The global version of the mobile appOctopath Traveler: Champions of the Continentlaunched its first major crossover event after launching worldwide in 2022.Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continentintroduced four characters from theBravely Defaultseries as “Otherworld Travelers.” However, the decision to force fans to pay for attempts to summon these characters while decreasing their summoning rates was unpopular among the global player base, forcing Square Enix to apologize and make amends.
The four characters added from Square Enix’s RPGsBravely DefaultandBravely Default 2areEdea Lee, Agnes Oblige, Elvis Lesley, and Adelle Ein. Elvis could be unlocked for free by completing daily tasks, while Edea, Agnes, and Adelle appeared on summoning banners using the in-game currency called Rubies. Each woman appeared on a separate banner rather than all together, forcing players to spend a great deal of their collected Rubies across multiple skews. However, it was Square Enix’s decision to make these summon banners require paid currency that sparked the ire of fans.
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Players Must Pay for Bravely Default Characters
Adelle, amercenary fromBravely Default 2,was the first character introduced, added toChampions of the Continenton July 16, 2025. Adelle is currently summonable via a “STEP UP” campaign, a specific type of summoning event that increases her appearance chance with each roll and gives bonus items needed to upgrade her. However, STEP UP requires Paid Rubies to use, meaning players must purchase in-game currency if they want to try summoning Adelle. The initial announcement stated STEP UP campaigns forBravely Default’sAgnes and Edea would also require Paid Rubies to participate.
Fans complained, as Rubies are expensive to purchase even compared to othergacha game currencies. A single set of 300 Rubies costs $30 USD, with special 1,000-Ruby packs available for $99.99 USD. In addition, fans discovered that Adelle’s appearance rate increased only a small amount during the STEP UP campaign, coming to a 15 percent chance of receiving Adelle for five summons on the banner. However, in the Japanese version of the collaboration, Adelle could be summoned using free Rubies instead of paid, and summoning five times would result in a 50 percent chance of Adelle appearing.
Square Enix Responded Quickly to Champions of the Continent’s Controversy
Champions of the Continentplayers took to social media to chastise Square Enix for making such major changes in the global version of this collaboration, accusing the company of being “greedy” and favoring Japanese players. In response, hardly a day later Square Enix issued300 Rubies as compensationto allChampions of the Continentplayers. In addition, it was announced that Agnes and Edea’s STEP UP campaigns, which begin later in October, would use free Rubies instead of paid. Finally, every player would get one free summoning on both upcoming banners.
While this apology satisfied some fans, others were still displeased. They pointed out that global players have generally received fewer rewards compared to Japan. In addition, the Western version ofChampions of the Continenthas neglected to add a number of useful 3- and 4-star characters, forcing players to spend more Rubies to obtain 5-star characters. Fans remain concerned, especially as the next collaboration in the global version ofChampions of the Continentwill bring2B, A2 and 9S fromNier: Automataas summonable characters. It remains to be seen if Square Enix’s decisions will cause drama in future collaborations.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continentis available now for Android and iOS devices.
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