July 23, 2026 Update: Project Matis Launches in NIKKE with New Hero Laplace

NIKKE's July 23 maintenance brings back two familiar faces from Matis in stronger forms: squad leader Laplace and mechanic Maxwell. Alongside their new units, this patch adds a fully voiced story event, a new permanent boss-replay mode, and the start of a brand-new competitive Arena beta — making it one of the busier updates in recent months.

Maintenance Details

NIKKE will go offline for scheduled maintenance on July 23, 2026, from 11:00 to 18:00 (UTC+9), though the actual duration may run shorter or longer. This is a mandatory update, so mobile players will need at least 19GB of free storage (22GB for brand-new Commanders), while PC users just need to hit Launch in the client launcher. Don't close the game mid-download, since that can corrupt the update.

 

What's in This Update

The headline additions are the powered-up returns of Matis leader Laplace and mechanic Maxwell, arriving alongside the fully voiced Project Matis story event. On top of that, this patch adds a new permanent Solo Raid Museum mode, kicks off the Champion Arena beta, and stacks in several time-limited co-op events.

 

New Nikkes: Laplace and Maxwell Get Powered-Up Forms

Laplace: Ultimate Hero, leader of Matis and the Ark's strongest hero, returns in a stronger form built as an Attacker who buffs her own damage output. Her Burst Skill ramps up her attack power and hits multiple enemies for heavy damage. She's available in Special Recruit from the end of maintenance through August 12, 2026, 23:59 (UTC+9).

Maxwell: Ordinary Mechanic, also from Matis, comes back as a Supporter who boosts allied attack power instead. Her Burst Skill strengthens both her own and the entire team's attack. Her banner runs later, from July 30, 5:00, through August 20, 4:59 (UTC+9).

For both units, Special Recruit pulls use Gems or Advanced Recruit Vouchers only (ordinary vouchers won't work), SSR rate sits at 4% with a 2% rate specifically for the featured unit, and every pull earns Gold Mileage Tickets. Saving up 200 tickets lets you buy the featured unit outright from the Mileage Shop, and unused tickets carry over once the banner ends. After their limited banners close, both units move into Standard Recruit, Social Point Recruit, and Mold-based acquisition — but not into New Commander Recruit, Standard Recruit (Tutorial), or the Mileage Shop.

Both characters also temporarily join the Union Shooting Range lineup during their respective pickup windows.

 

New Limited Costumes

Laplace's limited costume, Prototype Hero, comes with full voice acting and is earned by leveling up the paid Prototype Pass. Maxwell's limited costume, Chief Researcher, is bundled into the August Mission Pass instead.

Separately, Dorothy's Nostalgia costume is running a rerun in the Costume Gacha. Ten pulls guarantee the costume plus Advanced Recruit Vouchers and equipment upgrade materials; if you already own it, you're capped at 9 pulls and the costume drop is removed from the pool.

 

Project Matis: New Story Event

With the Third Surface Reclamation War looming, Laplace and Maxwell's upgraded bodies go through another round of regrouping — and Syuen, watching them, finds herself drifting back to an old memory.

The event runs from the end of maintenance through August 12, 2026, 23:59 (UTC+9), split into two story parts. Story I opens right after maintenance, while Story II doesn't unlock until July 30, 5:00. Clearing stages nets Advanced Recruit Vouchers and development materials, and a separate Challenge Stage lets you fight tougher boss encounters for extra materials. Event items can be traded in at the Event Shop until August 12, 23:59.

Once the update lands, the Archives section adds the NEW FLAVOR story unlock (obtained via Memory Films from Project Matis), and Storyline gets a new Project Matis entry — both found under Lobby → Outpost → Command Center.

 

Limited-Time Events at a Glance

Event	Duration (UTC+9)	What You Get
HERO DAYS login event	End of maintenance – Aug 12, 23:59	Advanced Recruit Vouchers + materials for 14 login days
FULL BURST DAY	Aug 1, 5:00–Aug 3, 4:59; Aug 8, 5:00–Aug 10, 4:59	Bonus rewards in Interception and Simulation Room
Union Raid	Jul 31, 5:00–Aug 6, 4:59	Requires Union Lv. 3; can't leave/change Union mid-raid
Coordinated Operation	Jul 31, 12:00–Aug 2, 23:59	5-player team vs. Alteisen, rewards via Recycling Shop

 

Solo Raid Museum: New Permanent Mode

This new mode lets you refight bosses from past Solo Raids, launching with three available at update: Harvester, Crystal Chamber, and Indivilia. It's split into Challenge Mode and No Limit Mode, with No Limit unlocking once you clear all of a boss's Challenge stages. Clearing stages earns Solo Raid avatar frame replicas and collection maintenance materials, and results feed into a dedicated Ark ranking board.

No Limit Mode missions are also being added for Hall 1 bosses (Mother Whale, Black Smith, Ultra) and Hall 2 bosses (Alteisen, Modernia, Storm Bringer), with both the Total Ranking and Hall-specific rankings expanding accordingly. The mode requires clearing Campaign Chapter 6-4, and lives under Lobby → Ark → Solo Raid Museum.

 

Champion Arena Beta Season 35

Starting July 30, Commanders who finish 4th or higher in SP Arena can compete in Champion Arena, a simulated-battle mode structured around a League phase, Promotion Tournament, and Champions' Duel. During the Promotion Tournament and Champions' Duel, players can predict match outcomes through a Cheer system, and accumulated ranking achievements unlock special avatar frames.

 

Other Changes and Optimizations

This patch also brings a handful of smaller quality-of-life updates: advanced sound settings for the rhythm minigame TRACING THE STARS (audio output device, sound buffer, and low-latency input options on PC); Social Points earned at different times now stack and can be claimed all at once the next day instead of individually; Lobby icons have been reorganized into folders for easier navigation; the Inventory screen gets a Quick Use checkbox for batch-using bundle and lucky boxes; Phantom, Sugar, Rosanna, and Flora join the Favorite Item roster (unlocked after clearing Chapter 6-4); and there are new profile decoration objects, titles, and lobby backgrounds.

 

FAQ

Is Laplace: Ultimate Hero the same character as the original Laplace?

Yes — it's a powered-up alternate form of the same character, released as its own limited-banner unit with a distinct kit and weapon from the base version.

Do Laplace and Maxwell share the same recruit window?

No. Laplace's banner starts right after maintenance and runs to August 12, while Maxwell's doesn't begin until July 30 and runs to August 20. They overlap for part of that window but end on different dates.

What do I need to unlock Solo Raid Museum?

You'll need to clear Campaign Chapter 6-4 first. After that, it's accessible from Lobby → Ark → Solo Raid Museum.

Is this update F2P-friendly?

The new limited costumes require a paid pass or gacha pulls, but both new units are pullable with free Gems, and the story event, login rewards, and Coordinated Operation all hand out Recruit Vouchers and materials without spending, so free-to-play progress isn't blocked.