Aniimo October 29 Update: Investigating the New Region

The case in brief

1. 
   What we know

   Seen in game A brand-new region opens on Thursday 29 October 2026, the day Part II of Season 1, Departure with the Wind, begins after an update maintenance.

2. 
   What the studio says

   Official Nothing more as of 2 October: no name, no time, no content, not on the official site, not on Steam, not on the official YouTube channel.

3. 
   Suspect number one

   Our bet The Whisperwake Isles, the water region that was open for a little over a week during the July beta, probably bigger this time.

4. 
   Do this now

   Seen in game Part I ends on 28 October at 23:59 UTC: spend your Windborn Stamps before then.

Every claim carries its label: Official a notice from the studio or the publisher, or the words of the game's executive producer; Seen in game what you can see in the game today; Seen in the beta what the July closed beta showed, which may have changed since; Our bet our reading of the clues, which may turn out wrong.

The timeline to 29 October

It all happens in one night: Part I switches off on the evening of the 28th, Part II switches on on the 29th, and the new region with it.

Times are the Europe server’s (UTC+0). Clocks in the UK and the EU go back on Sunday 25 October, and in the US on Sunday 1 November.

1. Since launch, 16 September

   Seen in game The Season Overview says: “A brand-new region opens on Oct. 29, 2026! Stay tuned!”

2. Around Tuesday 27 October

   Our bet The official update notice, with the maintenance times. The 23 September one came out two days ahead.

3. Wednesday 28 October, 23:59 UTC

   Seen in game Part I ends, at the same moment on every server. The Companion Handbook closes, and unspent Windborn Stamps are converted into Credits.

4. Thursday 29 October

   • Seen in game At a time not yet announced: the update maintenance, then Part II. The new region opens the same day, according to the tile.
   • Seen in game At 03:59 UTC: the Journey Handbook and Journey Moments, the two login events, end.
   • Seen in game At 09:59 UTC: the Lightweave draw, Forest of Butterfly Dreams, closes.

5. Wednesday 9 December, 23:59 UTC

   Seen in game Part II ends. Official The Irisalis stage of the Legendary Journey ends.

6. Around Thursday 10 December

   Our bet Season 2 begins, if the announced pace of 84 days per season holds.

Every window of the season is in the event calendar.

Exhibit A: the New Region tile

It is the only picture of the region the game shows, and it has been there since launch. Let’s take a close look.

Seen in game In the Season Hub, open from the Student I rank, the Season Overview shows this tile. Select it and a bubble opens:

“A brand-new region opens on Oct. 29, 2026! Stay tuned!”

Exhibit B: the season’s rule card

Seen in game In the same Season Hub, the Season 1 rule card splits Departure with the Wind into two Parts. On the Europe server it reads:

• Part I“Departure with the Wind Part I: Sept. 16, 2026–Oct. 28, 2026 23:59:59 (UTC+0)”
• Part II“Departure with the Wind Part II: After the Oct. 29, 2026 update maintenance–Dec. 9, 2026 23:59:59 (UTC+0)”
• Achievements“Season Achievement ranks and rewards (including progress and rewards for each mode) reset at the start of every Part.”
• Stamps“At the end of each Part, any unspent Season Stamps are automatically converted into Credits.”

Seen in game Part II has its own stamps, Windchaser Stamps, which take over from Windborn Stamps, and the Limited Time Shop “refreshes at the start of every Part”. So 29 October does not open a Season 2: it opens the second half of Season 1. Every screen of the Season Hub is on our Season 1 page.

What the studio has already said

About 29 October itself, the game states only two things: a brand-new region, and Part II of Season 1. For the rest, we have to listen to the studio.

He gave no name and no date. But a water region, islands, and a roll-out “across both season halves”: keep those three in mind, they will matter.

The water region already has an official name

Official The only official text we have found that uses the name “Whisperwake Isles” is the FAQ of the Bond Pact event, published on 23 July, during the beta. Among the Aniimo that could not be sealed, it lists “Partial Aniimo from the Whisperwake Isles region: Cheekie, Wavwal, Reefish, Coraliz, Popapus, Gachapus, Bubbeep, Glameep, Malangel, Malevsera, etc.”

Seen in the beta It is the water region testers explored, under the same name, the Whisperwake Isles, with these ten Aniimo.

