In the summer of 2024, HoYoverse launched the inaugural Zenless Zone Zero Fan Work Contest under the name Drip Fest. The event invited Proxies from every corner of the globe to submit original creations inspired by New Eridu. It was a celebration of style, noise, and individuality. Although the contest has been over for nearly two years by 2026, its structure and spirit remain worth examining. Drip Fest showed how a game community could channel its energy into graffiti, illustrations, videos, music, and cosplay. It also offered tangible rewards, including Polychromes, cash, merchandise, and limited edition trophies.
A Multidisciplinary Contest
Drip Fest was deliberately broad. It did not ask fans to fit into one narrow box. Instead, it welcomed five major categories of artwork. Each category gave creators a different way to interpret the world of Zenless Zone Zero. The categories were:
| Category | Accepted Work |
|---|---|
| Graffiti | Digital or street graffiti |
| Illustrations | Original illustrations |
| Videos | Video edits, hand-drawn animations, live-action |
| Music | OST covers, original compositions |
| Cosplay | Costumed performances and portrayals |
This range was one of the contest's strongest features. A street artist could paint a wall with Bangboo imagery. A digital illustrator could render a Hollow explorer in neon lines. A video editor could cut together fast-paced combat footage. A musician could rearrange the game's OST or compose something entirely new. A cosplayer could bring a favorite Agent to life. All of these approaches counted as valid expressions of the same creative universe.
Event Timeline and Participation
The contest followed a clear schedule. All times were listed in UTC+8. Submissions opened on July 6, 2024, at 12:00 and closed on August 23, 2024, at 12:00. Judging took place from August 31, 2024, at 12:00 to September 13, 2024, at 12:00. Results were announced from September 14, 2024, at 12:00 to September 16, 2024, at 12:00. This timeline gave participants roughly seven weeks to create and share their work.
| Phase | Dates (UTC+8) |
|---|---|
| Submission | 2024/07/06 12:00 – 2024/08/23 12:00 |
| Judging | 2024/08/31 12:00 – 2024/09/13 12:00 |
| Result Announcement | 2024/09/14 12:00 – 2024/09/16 12:00 |
To enter, fans were directed to the official event website during the event period. There, they could copy the contest hashtags and share their original work on social media with those hashtags. This social-first approach made the contest visible across platforms. It also allowed the community to discover entries, cheer for favorites, and celebrate each other's creativity. The contest hashtags acted as a shared banner for Proxies around the world.
Prizes and Recognition
The rewards were designed to appeal to both casual creators and dedicated artists. Winners could receive Polychromes, cash, and other merchandise. In addition, winners from each category had a chance to win limited edition trophies. Those trophies represented more than a prize. They were a mark of recognition from the community and from HoYoverse. For many participants, the opportunity to have their work seen by a global audience was just as valuable as the material rewards.
The contest's slogan, Unleash your drip, define your art, captured its attitude. It was not enough to copy existing styles. Fans were encouraged to bring their own flavor. The goal was to build New Eridu together with Proxies from around the globe. That collaborative spirit made Drip Fest feel less like a competition and more like a citywide festival.
Why Drip Fest Still Matters in 2026
By 2026, the inaugural Drip Fest has become a historical event, but its influence lingers. It demonstrated that fan work contests can be inclusive without losing focus. It showed that graffiti, music, cosplay, and video can all belong to the same celebration. It also proved that a game's aesthetic can inspire real-world and digital art across borders.
For newer fans who missed the 2024 window, Drip Fest remains a useful case study. It highlights what a well-organized fan contest can achieve. Clear categories, a transparent schedule, and meaningful prizes helped it attract attention. The emphasis on original work kept the contest authentic. The global call to share on social media turned individual creations into a collective gallery.
In the end, Drip Fest was more than a promotional event. It was an invitation to play, remix, and reimagine. It asked Proxies to look at New Eridu and ask, What can I add? The answers arrived as spray paint, pencil lines, edited footage, melodies, and costumes. Even after the results were announced in September 2024, those answers continued to circulate. In 2026, that creative ripple is still part of the Zenless Zone Zero community's story.