Goddess of Victory: NIKKE Collaboration With Lycoris Recoil Kicks Off in February

Level Infinite and SHIFT UP have announced that the Goddess of Victory: NIKKE mobile video game will start a brand new collaboration with the Lycoris Recoil franchise. This collaboration was teased in late January 2026, showing a spider lily flower as a hint.

Spider Lily, the collective name of the staff involved in its anime series, credited as the franchise’s creator. They are spearheaded by Ben-To writer Asaura and This Art Club Has a Problem! illustrator Imigimuru.

Lycoris Recoil started out as an anime series that premiered in 2022, which spun off into a short web series in 2024.

It is also adapted into a manga series written by Yasunori Bizen and two light novels produced by Asaura and Imigimuru themselves.

Lycoris Recoil received a warm reception from both fans and critics, who praised the engaging “cute girls with guns” concept and the warm tone of the story when there are no actions involved.

Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear and Death Stranding fame is also known to be an avid fan of the series. He has written an endorsement for the light novel’s obi cover. Kojima expressed his love for Lycoris Recoil in front of his peers, such as Xbox’s Phil Spencer and The Game Awards’s Geoff Keighley. He even wore matching shirts with Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn.

What is Lycoris Recoil about?

The story of Lycoris Recoil is set in an alternative reality of Japan, where the government combats the rise of criminal acts and terrorism using a squad of young, orphaned girls as assassins and spies. These agents, called Lycoris, work undercover to eliminate these threats, unbeknownst to the public.

Lycoris agents are managed by Direct Attack, a clandestine organization that monitors and prevents terror attacks incognito. They operate in secrecy, even using Lycoris agents as a scapegoat and influencing the media if necessary.

Takina Inoue is a hotshot Lycoris agent who has immense combat skill but often operates solo and is insensitive to other agents’ safety. After a botched operation that endangered her teammates, Takina is transferred to another Direct Attack branch that masquerades as a cafe called Cafe LycoReco.

There, Takina is taken under the guidance of Chisato Nishikigi, a legendary Lycoris known for her pacifist style of combat. Coupled with Chisato’s easygoing nature, Takina felt uneasy and determined to regain her place back in Direct Attack.

Despite the sentiment, Takina soon learned from Chisato that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to fulfilling their task as Lycoris agents.

How will the Goddess of Victory: NIKKE collaboration with Lycoris Recoil play out?

As with other collaboration events in NIKKE, the crossover with Lycoris Recoil will feature several characters from the franchise. Chisato and Takina are confirmed to be obtainable, highly likely through recruitment. Another character, hacker Kurumi, also appeared and might become a free-to-obtain character.

Their appearances also tie in with the Nikke squad Cafe Sweety from manufacturer Tetra Line. Consisting of Milk, Sugar, and Frima, they are Tetra’s fixer squad who operates a cafe, although they can’t agree on the direction of their establishment.

The inclusion of Cafe Sweety fits the theme of Lycoris Recoil and also ties in to the event’s story, where the Lycoris agents must work together with the ragtag squad to face a common threat.

Level Infinite and SHIFT UP are also preparing loads of content to please NIKKE players and Lycoris Recoil fans alike. We don’t know any other information about this collaboration, such as what kind of story that they’re preparing or content such as minigames and other obtainable freebies.

The collaboration will go live on PC and mobile on February 12, 2026, right after the current in-game event, Fatal Maid, concludes.