Official In June, publisher FunPlus’s release about the beta already said: “A new water-themed region, the Island of Peace, will be accessible for the first time.” No official text ties that name to the Whisperwake Isles.

None of these ten Aniimo can be caught today

Seen in game None of the ten can be caught today: their region has been out of reach since launch on 16 September.

Official The official Aniimo index, on wiki.aniimo.com, still listed them in mid-September. As of 2 October, it no longer shows them. That says nothing about whether, or when, they will return.

And for now, radio silence

Official As of 2 October 2026, no notice on the official site mentions a new region, a 29 October maintenance or Part II, and no roadmap has been published for the rest of the season. On Steam, the team’s latest post, the Dev Dispatch of 1 October, does not mention it either, and neither does the official YouTube channel.

Official In official notices, 29 October only appears as the end of a login event, Journey Chronicles (the Events screen carries one over the same dates, Journey Moments), at 03:59 UTC on the Europe server. One detail, though: the 23 September update notice was already titled “September 23 Update Notice – Setting Out in Pursuit of the Wind: Part I”. In Japanese and Traditional Chinese, its title even says “first half”.

The investigation: is it the Whisperwake Isles?

Neither the game nor the studio names the 29 October region. Our bet Our suspect is the Whisperwake Isles, the water region of the beta, which many people write in the singular, “Whisperwake Isle”. Here are the clues, from strongest to weakest.

1. 
   Clue 1The studio announced a water region

   Official Before launch, the executive producer announced “three islands within the second region” for shortly after launch, and “a new map in the water region, including 5 islands as well as a mysterious area”.

2. 
   Clue 2The only known water region has a name

   Official The July FAQ speaks of “the Whisperwake Isles region”. Seen in the beta It is the region testers explored.

3. 
   Clue 3The June release

   Official It announced a water region for the beta, the “Island of Peace”, and, among the new content, Bubbeep, Popapus and a Coraliz boss. Our bet It is the same region: the July FAQ lists those three Aniimo in the Whisperwake Isles region.

4. 
   Clue 4The calendar fits

   Official According to the producer, a season lasts 84 days in two 42-day halves, and it will all be “rolled out progressively across both season halves”. Seen in game Part I lasts six weeks, from 16 September to 28 October, and the tile puts the new region on 29 October, the first day of the second half.

5. 
   Clue 5The tile shows the sea

   Seen in game A beach, a pink star, a coral Aniimo buried in the sand and two hidden silhouettes. Our bet The star looks like Shelly, the coral Aniimo like Reefish, and the dome silhouette like Popapus: the details are in Exhibit A, above.

6. 
   Clue 6The game already names their Aniimo

   Seen in game Items and characters in today's game name five Aniimo of the isles that nobody can catch yet:

   • 

     The Cheekie Loveseat, a Home sofa: “A round, chubby sofa inspired by Cheekie–irresistible to people and Aniimo alike. Every guest eventually asks the same question, though–is that its face or its backside?”

   • 

     The Home's Bubble Gachapon: “A gachapon shaped like a Popapus. Each bubble holds a little gift carefully prepared by GoGoHomes!” Fannie, when she shows it to you: “Lemon and Koko gave me the first spark, then Yama drew inspiration from a Gachapus and built this.”

   • 

     The Coral Hat, which the Curio Corner Shop sometimes offers in the Coral Hat Pack, for 800 Voxel Coins: “Sometimes you just want to hide away like a Reefish.”

   • A Shanel request in the Home Orders: “I am developing a breathable and waterproof fabric for Wavwals and need plenty of materials for testing.”

   Our bet These items are waiting for their Aniimo.

7. 
   Clue 7Two octopuses in Astra

   Seen in game In the cutscene “Back to Astra”, in the quest “Institute Initiation”, two octopus Aniimo cross the square: one with a bubble head, the other with a capsule-machine head. Our bet They are Popapus and Gachapus.

8. 
   Clue 8Two places left in Chinese on the official index

   Official On wiki.aniimo.com, Shelly's page lists three habitats: Echoback Landing, and two names left in Chinese, 新月海湾 (“crescent-moon bay”) and 夕阳海原 (“sunset sea-plain”). Our bet The first is the beta's Crescent Bay, on the Whisperwake Isles. The second, which no official page names in English yet, would be another corner of the region.

How many islands?

In the September interview, the question pointed out that in the beta, players had access to “the first island and a small portion of the second”. Official The producer answered that “three islands within the second region” would unlock shortly after launch. Later in the interview, he announced a water-region map with “5 islands as well as a mysterious area”.

