Hotta Studio confirmed Blackbird as a playable character on 23 August 2026, through a Hethereau Special Bulletin. Her preview card carried the S-Class mark. Akane Rin was confirmed the same way, also S-Class. Both are attached to version 1.4.
Neither one has a banner date. Version 1.4 has no announced date either. What you do have is the closing edge of the current window: 1.3 Phase 2 runs until 30 September 2026. I flipped my account over to Phase 2 the morning it went live and started my pull count again from zero, because that count is the only thing you control right now.
Blackbird and Akane Rin are confirmed, their banner dates are not
Two things are settled and one is not. The characters exist and are playable. The calendar does not.
- Blackbird — confirmed playable, S-Class. Psyche Esper. Announced 23 August 2026 in a Hethereau Special Bulletin. She is the steward of the Witch's House, the NPC you hand Oracle Stones to.
- Akane Rin — confirmed playable, S-Class. Lakshana Esper. Vocalist and guitarist, currently behind the counter at the StarSign bar. You met her inside Haniel's character story.
- Banner dates — unknown. Hotta Studio has not dated either one.
- Phase order — leak only. Community trackers put Blackbird in the first half and Akane Rin in the second. That is not confirmed.
Why you won't get a date from me
Hotta Studio has not run the 1.4 preview program yet. Until it does, any date you read for these banners is somebody's arithmetic, including mine below. I label it as arithmetic when I use it.
The only dated line on the NTE banner board is 30 September
Version 1.3, Rising from the Moonlit Fog, launched on 19 August 2026. Gematsu carried the date at announcement. The phase flip landed on 9 September.
Phase 2 closes on 30 September 2026. That closing date is the hardest number on the whole board, and it is the one to plan against.
The six-week cycle is a pattern, not a promise
NTE has shipped its updates on a roughly six-week cycle since launch. Apply that pattern and 1.4 opens as 1.3 closes, at the end of September. Treat that as inference. Hotta Studio has announced nothing, and I am not writing a date it has not given. If you want the full version history and where the game sits overall, the NTE overview has it.
What the next NTE banners will cost you in pulls
Budget 180 pulls if you want both. That is the worst case, and it is a true ceiling, not an estimate.
- Hard pity: 90 pulls. The featured S-Class is guaranteed there.
- Soft pity: from 70 pulls. The S-Class rate jumps from 1.87% to 19.59%.
- No 50/50. Any S-Class you pull on a limited banner is the featured one, at 100%.
- Arcs are a separate track. The featured signature weapon carries its own guarantee at 80 pulls.
I tested the ceiling myself in Phase 1
I went to hard pity on Zankou in August. Ninety pulls, she came out, no coin flip and no consolation unit I did not want. That single rule is why NTE budgeting is arithmetic and not gambling — I explain how that changes the maths against a direct rival in our comparison with Zenless Zone Zero.
With three weeks left in the current window, you know exactly how far off 180 you are.
Discover NTE: Neverness to Everness — free-to-play, PC
The 1.4 preview program is where the banner dates become official. Watch the in-game news panel and Hotta Studio's channels through late September.
Open the official NTE page →Three things that could still move these NTE banner dates
Each of these has a way out. None of them is a reason to sit still.
Cadence slips happen. A six-week pattern held three times is not a contract. Your exit: watch for the 1.4 preview program, which is where dates get confirmed and where the phase split gets named.
The phase order is unverified. If you save assuming Blackbird comes first and the order flips, you spend at the wrong moment. Your exit: hold to 180 rather than 90, and you cover either order.
Your machine, not the calendar. NTE asks for around 60 GB and a GTX 1660 floor. If that is what is blocking you, it is a one-evening problem, not a patch-day one — the NTE system requirements and settings piece has the numbers.
Who each one is actually for
Blackbird is the pull if you build around Psyche and want the Witch's House kit. Akane Rin is the pull if Lakshana is the hole in your roster. Check your own gaps before the window opens, not after — our Esper priority guide sorts that out.
NTE banner calendar as of 9 September 2026. Only the 1.3 windows carry dates given by Hotta Studio.
| Banner window | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1.3 Phase 1 — Zankou debut, Nanally rerun | 19 Aug – 9 Sep 2026 | Closed |
| 1.3 Phase 2 — Linko debut, Hotori rerun | 9 Sep – 30 Sep 2026 | Live now, confirmed |
| Version 1.4 update | No date given | Announced, undated |
| Blackbird banner | No date given | Character confirmed 23 Aug 2026, date unknown |
| Akane Rin banner | No date given | Character confirmed, date unknown |
| 1.4 opening if the cycle holds | End of Sep 2026 | Inference from the six-week pattern, not official |
Read next
- NTE: platforms, size, gacha and Espers — Silo pillar — the full overview for readers who arrived on a banner query and want the wider picture.
- NTE system requirements and settings — Hardware bridge: the 60 GB and GTX 1660 objection is the one that stops a reader from being ready on banner day.
- NTE against Zenless Zone Zero: gacha with no 50/50 — The no-50/50 rule is the pull-budget argument; the comparison develops it without this article chasing that query.
- NTE Esper priority guide — Psyche and Lakshana roster gaps are what decide which of the two banners a reader actually pulls on.
- Upcoming free PC games: confirmed dates and F2P switches — Same category, same reader intent — a dated board of what ships when, for readers tracking more than one release.