CODE VEIN II has only been out for a while, but its first big expansion, Mask of Idris, is already on the way, and it promises to take players somewhere the main game never fully showed them. Ahead of its release, we had the chance to sit down with Producer Keita Iizuka and Director Hiroshi Yoshimura to talk about what players can expect. Over the course of the interview, the two walked us through the ideas behind the Forsaken World, introduced us to new characters like Liv Voda, and gave us a preview of the free update launching alongside the expansion. Here’s everything they had to say.

A World Shaped by What History Left Behind

The main game of CODE VEIN II is built around the player stepping into tragic histories and changing them through their own will. Mask of Idris looks at the same idea from the opposite direction. “The Forsaken World was created from a different perspective,” Yoshimura explained.

“It focuses on worlds that disappeared as a consequence of history being altered, as well as the feelings and emotions that were lost along with them, outside of the protagonist’s direct journey.”

He added that this angle is meant to work alongside what players already know rather than replace it. “By coming into contact with the people and emotions of these worlds that might otherwise have existed, players can gain a deeper understanding of the story they experienced in the main game and the dramas surrounding its characters,” he said, noting that the goal was for the main game and the DLC to complement and enrich each other in that way.

Iizuka echoed that sentiment when asked what stands out most about the expansion. “The expansion broadens not only the story, but also the environments and the overall exploration experience,” he said, before pointing to the new cast as the real highlight.

“I think its biggest appeal lies in the new characters and the stories connected to them, particularly the parts that were not depicted in the main game.”

Because those stories tie directly into changes in history, he expects familiar faces to hit differently the second time around.

“Players who already know the main story may encounter moments where they realize, ‘So this is what happened as a result of what occurred back then.'”

Not a Conclusion, Not a Setup, but a Companion Story

Given how CODE VEIN II ended, some players might assume Mask of Idris exists to close things out or set up a sequel. Iizuka was direct in saying that isn’t the case. “The story of Mask of Idris takes place in worlds that were lost as a result of the various changes to history that occurred throughout the main game,” he said.

“Some of those changes were caused by the player, while others are alterations that may already have taken place in the past as part of the game’s underlying setting.”

That distinction is exactly why the DLC doesn’t try to wrap anything up. “The DLC is not really intended to serve as a conclusion to the main game or as something that directly leads into a future project,” Iizuka said. “Instead, it explores the idea that, behind the story progressing in the main game, there may have been other events and lost worlds existing out of sight.” He summed up the relationship between the two simply.

“The main game and the DLC complement each other. Experiencing both should deepen your appreciation of the world and its story.”

That connection is also why the expansion is locked behind the “Luna Fraterna” ending specifically. Iizuka kept the reasoning close to the chest, saying it’s “something we would really like players to discover by experiencing the story for themselves,” but he did explain the thinking behind requiring the full main game first.

“That way, they can properly appreciate the differences and recognize things such as, ‘So in this world, this character ended up like this,’ or, ‘This is what happened to the people in this region.'”

He was also quick to clarify that this requirement doesn’t make it the definitive path through the game. “Reaching ‘Luna Fraterna’ does not mean that it should be considered the one ‘correct’ ending,” he said, adding that the events and endings of the main story stay exactly as players left them, since nothing that happens in the main game will be altered, and its endings will not change.

How Big Is the Forsaken World?

When it comes to size, Iizuka gave a fairly clear reference point. “In terms of overall scale, including both the area and the story experience, you can roughly imagine it as being equivalent to the storyline and region associated with one hero in the main game,” he said. But the way players move through it is different from what the main campaign offers. “The expansion does not place as much emphasis on travelling across very large open areas and collecting things along the way,” he explained.

“Instead, we have focused more on creating substantial dungeon-like areas that players are expected to properly explore and overcome.”

The intent, according to Iizuka, was to trade breadth for focus. “In Mask of Idris, we want players to experience denser exploration together with a story that is closely connected to those environments,” he said. Asked to pin that down to a playtime estimate, he admitted it wasn’t something the team could easily quantify. “It is difficult for us to express the content accurately in terms of a specific number of hours,” he said.