Seen in the beta In July, only one area of the region was open. Dr. Lewis warned: “this Area is extremely vast. It’s just that most of it is hidden in the fog caused by Energy fluctuations…”

Our bet The “second region” is the water region, and the beta only showed a corner of it. 29 October could open several islands, perhaps the three announced; the rest of the map, with its “mysterious area”, would follow over the seasons.

Where does the way in start?

Seen in the beta Everything started at Echoback Landing, with the legend of the Echoback’s song. Dr. Lewis even said: “If we venture deep into the ocean from Echoback Landing like the Echoback, perhaps we can reach its Home…”

Our bet The way in will start at Echoback Landing again.

The suspects: which Aniimo could arrive?

Seen in the beta The Whisperwake Isles held ten new Aniimo, in five lines of two. Seen in game None of them can be caught today: nobody has seen them since launch.

Last seen: Whisperwake Isles, July beta

• Reefish → Coraliz Earth and Water
• Cheekie → Wavwal Ice
• Bubbeep → Glameep Grass and Water
• Popapus → Gachapus Water
• Malangel → Malevsera Ice

Seen in the beta Reefish and Coraliz also had a Rainstorm Form that appeared in the rain. Glameep had a Prismana form: “May appear on the mountain top of the hidden tidal land in Crescent Bay during Prismana Flow. Only one can appear at a time, and it will not respawn.”

Anything can change before they return, if they do: types, forms and spawn places. And the FAQ’s list ended with “etc.”: the region could hide more.

Where is Gachapus?

Seen in game Not in the wild for now: Gachapus cannot be caught in today’s game. The game does mention it: Fannie says Yama “drew inspiration from a Gachapus” to build the Home’s Bubble Gachapon.

Seen in the beta Gachapus is Popapus’s evolution. In July, both lived on the Whisperwake Isles. Our bet It will come back with its region.

Shelly, already in the game

Seen in game Shelly, a Water type, lives at Echoback Landing. Seen in the beta It also lived on the Whisperwake Isles.

A name without a face: Scrubbit

What the beta showed of the Whisperwake Isles

Official The Global Closed Beta ran from 9 to 25 July 2026, and all progress from the test was wiped at the end. Seen in the beta Everything below comes from that test version, and the studio may have changed all of it since. The rest of the beta is in our Global Closed Beta guide.

A region that opened mid-beta

Seen in the beta The Whisperwake Isles were not open when the test began. On 14 July, a pre-registration event, “Uncharted Waters: Azure Mysteries”, announced: “New discoveries, mysterious seas, and uncharted islands!” To go, you had to reach level 51, finish the main quest “A New Journey”, then follow a new story quest. The region opened around 17 July, for a little over a week.

The journey: a song in the night

Seen in the beta The quest “A Tale of Tide and Song” opened like an investigation, too:

1. “The institute has detected a strange signal at Echoback Landing. What secret could be hidden there? Time to investigate.” Dr. Lewis met you there.
2. You investigated the coast, the whale bones and the sea.
3. At night, a distant song whispered: “...Winds of every shore... tides of the sea...”
4. Your partner, Helion or Lunara depending on your starter, heard nothing. Your character did: “There are no lyrics... but somehow, I can understand what it means...”
5. Your character walked into the sea, and the quest journal told the rest: “I followed a mysterious song and somehow fell into the sea... Then the tide carried me all the way to a strange island!”

Crescent Bay

Seen in the beta Only one area was open, Crescent Bay: a lake with a lone tree at its heart, giant drifting bubbles, and a crescent-shaped bay where the sky shimmers on the water.

• Tides. “The tides of the Whisperwake Isles have shaped a unique Aniimo ecology. The tide goes out at night and comes in during the day.”
• Night. Some Aniimo only came out at night. On the island, people told you about “an Aniimo called Malangel that only appears at night, and it dances!”
• Rain. In the rain, Reefish and Coraliz appeared in their Rainstorm Form.
• Bubbles. “The Floating Bubble Barrier at the center of Crescent Bay keeps out all commotion and strangers. Only creations of the same origin can pass through freely.”

