnering with the Japanese dessert chain Beard Papa’s to bring its post-apocalyptic urban fantasy into the real world. The nationwide takeover swaps out standard vanilla offerings for limited-edition character flavors, exclusive merchandise, and digital codes aimed directly at the game’s massive player base.
The New Eridu Menu Takes Over
The core of this promotion revolves around two custom flavor profiles designed for the game’s fan-favorite agents. Instead of battling monsters in a virtual labyrinth, Anby and Burnice are headlining the dessert case. The collaboration features a limited-edition New Eridu cream puff flavor, which uses the bakery’s signature vanilla bean base paired with specialized character toppings.
Fans who visit a participating location can order the basic Operation Yum Collab set. This two-puff package gives buyers a direct taste of the game’s aesthetic through carefully chosen ingredients. The chain is ensuring the visual presentation matches the high energy of the source material.
The two specialty pastries included in the primary set are:
- Anby Key Lime Crumble Puff with vanilla cream and a zesty lime topping
- Burnice Royal Raspberry Puff packed with vanilla filling and a raspberry glaze
While the promotion spans across the United States, certain locations are getting a bigger upgrade. The company has planned high-profile takeover stores in Los Angeles and New York. These specific storefronts will feature full character wraps, customized interior decorations, and photo opportunities for visiting players.
Bundling Pastries With Physical Collectibles
Purchasing a dessert is only half the equation for the dedicated player base. The collaboration scales up depending on how much merchandise fans want to take home. Buyers hunting for physical items can collect Bangboo-themed stickers, random character pins, and acrylic standees featuring the sibling protagonists Belle and Wise.
To keep the ordering process organized, the bakery has split the offerings into three distinct tiers. This prevents inventory chaos while letting casual fans grab a quick snack and serious collectors secure all the physical bonuses. Each tier guarantees at least one digital reward code alongside the pastries.
| Set Name | Cream Puffs Included | Bonus Merchandise |
|---|---|---|
| 2-Puff Set | 1 Anby, 1 Burnice | 1 Random Pin |
| 4-Puff Set | 1 Anby, 1 Burnice, 2 Vanilla | 1 Acrylic Standee |
| 6-Puff Set | 2 Anby, 2 Burnice, 2 Vanilla | 1 Standee, 1 Random Pin |
The six-puff bundle is specifically targeted at groups or highly dedicated players trying to avoid duplicate pins. Since the merchandise is distributed randomly, some fans will inevitably buy multiple boxes just to complete their collections before the end of March.
Digital Rewards Drive Real World Lines
Physical merchandise is great, but virtual items actually get people out the door before the bakery opens. Every single collaboration set includes a Perfect Taste Bundle code for use within the game. HoYoverse knows exactly how to motivate its players to visit retail locations, having previously run similar campaigns for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.
Players who redeem these scratch-off codes receive a mix of cosmetic upgrades and essential currency to boost their daily gameplay. For players logging in every day, skipping a free stamina item just isn’t an option.
The in-game digital rewards include:
- An exclusive Bangboo Beard Papa avatar and custom namecard
- One stamina replenishment item for extended gameplay sessions
- Three Senior Investigator Logs for character leveling
- 30,000 Dennies to spend within the New Eridu game economy
These codes are strictly limited to the promotional window. Once the supply of printed cards runs out at a specific store, late arrivals will only be able to buy the pastries.
The Strategy Behind Offline Gaming Events
This intersection of food and gaming is becoming standard practice for major mobile studios. A 2024 Asia Games Market Analysis from Niko Partners highlighted how gacha games increasingly rely on offline O2O marketing to keep their audiences engaged. The strategy bridges the gap between digital play and physical consumer habits.
Zenless Zone Zero had a monumental launch in July 2024, hitting 50 million downloads in just a few days. The game also generated an estimated $100 million in mobile revenue during its first month alone. By pushing promotions into physical retail spaces, developers create a sense of community visibility that online ads simply cannot match.
We are thrilled to partner with HoYoverse to bring the vibrant world of Zenless Zone Zero to our fans. Our cream puffs and the game’s unique aesthetic are a perfect match for a sweet urban adventure. — Mark Isakson, Marketing Director of Beard Papa’s USA
The visual appeal of the event is a major factor in its marketing push. HoYoverse released a dedicated trailer to show off the specialized art style created specifically for this event.
Local health departments still require standard food service licensing for these seasonal items, ensuring the themed desserts meet all safety regulations. But the real challenge for store managers won’t be health codes – it will be managing the lines of players waiting to secure their acrylic standees.
These temporary storefront takeovers prove that digital communities are more than willing to show up in the physical world when the incentives align. For fans who want to grab a piece of the #ZenlessZoneZero universe, this pastry run offers a unique spin on traditional #GameMerch before supplies disappear at the end of the month.
