Arknights Ads Flood Star Rail Carnival Entrance — Players Cry 'Ad Spammer', Both Games' Volunteer Management a Total Shitshow

A shared venue, two rival gacha games, and a whole lot of advertising beef. Honkai: Star Rail and Arknights (明日方舟) held their fan carnivals at the same venue on consecutive days — and Arknights managed to plaster its ads all over the entrance path leading to Star Rail's event. Players arriving at the Star Rail carnival were genuinely confused: 'If I didn't know Arknights' event was tomorrow, I'd think I walked into the wrong venue.'

Here's what went down: Star Rail (铁) and Arknights (粥, the community nickname) scheduled their fan fests at the same venue complex, with Star Rail going first. Players showed up to find Arknights promotional materials lining every inch of the walkway from the entrance to Star Rail's hall. One commenter on floor 14 confirmed: 'The entire path into the Star Rail venue was covered in Arknights imagery. I almost thought I was at the wrong event.'

The Star Rail community was NOT having it. They immediately branded Arknights an '买量仙人' (ad-spending fairy) — essentially accusing them of gaming the ad placement game by flooding a competitor's event with their own marketing.

But the NGA comment section wasn't exactly rallying behind Star Rail. Floor 5 offered a savage summary of the screenshots: Arknights only rented one venue but bought tons of ads — hence 'ad-spender.' Both games' volunteers were recruited through the same agency. The Arknights volunteer coordination was unclear, but Star Rail's was described as '一坨屎' (a steaming pile). The punchline? 'Conclusion: It's all Arknights' fault.' The sarcasm was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Witty commenters were quick to point out the hypocrisy. Floor 13 dropped: 'Says the company that spent more on ads than Biden's presidential campaign.' Star Rail had been running massive billboard campaigns across eight major cities — calling someone else an 'ad-spender' is peak irony.

The volunteer management angle was equally juicy. A commenter on floor 2 who claimed experience as an event volunteer said these outsourced carnival operations treat volunteers like cheap hired labor: 'In the foreman's eyes, you're just a temp worker they can boss around.' Floor 19 agreed, saying the only well-organized volunteer experience is at government-backed events — commercial carnivals just exploit free labor.

The comment section vibes were immaculate. Floor 3 was eating popcorn: 'Hurry up and fight already! I love watching this.' Floor 7 coolly noted: 'It won't escalate — Arknights fans have the momentum advantage on the gossip boards right now.' But the most devastating take was floor 17: 'My favorite genre: Shanghai gaming company catfight' — comparing the rivalry between two Shanghai-based game studios to a petty squabble between frenemies. Disrespectful? Absolutely. Hilarious? You bet.

For now, the carnival venue drama hasn't escalated further, but the tension between the two fanbases is palpable. In the gacha gaming world, '友商' (friendly competitor) has always been the most ironic term in the dictionary.