What there was to do

Seen in the beta Three activities, a cave and a few encounters:

• Hide-and-seek with Bubbeep: “Wanna play Find the Sheep? Find them all, and you win.”
• A “Stubborn Reefish”, obsessed with the golden bubble it hoped to win from two Popapus.
• At night, a colored-ball contest between Popapus.
• A cave guarded by an Eko: “Not allowed! You're not allowed to enter our cave!”
• A Wavwal warning two baby Cheekie about humans.

The boss: Omega Glameep

A progression of its own

Seen in the beta The region had its own Branch, the Whisperwake Isles Branch, fed with Lumin Amber - Whisperwake Isles, and its own Whisperwake Isles Dewdrop Crystal. The Branch’s last perk: “[Wanderer’s Might] No stamina is consumed while moving in Whisperwake Isles (outside combat).”

Seen in the beta The event “First Visit to Whisperwake Isles” set 21 objectives: catch Reefish, Popapus and Bubbeep, find Lumin Amber, “Mimicry Master! Collect 5 Coral Branches.”, “Defeat Omega Glameep”… Completing 18 of them gave a Perfect Coraliz Egg, “Guaranteed to hatch into a Coraliz (Rainstorm Form) with Perfect potential.”

“A fleeting glimpse”

Seen in the beta In the story, the stay was a time-limited “preliminary scientific expedition”. Near the end, Dr. Lewis announced the island’s evacuation: “This small Area beneath our feet is merely a fleeting glimpse where the mist has momentarily parted.” And later: “Perhaps one Sol, you really will be able to pass through this mist… And truly set foot in this brand new ocean Area.”

Removed at launch

Seen in game When the game launched on 16 September, the region, its access quest and its ten Aniimo disappeared. You cannot go there today. To find your way around, our Whisperwake Isles map shows the region as we knew it: it is not open in today’s game, and what opens on 29 October may differ.

What time does the 29 October update start?

Official No time has been announced. Seen in game The game only says Part II starts “After the Oct. 29, 2026 update maintenance”. The end of Part I, on the other hand, falls at the same moment on every server:

Official For the 23 September update, the official notice came out on Monday 21 September, two days ahead. The maintenance was scheduled for ten hours, from 22 September 16:00 to 23 September 02:00 UTC on the Europe server, and the notice warned that the actual duration might vary. The notice promised 500 Glimmer; the launch ran late, so the team added 500 more (1,000 in all), plus a Sparkling Cube for a known issue.

Our bet If the studio keeps that pace, the notice for the Thursday 29 October update could land around Tuesday 27 October, with each server’s times. We will update this page the same day.

Mind the clock changes: the UK and the EU leave summer time on Sunday 25 October, the US on Sunday 1 November. As soon as it is announced, the maintenance will also appear on our server status page.

Before D-Day: what to finish by 28 October

Part I closes on Wednesday 28 October at 23:59 UTC. Your checklist:

1. Spend your Windborn Stamps. Seen in game “At the end of each Part, any unspent Season Stamps are automatically converted into Credits.” In the Season tab of the Stamp Shop, most items can be bought once per Part and unlock as your total of spent stamps grows: Sparkling Egg, Sparkling Cube, Prismana Orb, Phenomena Crystal… Every item and its price →

2. Claim your Season Achievement rewards. Seen in game Ranks, progress and rewards restart from zero at the start of every Part. Rank 12, at 10,000 points, gives a Prismana Infergon Egg. To be safe, claim everything before 28 October ends. The ranks and their rewards →

3. Finish the Companion Handbook. Seen in game This season's handbook, with Fulmintis, counts down to the end of Part I: claim its rewards before then. The Companion Handbook, level by level →

4. Count your login days. Seen in game The Journey Handbook gives cosmetics at 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 login days. Journey Moments needs 7 days, with a Sparkling Egg on the seventh. Both end on 29 October at 03:59 UTC; on the other servers, at 03:59 server time. The season events →

5. The Lightweave draw. Seen in game Forest of Butterfly Dreams closes on 29 October at 09:59 UTC; on the other servers, at 09:59 server time. Prizes and rates →

6. No rush for Irisalis. Official Her Legendary Journey stage runs until 9 December at 23:59 UTC. The Irisalis guide →

Seen in the beta And the new region? In the beta, you needed level 51 and the main quest “A New Journey” completed. Nothing says it will be the same on 29 October, but if you are not there yet, now is a good time to move the main story along.

Is it version 1.1?

