Back in late 2023, Zenless Zone Zero rolled out the Equalizing Test Fan Video Contest, and even by 2026 it remains a fun little time capsule of how the game’s community was encouraged to create. The event gave video makers a month-long window to submit original ZZZ-related fan videos for a chance at some serious hardware and Bangboo-themed merch. Honestly, the prize pool wasn’t playing around.

Event Window

The submission period ran from 2023/11/24 to 2023/12/24 at 23:59 UTC+8. Winners were scheduled to be announced after 2024/01/15, which gave the team a little breathing room to sort through all the entries. That meant creators had roughly one month to record, edit, animate, or assemble their best work.

Prize Pool

For a fan contest, this was a pretty stacked lineup. The Outstanding Creator Prize had 20 winners in total:

Reward	Quantity
Cherry G80-3000S TKL RGB Mechanical Keyboard	10
Zenless Zone Zero merch bundle	10

The merch bundle included a 24-Slot Switch Game Cartridge Holder, a Wrist Protector Mouse Pad - Bangboo Edition, and an Acrylic Fridge Magnet Collection - Bangboo Edition. Talk about a sweet deal for anyone who loved the game’s little robot mascots.

How to Participate

Step one was simple but strict. During the event period, creators had to post a YouTube video that followed the submission rules, and the description had to include this exact line:

This work has been submitted for the Zenless Zone Zero Equalizing Test event

Both the account and the video content also had to remain public throughout the event period.

Step two offered two paths. Creators could fill out the official submission form, or they could tap the Publish Video button on the event page, paste the YouTube link, and use the hashtag #CreateForNewEridu.

Submission Rules

The rules were clear, and a player could not just toss up any old clip and hope for the best. Submissions had to be original fan video content related to the Zenless Zone Zero IP and produced within the last month. Multiple submissions were allowed, so a dedicated creator could enter more than once.

Every video needed to be longer than 30 seconds, but any resolution or size was fine. Both landscape and portrait formats were accepted. Content could include in-game montages, MMD, hand-drawn work, crafted projects, animation, or music.

There were also a few guardrails:

• Identical works could not be submitted to other creative contests.

• If duplicate submissions appeared from different accounts, the earliest one counted.

• Participants could not modify submissions outside the submission period.

• Works that violated HoYoLAB rules, plagiarized other creators, included unrelated content or advertising, remained unpublished after the deadline, used invalid entry methods, or contained inappropriate material were considered invalid.

The inappropriate content list included political topics, religious, racial, or gender discrimination, obscenity, slander, insults, and other potentially controversial material.

Selection and Fine Print

Prizes could not be stacked, so each participant could only walk away with one reward. If a winning submission lost qualification due to a rules violation, another would be selected from the eligible pool. If the number or quality of submissions was too low, some prizes might remain unawarded. The rewards were also the total for all regions, with no fixed amount allocated to any single region.

There were several notes worth remembering. Physical rewards could be substituted with items of equal value if inventory or logistics caused trouble, and delivery could face delays. Winners were responsible for any applicable taxes and customs procedures in their country or region, and prizes would not be resent if delivery failed because of customs clearance issues. HoYoverse employees and relevant personnel could not participate, and reselling prizes was not allowed.

Ownership Rights

The ownership section was especially important for creators. Once a valid entry was submitted, the creator granted the organizer and its affiliated companies non-exclusive, global, free, permanent, irrevocable, transferable, and sublicensable rights to the work. That covered online and offline broadcasts and displays, including official websites, social media posts, and offline exhibitions.

During or after the event period, participants were not allowed to use their submissions commercially or grant commercial use to a third party without written consent from the organizer. Doing so could lead to disqualification.

Looking back, the Equalizing Test Fan Video Contest was a solid early example of ZZZ leaning into its creative community. The timeline, prize list, and rules made it clear that HoYoverse wanted polished fan work rather than quick uploads. For players who enjoy making videos, it was the kind of event that rewarded effort with more than just bragging rights.