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The going rate for a rhythm game collaboration is two or three tracks and a goodbye. This one ignores the going rate entirely.
lowiro has announced that the Arknights Collaboration pack lands in Arcaea on November 17. It holds eight songs. On top of that, one free-play track gets added to the “Arcaea” pack, so nine new songs arrive on the same day. lowiro itself is billing this as the largest collaboration in Arcaea’s history.
And it isn’t just the track count. Amiya joins as a new partner, implemented as the first motion partner Arcaea has ever had. A brand-new story written specifically for this collaboration unlocks alongside it. Nothing here is a port or a hand-me-down; it’s all built from scratch.
Below is the breakdown: where all nine songs come from, how Amiya works, and what the story covers. Whether you’re coming in from the Arknights side or the Arcaea side, everything you need is right here.
When does the Arknights x Arcaea collaboration go live? Nine songs in total
The Arknights Collaboration pack releases on November 17, 2026. Eight songs sit inside the pack, with one more added as a free-play track to the “Arcaea” pack, for nine new songs on the day.
What jumps out is the breadth of the selection. Tracks pulled from game modes like Integrated Strategies, permanent events, Contingency Contract and side stories sit next to character image songs. This is a setlist built for people who have been following Arknights music for years.
| Song | Artist | Source in Arknights |
|---|---|---|
| ……Yi Zhi. | Masanori Akita | Integrated Strategies #5: Sarkaz’s Furnaceside Fables |
| Speed of Light | DJ OKAWARI, Ai Ninomiya | Permanent event: Code of Brawl |
| Miss You | David Lin, Erik Castro | Eyjafjalla the Hvit Aska character image song |
| ALIVE | Obadiah Brown-Beach, Cristina Vee | A track by the in-universe band Alive Until Sunset |
| Operation Spectrum Battle Theme | cybermiso, DOT96, tigerlily | Contingency Contract #5: Operation Spectrum |
| Fading Sky | AJURIKA | Contingency Contract #8: Operation Dawnseeker |
| Radiant | Mary Clare, Erik Castro | Nearl the Radiant Knight character image song |
| Somniomancer [null set] | Crywolf | Side story: Journey of Those Who Live |
| Renegade * Added as a free-play track to the “Arcaea” pack |
Jason Walsh, Substantial, X. ARI | W’s image song |
Within the eight-song set, Speed of Light is getting the biggest push. It comes from the permanent event Code of Brawl and ranks among the most popular pieces of Arknights music out there. Pairing DJ OKAWARI with Ai Ninomiya gives it a jazz-hip-hop texture, and Arcaea charts have a habit of transforming songs whose vertical beat isn’t straightforward. If you’re only touching one thing on day one, make it this.
Then there’s how Renegade is being handled. W’s image song, arguably the single biggest draw in the lineup, arrives not in the paid pack but as a free-play addition to the “Arcaea” pack. You can play it without spending a yen. As a funnel, that’s exactly right: let people hammer out W’s song for free, then pull them toward the other eight.
How does Amiya work in Arcaea? The game’s first motion partner
Amiya joins the roster as a new partner. The headline difference is that she’s being implemented as the first motion partner in Arcaea.
Illustration duties go to Suzunashi. Once Amiya is on your team you can interact with her, and clearing a song triggers new on-screen flourishes. Her skill activates temporarily during a song and earns Fragments based on how you perform.
Arcaea partners have historically been static illustrations, differentiated by skill effects and stats. Dropping in a partner that actually moves is a genuine shift in how the system presents itself. Using a collaboration character as the test case is unusual, but lowiro presumably figured Amiya’s name recognition could carry it.
The fact that the skill is a “temporary activation that pays out Fragments based on your score” type matters more than it sounds. It isn’t a permanent score modifier; it affects your per-run haul, which makes it a practical pick for anyone grinding. This is not a collaboration partner built to just look nice.
What’s in the collaboration-exclusive story? It unlocks when you get the pack
Picking up the Arknights Collaboration pack unlocks a brand-new story written exclusively for this crossover. It isn’t a port of an existing scenario; it was written for this collaboration.
The story is told from a “familiar perspective” and follows the memories one particular woman left behind. The moment you put “memories” and “a woman” together in an Arknights context, a few candidates spring to mind. Teasing it without naming names is the work of people who know exactly what they’re doing.
Arcaea is fundamentally a game that stacks up fragmentary stories tied to individual songs. Wiring an external IP character’s memories into that framework is a fairly bold move on the lore side. The impression isn’t of a freebie bolted on to move song packs, but of something shaped to match the main game’s voice.
What kind of game is Arcaea? Platforms and controls
Arcaea is available on iOS and Android as a free-to-play title. There’s also a Nintendo Switch version on sale, which handles additional content and songs differently.
The control scheme is distinctive: the lower half of the screen uses standard taps, while the upper half uses up, down, left and right slides along with taps. It’s a design that asks you to process two input layers at once, and your fingers do something completely different from what a typical lane-based rhythm game demands. Anyone arriving from Arknights may be thrown for the first few songs.
lowiro is an international indie development team founded in 2016. It released Arcaea in 2017 and put out a new rhythm game, In Falsus, on PC via Steam in September 2026. That a team of indie scale pulled off a crossover this large deserves real credit.
Honestly, the strongest feeling here is relief that Arknights music finally has a venue that treats it as actual rhythm game material. Hearing a Contingency Contract track only during its event window and then letting it go always felt like a waste.
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The bottom line: nine songs and Amiya arrive together on November 17
lowiro is releasing the Arknights Collaboration pack for Arcaea on November 17, 2026. The eight songs inside are ……Yi Zhi., Speed of Light, Miss You, ALIVE, Operation Spectrum Battle Theme, Fading Sky, Radiant and Somniomancer [null set]. Alongside them, the free-play track Renegade is added to the “Arcaea” pack the same day, making nine in all.
New partner Amiya is illustrated by Suzunashi and arrives as Arcaea’s first motion partner. Her skill activates temporarily during a song and awards Fragments based on your performance. Getting the pack also unlocks the collaboration’s exclusive new story. Arcaea is out now on iOS and Android as a free-to-play game, with a Nintendo Switch version also available.
For once, “largest in our history” isn’t marketing inflation. Nine songs, the first motion partner, an original story written for the occasion: any one of those pushes past what a normal rhythm game collaboration delivers. If you want weak spots, the eight-song set sits behind a paid pack, and the Switch version accounts for its songs separately. Since Renegade is unlocked for free at the front door, start there and decide for yourself.
November 17: start with the free Renegade. If your fingers can keep up with W’s song, the other eight are money well spent.
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Nokko Oda
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