Spike Chunsoft has revealed more details for its upcoming dungeon-crawling survival RPG Zanki Zero, focusing on the setting and survival elements of the game. The eight previously-detailed characters are all clones of the supposed last remnants of humanity. These clones only have a lifespan of thirteen days, in which time they will mature, grow old, and die before being reborn again. However, the various dangers of Gareki Island mean that they may easily die before that time is up.

The characters are reborn using an arcade game-style machine called the Extend Machine. This lets players use up the "Score" acquired through ruin exploration to revive a character. When characters are revived, they keep their memories, personalities, and skills. This is part of an encouraged cycle of characters dying in order to get stronger.

Gareki Island features an old television set, which broadcasts a programme called Extend TV. The show is hosted by sheep character Mirai and a young boy named Sho Terashima, who acts as the funny many, and acts a guide for the eight clones. Extend TV gives the party missions, during which players will explore various ruins that drift past the island. Players will also need to explore to find resources and food, as well as gain score points to revive dead characters. Despite looking like a turn-based dungeon-crawler, exploration and combat in the ruins takes place in real time, with combat involving both movement and attack controls.

Survival on the island is difficult due to its ruined nature. All the characters have parameters for various attributes such as health, stamina, stress, and even need for a toilet. Players will need to build up facilities to help take care of those parameters, or else the clones can die prematurely.

Zanki Zero is being created by Spike Chunsoft with Lost Dimension developer Lancarse. The game is set to be released for PlayStation 4 and Playstation Vita in Japan this summer, with Spike Chunsoft releasing the game for PC and PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe sometime in 2018.