Dear CEO,

This is Hyunsoo Kim, Head PD of CounterSide.

Through today’s Origin 3rd Anniversary live stream, we briefly introduced the content scheduled to be updated in the first half of 2026.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all CEOs who continue to show their unwavering interest and support for CounterSide.

It was a pleasure to connect with you during the live live stream, and we truly appreciate the enthusiasm and encouragement you shared with us.

Below, you will find a brief overview and summary of the updates planned for the first half of 2026 that were introduced during today’s live stream.

▣ New Awakened Employee – Freyja Hilde

As CounterSide’s first-ever Awakened Employee, Hilde returns in a new form as the February Awakened Employee.

The new Awakened Employee [Freyja Hilde] is a Supporter-class unit designed around the concept of a battlefield commander.

Having reclaimed her sealed power, Hilde takes on the role of a commanding presence on the battlefield, granting special buffs to the leader of the deployed squad. These effects are further enhanced when the squad includes Fenrir Squad members such as [Fenrir Type Yoo Mina], [Arhat Joo Shiyoon], and [Personification of Sephira Noelle Wright].

In addition to her role as a supporter who strengthens her allies, Freyja Hilde is also designed to perform as a capable all-round damage dealer, allowing her to contribute directly to combat rather than remaining solely in a support position.

▣ New Substream – Omen 6,  What Must Be Reclaimed

The final stage of the Omen unfolds in Ground One.
Within this seemingly peaceful city lies a small bar, home to a horned girl and a bartender, two familiar faces well known to many CEOs.

While they, along with countless others, simply wish for the calm of everyday life to continue, the disasters brought by the Omen that have struck other cities are merely part of an inevitable course.

As the decisive confrontation with Thagirion draws near, the sixth Omen title, [What Must Be Reclaimed], will introduce key figures whose fates are intertwined with Thagirion.
As this episode comes to a close, it will simultaneously feel like the beginning of an entirely new story.

▣ New Main Stream – Ep.15

Beginning with [Administration Complete], the story that introduced Noelle Wright as a new member of the Fenrir Squad, Main Stream Episode 15 brings Season 3 to its grand conclusion. In this chapter, CEOs will finally face Thagirion, the true mastermind behind every Omen incident.

Humanity stands on the brink of annihilation, with extinction looming as soon as tomorrow. The battle ahead, against a Demon Lord who has already brought about the end of the world multiple times, will be anything but easy.
Adding to the odds stacked against humanity, this Qliphoth Game will begin under conditions overwhelmingly unfavorable to mankind, as the opponent is none other than Thagirion, a Demon Lord who stops at nothing to achieve her ends.

The central theme of Mainstream Episode 15 is ‘time.’ In the previous episode, the Administration secured a means to access this new domain, and how Thagirion and the Administrator’s group will make use of the concept of time will be one of the key points to watch.

At the end of this brutal struggle, where both sides appear to have nothing left to lose, what awaits them?
What became of those who stood on the front lines to stop Thagirion’s descent?
And how will the Administrator seek to save a reality on the verge of collapse?

We invite you to see Season 3 through to its very end.

▣ New SSR Employee – Minha

The new SSR employee [Minha] is a Striker-class unit designed to directly pressure enemy Supporters through her Special Skill.

By chaining her Special Skill and Ultimate Skill, Minha significantly reduces the enemy’s combat efficiency while effectively countering Supporter units.

Minha will be available through the March Counter Pass.

▣ New Operator – Mary Crew

Mary Crew, the charismatic mother of the three Crew sisters who have been active across many aspects of CounterSide, will be released as a new Operator.

Mary Crew is an Operator designed to maximize the survivability and frontline performance of Defender and Striker-class Employees. Through her Command Skill, she provides DMG Taken RDC for all allied units, while granting additional, specialized buffs to Defender and Striker units. This allows her to significantly enhance overall squad survivability and support frontline Employees in effectively fulfilling their roles on the battlefield.

