Bandai Set to Reveal Major New hololive x Gundam Collab Update
Image by Charlotte DavisBandai is preparing a major new update for its Gundam x hololive Production collaboration, with new METAL ROBOT SPIRITS releases connected to the crossover set to be revealed on August 27.
The announcement could finally clarify how some of the custom mobile suits created for the project will be turned into commercially available figures, following months of artwork, exhibition displays and other collaboration content.
Gundam x hololive Production began earlier this year as a wider multimedia crossover featuring original mobile suit color schemes based on individual VTubers, custom pilot suits, mini-stories, music and merchandise.
The first six pairings brought together the Nu Gundam and Sakura Miko, Sazabi and Hoshimachi Suisei, Gundam Exia and Shirakami Fubuki, Crossbone Gundam X1 and Houshou Marine, Freedom Gundam and Hakui Koyori, and the Banshee Norn and Rindou Chihaya.
A second wave later doubled the lineup with the Unicorn Gundam for Usada Pekora, Wing Gundam Zero EW for Oozora Subaru, Providence Gundam for Tsunomaki Watame, Gundam Epyon for Mori Calliope, Destiny Gundam for IRyS, and Gundam Astray Gold Frame Amatsu Mina for Todoroki Hajime.
Each mobile suit uses colors and markings tied to its respective hololive talent, turning familiar Gundam designs into character-specific machines rather than simply placing collaboration logos on their standard appearances.
The possibility of METAL ROBOT SPIRITS versions has been present since hololive SUPER EXPO 2026, where Bandai displayed a Sakura Miko-colored Nu Gundam from the completed figure line alongside Gunpla paint samples, MOBILE SUIT ENSEMBLE items, and other prototype collaboration merchandise.
Those displays were presented as reference items rather than confirmed retail products, making the newly teased “METAL ROBOT SPIRITS x Gundam hololive” announcement the clearest indication yet that the idea is progressing toward an official release.
METAL ROBOT SPIRITS combines die-cast components with detailed paintwork and extensive articulation, placing the range above conventional ROBOT SPIRITS figures in both finish and weight.
Several mobile suits used throughout the hololive project already have counterparts within the line, potentially giving Bandai existing figure designs that can be adapted with the collaboration’s new colors and markings.
Exactly which hololive talents and mobile suits will be included in the first commercial wave has not been announced, and Bandai has not yet confirmed prices, release dates, or whether every one of the 12 crossover machines will eventually receive a METAL ROBOT SPIRITS version.
The hololive reveal will be part of a broader round of Gundam figure announcements on August 27, with Bandai also promising new information for its recently introduced ABSOLUTE ACT brand and the enormous METAL STRUCTURE line.
ABSOLUTE ACT was introduced in July as a new completed figure series built specifically around action posing, with the first release being confirmed as the Strike Freedom Gundam.
The upcoming update should therefore provide the first substantial explanation of what separates ABSOLUTE ACT from Bandai’s numerous existing Gundam figure ranges, including a closer look at the Strike Freedom’s articulation and accessories.
A new METAL STRUCTURE release is also being teased for the same announcement, raising the possibility of long-awaited news on the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II that Bandai first displayed in development several years ago.
Bandai has not confirmed that the Mk-II is the subject of the teaser, however, so its involvement remains speculation until the new METAL STRUCTURE information is formally revealed.
These new announcements will come just days after Bandai delivered a similarly packed update for Gunpla through its “Latest! Gunpla Info Bureau” presentation.
Among those reveals was the RG 1/144 Ground Type Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, which is being designed around the machine’s characteristic kneeling 180mm Cannon firing pose and includes an opening rear container.
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ’s Hamma-Hamma is finally receiving a modern HG 1/144 kit as well, complete with flexible lead wires for displaying its Psycommu-controlled forearms and three-barrel beam cannons away from the body.
Gundam 00 joined the lineup through the MGSD 00 Raiser, with Bandai showing its deployable GN Drives and an oversized GN Sword beam effect alongside the compact but heavily detailed MGSD construction.
At the higher end of the range, the newly revealed MGEX 1/100 Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam brings Kira Yamato’s final Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom machine into MASTER GRADE EXTREME with the Proud Defender and its elaborate white and gold wing system.
The PG UNLEASHED Nu Gundam also received a substantial optional expansion containing six additional Fin Funnels and transparent exterior parts, allowing the massive model to be converted into a Double Fin Funnel configuration while exposing more of its internal frame.
Bandai also displayed the first painted prototypes of the HG 1/144 Gundam ZERO and HG 1/144 Gundam Helix from the new RG Project, with ZERO set to introduce a technology never previously used in Gunpla and Helix being developed around the high-speed gameplay of GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT.
With Gunpla receiving such a large update on August 25, the August 27 announcements will shift the attention toward Bandai’s higher-end Gundam figures, with the hololive collaboration being perhaps the most anticipated by fans.
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