Artists take centerstage in HoYoFEST

MANILA, Philippines — HoYo FEST 2025, the annual celebration of HoYoverse's different game titles, is now putting the stoplight on fans and their creativity.

With past festivals featuring themed cafes, different mall activations and interactive booths, 2025's HoYo FEST highlights the contributions of fans and how they elevate the community of gamers and artists.

"HoYoverse is one of the few companies that recognizes the importance of fan works in keeping a community alive, and a collaboration like [HoYo FEST] can only drive more interest for both players and creators,” Filipino artist Karen "neetols" Tordecilla told Philstar.com.

Tordecilla is one of a few Filipino artists taking the spotlight in this year's HoYo FEST, which will feature an Artist Alley, a venue wherein different artists are welcome to showcase their work.

Recent conventions around the world and even local events within the Philippines have seen their fair share of different HoYoverse-themed creativity, especially in the Artist Alleys since face-to-face events returned after the COVID-19 pandemic.

But why does HoYoverse inspire such creativity from many Filipino artists?

For Filipino freelance artist Henxtie, it's really about players and artists connecting on an emotional level.

"Besides the amazing game and art direction that HoYoverse put out through the years, they have made memorable stories and characters that resonated with many people. Artists, being naturally emotional and creative people, express their feelings through their art regardless whether they are professionals or hobbyists,” explained Henxtie.

A fairly new artist who started showcasing their work last year, Henxtie has first hand experience in how HoYoverse cherishes the different content that fans make for their titles.

They added, "Actively interacting with their community, HoYoverse is the first brand I saw reaching out and incentivizing creating content for their games. One of the initiatives I got to experience was their content creator program, HoYo CREATORS. HoYoverse actively supports and promotes all types of creators and even allows them to monetize their fanmade work."

Back in 2021 the game developer released guidelines allowing fans to create, give-away and sell what they consider as “original secondary content” or fan art, one of the few gaming developers that have openly accepted and encouraged artists to seek inspiration from their titles.

"I found [the guidelines] interesting since a lot of companies tend to be protective of their IPs, so having HoYoverse be accepting of fan works was a nice change for us artists,” shared Tordecilla.

Henxtie shared the same feelings, seeing HoYover'se collaboration with fans as a means of empowering artists across the world.

"With HoYoverse’s initiative and willingness to support their fan creators, they created an environment where making game-related content can be an enjoyable and lucrative career," said Henxtie.

HoYo FEST 2025, along with its Artist Alley, opens on July 24 and will run until Sunday, July 27, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.