“We would prefer players to think of it as roughly equivalent to one hero’s portion of content from the main game.”

Meet Liv Voda, the DLC’s Odd One Out

Every major character in the base game carries some weight of tragedy or hardship, and that was exactly what the team wanted to step away from with the DLC’s new addition. “The main game features many appealing characters, but most of them are placed in very harsh circumstances or are carrying some form of tragedy,” Yoshimura said.

“For the DLC, we intentionally wanted to create someone who stood in a somewhat different position from those characters. We wanted a character who could bring in more comedic elements and have a more exaggerated, eccentric personality, and that led to Liv Voda.”

Her personality leans into that idea fully. “Compared to many characters in the main game, she has a more comedic side and a very distinctive personality,” Yoshimura said, adding with a laugh-worthy example, “she develops very strong feelings for the protagonist almost at first sight.” That lighter energy is meant to play against the tone of the world around her. “The story of the Forsaken World itself is planned to be very bittersweet and emotionally moving,” he said.

“We wanted Liv Voda’s personality to contrast with that sadness. By travelling together with her through such a painful world, we hope that contrast between the character and the setting creates a distinctive emotional experience.”

That same push and pull carried over into how she looks. “Those two characters were deliberately created as strong contrasts to one another,” Yoshimura said, referring to Liv Voda and her companion Lou. “Internally, their personalities could almost be described as complete opposites.” Her background plays directly into her design. “Liv Voda comes from a very influential family within this world. She grew up in relatively privileged circumstances and was also blessed with a striking physique,” he said.

“That is why she is very tall, has long limbs and is designed as a very beautiful character.”

Still, looks only tell half the story. “Her personality is extremely distinctive and contrasts quite strongly with her appearance,” Yoshimura noted, pointing out that the way she communicates her thoughts toward Lou in the Forsaken World is also highly individualistic For him, that gap between how she looks and how she acts is the whole point.

“We think that contrast between her outward appearance and her personality is one of the key aspects of Liv Voda’s appeal.”

Built for Players Who Already Finished the Fight

Some fans felt CODE VEIN II eased up on the difficulty compared to the original CODE VEIN, so we asked how the team approached challenge in the DLC. Iizuka pointed to the entry requirement itself as part of the answer. “One of the requirements for accessing this expansion is having cleared the main game,” he said.

“Part of the reason is so that players can fully appreciate the story, but we also wanted them to take the characters they have already developed and challenge a new round of exploration and combat.”

That assumption shaped everything that followed. “The enemies and exploration areas in the DLC were therefore designed around the assumption that players have already cleared the main game and are bringing in characters at that stage of progression,” Iizuka said.

“We want players to use the characters they have built up throughout the game and take on new challenges with them.”

The team didn’t build Mask of Idris in a vacuum. “Yes, absolutely,” Yoshimura said when asked if player feedback influenced development. “After the game was released, we continued to gather reactions and feedback from players, and we used that information when making final refinements and adjustments.” One concrete example was combat feel. “After launch we released an update that significantly improved the responsiveness of player actions,” he said.

“The DLC has been designed and balanced around that improved action tempo, with the aim of making combat feel more exciting and responsive.”

Player requests also shaped what’s coming outside the expansion itself. “We are also planning a free update to launch alongside the expansion, which will include several additional pieces of content,” Yoshimura said. He specifically called out one recurring ask from the community. “One request we received quite often was to see more of the world after the true ending, so the update will include some material that depicts what happens afterward,” he said.

“We hope players will enjoy both the expansion and the free update and use them to experience even more of the world of CODE VEIN II.”

What the Free Update Brings

Iizuka broke down a few specifics of that update. “The free update will add several new elements across the different aspects that make up the overall CODE VEIN II experience,” he said. Chief among them is post-ending content.

“Since many players will already have completed the main story, we want to show a little more of what the world looks like afterward, with the various characters still present, through some additional episodes.”

On top of that, returning players will get a familiar mode back. “We are also adding a boss rematch mode, similar to the one that appeared in the previous game,” Iizuka said. There’s also an option aimed at a different kind of player.

