During GDC 2025, we had the chance to sit down with Honkai Star Rail’s Lead Game Designer, Chengnan An, to discuss the exciting world of Amphoreus, the new Remembrance path, and all of our other burning questions. One thing we couldn’t help but ask about was the ill-fated Annihilation Gang. Will we ever get to actually meet the members? Or are they truly dead?
If you’re unsure who the Annihilation Gang is, let me fill you in. Hoyoverse released the Myriad Celestia Trailer – “A Night of Ever-Flame: Scene 33” back in January 2024, and in this trailer, we got to see a group of fully voiced, villainous-looking men and women discussing a plan to take over Penacony. However, this didn’t go all that well for them, as not long after, Honkai Star Rail’s Acheron casually admits to having killed them all.
Regardless, we really want to see more of these misfits, as Duke Inferno’s flaming ram skull and Akash’s whimsical cello playing left us thoroughly intrigued. So we didn’t beat around the bush and asked An plain and simple, will the Annihilation Gang make an actual appearance in-game, or are they really dead?
“The Annihilation Gang is a very interconnected part of the galaxy storyline, and they also serve as an intro to many significant characters”, states An. “There was mention of these gang members in the 2.1 storyline, so you see nods to it. For future versions, please stay updated and follow us.”
This answer wasn’t exactly the definitive one I was hoping for, so, with a laugh, I say I’m going to assume that means that they’re not dead. This was followed by a very diplomatic “Stay tuned!”, so I’m going to continue to live in my own delusional little world, and I welcome you to join me here.
Make sure you check out our full Honkai Star Rail GDC interview for more behind-the-scenes info, then check out our Honkai Star Rail update guide to keep up-to-date and our Honkai Star Rail codes to pick up some freebies.