Granblue Fantasy Introduces New "Dress-Up Version" Characters, Stirring Player Excitement and Debate

Cygames' popular smartphone RPG, Granblue Fantasy (also known as Granblue or GBF), has announced the debut of a new character series called "Dress-Up Version," generating significant buzz among its user base. On June 30th, an announcement titled "Legend Fest Held & New Dress-Up Version Characters Ilsa and Fraux Introduced" was published via the official X (formerly Twitter) account.

The newly introduced characters are Ilsa and Fraux, both presented in beautifully dressed-up forms. According to the official announcement, these "Dress-Up Versions" will be re-released only "once a year, in June," a rarity that has captured users' attention. Their current availability period is until 6:59 PM on July 15th, and it has been clarified that this period does not overlap with the swimsuit gacha event.

In response to this sudden announcement, numerous voices of surprise and confusion emerged on social media, with comments such as "Dress-Up Version?!?!?!" and "What is this 'Dress-Up Version'?" Particularly concerning the "once a year re-release" information, reactions varied from "I love dresses, what are you doing to me?!" to more cynical observations like "They've finally added another seasonal limited character type like 'Dress-Up Version' and started a new cash grab, lol." These comments reflect both excitement for the limited characters and cries of despair over the difficulty of collecting them, alongside shrewd analyses.

Furthermore, there were also calls of anticipation for future male characters or "Dress-Up Versions" of their favorite characters, such as "They'll release male characters someday, right...?" and "I'd cry if they released a Dress-Up Version of Nehan." Some users even suggested, "Make it a skin!! ゜Д゜;) That's what skins are for, aren't they?!" expressing a desire for these outfits to be cosmetic skins rather than entirely new character units, showcasing a diverse range of reactions.

The addition of this new category undoubtedly adds fresh appeal to the game, while simultaneously presenting players with a new collection goal, or perhaps a new trial. Fans are eagerly watching to see what character lineup this "Dress-Up Version" will introduce in the future.

The context

Granblue Fantasy is a hugely popular free-to-play mobile role-playing game developed by Cygames. Launched in 2014, it features turn-based combat, a rich fantasy world, extensive character progression, and a massive roster of characters. Like many mobile games, it operates on a gacha (loot box) system, where players spend in-game currency (or real money) for a chance to acquire new characters, weapons, and summons, which are often limited-time releases. The introduction of the "Dress-Up Version" series adds a new tier of rare, limited-edition characters, potentially increasing the pressure on players to collect them due to their annual availability.