“For players who primarily want to enjoy the story rather than focus on challenging combat, we are adding a mode that allows them to play with a somewhat strengthened player character.”

Progression in the DLC brings fresh tools along with it. “As you continue exploring and progressing through the story, you will naturally obtain new Blood Codes, weapons, Formae and Jails,” Yoshimura said. Some of it goes beyond what the main game offered. “Some of them have properties and abilities that did not appear in the main game, including options that are a little more unconventional or tricky,” he explained. His hope is that players take advantage of it.

“We hope players will enjoy experimenting with those new build possibilities while progressing through the DLC’s story.”

Bosses With Their Own Tragedies

Asked to name the standout fight of the expansion, Yoshimura didn’t take the bait. “It is difficult to answer without getting into spoilers,” he said. What he did share was the philosophy behind the DLC’s boss encounters. “The bosses that appear in the Forsaken World are not simply obstacles placed in front of the player,” he said.

“Each of them appears before the player while carrying their own tragedy. As you fight them, you gradually come into contact with their emotions and circumstances.”

The goal, according to Yoshimura, is for those fights to linger after they’re over. “We want those fights and the characters themselves to leave an emotional impression,” he said. Rather than singling one out, he left it open to interpretation. “Every boss is exciting in its own way,” he said.

“We have included different kinds of drama and emotional moments throughout these encounters, and what resonates most strongly will probably differ from player to player. I hope everyone can discover the enemy that moves them the most.”

Filling in the Emotional Gaps of the Main Story

Beyond new characters and areas, Yoshimura sees Mask of Idris as a chance to explore parts of the world the main game didn’t have room for. “There are many historical facts and pieces of background information that serve as foundations for the main story,” he said.

“However, we were not always able to fully depict what people were feeling behind those events, or the emotional connections that existed between them. The DLC gives us an opportunity to express more of those elements, and we believe that adds greater depth to the world and the overall work.”

He was also careful to frame the expansion as more than a side story. “This expansion is also not simply an epilogue or a separate story about another character,” he said.

“It is deeply connected to one of the most important elements of CODE VEIN II: altering history through time travel. Because of that, we feel we have been able to fully express the kind of story experience that is unique to this game.”

That focus on emotion extends to how he hopes players engage with the game moment to moment. “I believe one of the major characteristics of this game is that, while it is a challenging action game, it can also deliver a very emotionally moving story,” Yoshimura said. “The experience of changing an outcome through your own choices and abilities, and the bonds that develop with characters as a result, is something I feel can be especially powerful in this type of challenging action game.” His hope for players going through the Forsaken World is straightforward.

“I really hope players pay attention to how their own emotions change throughout the journey,” he said. “I want them to experience those emotional waves and the feeling of being swept up in what is happening.”

Unlike the main game’s choice-driven structure, Mask of Idris keeps things linear. “The story of Mask of Idris does not use a multiple-ending structure,” Iizuka confirmed. “It has been created as one complete, self-contained story.” He framed this as a deliberate shift in how players experience the DLC.

“This time, we hope players will simply experience the narrative we have prepared from beginning to end as one complete story.”

Same Universe as GOD EATER, but Different Worlds

Given some shared DNA between CODE VEIN and Bandai Namco’s GOD EATER series, we asked whether Mask of Idris includes any nods to it. Yoshimura pointed out that even the two CODE VEIN games don’t share a setting. “Even within the CODE VEIN series, CODE VEIN and CODE VEIN II depict different worlds,” he said.

“There are also some setting elements shared with GOD EATER, but in terms of their worlds, stories and characters, they are completely separate works.”

He didn’t rule out players spotting something familiar, but asked that it be taken in context.

“Players may notice certain familiar elements here and there, but these are still distinct worlds. We hope players will approach the expansion with that understanding as well.”

Taken together, Mask of Idris sounds less like a typical expansion pack and more like a second half of the same emotional story, built specifically for players who already sat with the ending of CODE VEIN II and want to know what else was happening just out of view.