Official Not confirmed. Version 1.1 is announced, without a date. On 1 October, the team listed several changes coming “after the version 1.1 update”, including a fixed Innate Potential for Irisalis, and, for the exact rules for converting the excess Potential into Starcryst Essence, asked players to “watch for the version update announcement and in-game mail”. As of 2 October, nothing official ties 1.1 to 29 October.

Official The 23 September update was not 1.1: the game still shows version 1.0, every numbered patch since launch is a 1.0, and on 1 October the team still spoke of 1.1 in the future tense. Everywhere else, 1.1 is in the future tense: in the eligibility line of the 23 September notice, “All Pathfinders registered prior to the version 1.1 update”, repeated in the 30 September patch notes, and in the game itself, on Legendary Aniipod: Departure with the Wind: “In Version 1.1, it can be used on a Sparkling Aniimo…”

Our bet An update that opens a region and a half-season would make a good candidate for 1.1. It is only a possibility. Everything announced for 1.1 is on our version 1.1 page.

Season 2 and a new Legendary: when?

Season 2

Seen in game Not before December: Part II of Season 1 runs until 9 December at 23:59 UTC.

Official The producer announced 84-day seasons, in two 42-day halves. Our bet Season 1 began on 16 September; 84 days later is 9 December. Season 2 would start right after, around 10 December. Nothing official says so.

A new Legendary Aniimo?

Official More are planned, with no name and no date. In its letter of 3 September, the team wrote about the new Irisalis encounter: “This design will be the template for every Legendary Aniimo encounter to come.” Nothing says a Legendary Aniimo arrives on 29 October.

The next lead: the map of the nine Aeons

Seen in game In the Lore menu, the Genesis Legend page reads: “Legend holds that nine Aeons together created Idyll, each guarding a different domain.” Its picture is a map: nine creatures on nine lands. During the prologue, the same map appears on a fresco in the cave of the quest “The Mysterious Cavern”; we count nine creatures there, one of them barely visible.

Official Asked about “the world map engraved on the wall during the tutorial”, the producer answered: “The world map illustrates the first realm in our roadmap. All of these areas are currently in development or already completed. We will be rolling them out gradually.” Our bet He meant this fresco.

Seen in game The Zephyr Coast page of the same menu describes the domain of the Aeon Aeolus as “a fertile land of green fields, sea isles, and warm earth”. Our bet The green fields are the Breezy Plains, where the game is played today. The sea isles would come next.

Seen in game Further still, the book “Treasures of the Sea and Where to Find Them” tells that the Sea of Flowers Mudflat “used to be a small port with a shipping route to Apeiro”, until “the route somehow disappeared”. Nothing links it to the Whisperwake Isles. The whole Lore menu is on our Lore page.

False leads: what’s going around about 29 October

Here is what is often said, and what the game and official sources say about it as of 2 October.

• Not provenThe Whisperwake Isles open on 29 October, it's official.

  Seen in game The game announces a brand-new region without naming it.

• Not provenThe studio confirmed the Whisperwake Isles are coming back.

  Official The producer announced a new map in the water region, with no name and no date.

• Not provenIt opens at such-and-such a time.

  Official No time has been announced, and the times going around do not agree with each other.

• False29 October is Season 2.

  Seen in game It is Part II of Season 1, until 9 December.

• False1.1 came out on 23 September.

  Official On 1 October, the team still spoke of 1.1 in the future tense.

• FalseThe Whisperwake Isles are an island of the Breezy Plains.

  Official The July FAQ speaks of “the Whisperwake Isles region”: a region of its own.

• FalseYou can already go there.

  Seen in game Not for now: the region has been out of reach since the game launched.

• AlmostIt's called the Whisperwake Isle.

  Seen in the beta The game writes it in the plural: the Whisperwake Isles.

• FalseThe five islands and the mysterious area come from the beta.

  Official Those are the producer's words, from September. Seen in the beta The beta opened a single area.

• NuancedThe region is called Island of Peace.

  Official That is the name used in a June press release. Seen in the beta In the beta, the game called it the Whisperwake Isles.

• FalseThe prologue fresco shows seven creatures.

  Seen in game We count nine, like the nine Aeons of the legend; the ninth is barely visible.

The verdict, and what happens next

To follow the case:

• Patch notes: every official notice, dated.
• Server status: the next maintenance, as soon as it is announced.
• Version 1.1: everything announced so far.
• The Lore menu: the Genesis Legend and the Zephyr Coast.