Mary Crew will be available through the operator recruitment in late March.

▣ Content Scheduled for Release in the First Half of 2026

■ Gauntlet Strategy Battle – Quick Match Update

A new Quick Match feature will be added to Gauntlet Strategy Battles, allowing CEOs to view battle results instantly without entering the combat itself in CounterSide.

This feature can be enabled through the settings menu. Once activated, Strategy Battles will resolve immediately, displaying the battle result without going through the full combat sequence.

Battles completed using the Quick Match feature can still be reviewed through replays, and they  award the same amount of points as standard Strategy Battles.

The Quick Match feature will also be available for NPC battles, making it more convenient than ever to earn Gauntlet Points.

■ World Map Branch EXP Adjustment

The maximum level for World Map Branches is 10, and each level increase unlocks additional branch facilities, allowing access to a wider variety of World Map content in CounterSide.

However, the time required to level up a branch has been relatively long. In particular, the EXP required to progress from levels 8 to 10 was significantly higher than that of levels 1 to 7, resulting in extended progression times.

To address this issue and reduce the overall time needed for branch level progression, we plan to increase the EXP obtained from Branch Missions by more than 50% compared to the current values.

With this adjustment, the time required to reach Branch Level 7 is expected to be significantly reduced. Additionally, progression from Levels 8 to 10 is also expected to take considerably less time than before.

■ Tactical Update / Operator Fusion Formula Adjustment

Currently, when performing a Tactical Update, the Tactical Update level of the Employee used as material is ignored, and the resulting level is determined solely by the Tactical Update stage of the target Employee in CounterSide.

To better preserve the value of the Employees you have invested in, we plan to improve this system so that the Tactical Update levels of material Employees are inherited and added together during Tactical Updates.

In addition, the transfer of Operator Command Skill levels will be adjusted to follow a similar rule.

For example, if a Level 3 Command Skill Operator is used to transfer skills to a Level 1 Command Skill Operator, the resulting Command Skill level will be combined to Level 4.

■ Operator Balance Adjustment

Due to their early release timing, some Operators are currently difficult to use effectively in both PvE and PvP environments. To address this, balance adjustments for these Operators are planned.

This balance update aims to make older Operators more viable within the current combat meta. At this time, the adjustments are expected to apply to six Operators.

The Operators scheduled for balance adjustments are [Merlin], [Rachel Dodds], [Anastasia Chernova], [Moena], [Moneka], and [Replacer Rook]. Further details regarding these balance changes will be provided in a future patch note.

■ Level 100 Operator Exclusive Voice Update

Unlike employees, who gain exclusive voice after getting the Lifetime Contract status, operators have not had their own dedicated voice until now.

As operators are also special employees to our CEOs, we plan to introduce operator-exclusive voice that will be unlocked upon reaching level 100.

Through the exclusive voice, we hope CEOs will be able to develop an even stronger connection with both their currently recruited operators and those they will recruit in the future.

■ Main Stream & Substream Partial Voiceover Update

To enhance immersion across CounterSide’s expansive narrative, spanning 15 Mainstream and over 40 Substream episodes, partial voiceover will be added to select highlights within certain Main Stream and Substreams.

The episodes receiving additional voiceovers are as follows.

We hope you will enjoy the highlighted scenes featuring the newly added voiceover and experience each episode in a more immersive and impactful way.

▣ 3rd Anniversary Event Rewards Summary

As announced during today’s live stream, the rewards prepared for this 3rd Anniversary event have once again been carefully selected with our CEOs in mind.

A summary table of the 3rd Anniversary event rewards is provided below.

This concludes our brief overview of the updates scheduled for the first half of 2026, as introduced during the 3rd Anniversary live stream.

We kindly ask all CEOs to take care of their health.

Thank you, as always.

Sincerely,
Hyunsoo Kim
Head PD, CounterSide