Part of the Events Series:
- Collab Events: Every Crossover So Far: The full crossover history and which are worth your resources (You Are Here).
- What Is State of Survival?: How the game works and where events sit in it.
- Beginner Guide: Dominate Your First 7 Days: Headquarters progression and daily priorities.
- Is State of Survival Worth Playing?: Honest read on monetisation, which collabs lean into hard.
Quick Answer
State of Survival runs licensed crossovers several times a year. Confirmed so far: The Walking Dead, The Joker, UFC, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Hitman, Terminator 2, Silent Hill, TMNT, Pacific Rim, Rambo, The King of Fighters XV and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Each typically brings a limited-time hero, a themed story mode, HQ and capital skins, settlement decorations, marching vehicles, and avatar frames.
Evaluate the actual hero kit, resonance requirements and full upgrade cost. A licensed hero is not automatically a side-grade or a cosmetic purchase. Compare the attainable result with your core hero plan.
Overview
Crossovers are how this game stays in the news, and they're executed with more care than the genre norm. A typical collab isn't a reskin. It ships a bespoke story mode, often in a different play style to the base game, plus a full cosmetic set.
Availability and duration depend on the collaboration. A later rerun or permanent acquisition route is not guaranteed. Read the current event and exchange deadlines, and decide against your own budget rather than a presumed future return.
Here's the thing worth knowing before your first one: collab windows are among the most aggressive monetisation periods in the game. The licensed character is the hook and the bundle is the product.
Crossover Reference
Collabs are one strand of a much larger calendar. The events index indexes covered events and selected seasonal names.
The Walking Dead
The one that defined the format, and still the best known. Daryl Dixon headlined. Thematically the most natural fit the game has had, given both properties are zombie-apocalypse survival.
The Joker
DC's clown prince, and the crossover most likely to be what people mean when they search for a Batman tie-in. The game has run The Joker; a Batman-led event is not something we can confirm.
UFC
An outlier among the licences, and evidence the game will reach outside horror and action fiction when the audience overlap works.
Resident Evil
Capcom, run in two phases. Phase one brought Chris Redfield and Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village. Phase two followed with Ada Wong and Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 4. Two of the strongest-received collab heroes in the game's history, helped by a horror property that fits the setting cleanly.
Tomb Raider
Lara Croft and Himiko, running through 2024. Brought a tomb-exploration story track and a path-of-growth progression alongside the usual event structure.
Hitman
Live from 9 May 2025. Agent 47 joined as a playable hero with his Signature Suit and an unlockable Crimson Red skin, against villains Oybek Nabazov and Owen Cage, with handler Diana Burnwood carrying the story. The cosmetic package was unusually deep: capital city skin, in-city decorations, marching vehicles, avatar frames, figurines, and a card collection book.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Launched August 2025. Sarah Connor and an aging T-800 as playable characters, with the T-1000 sent by Skynet as the villain boss. Shipped four distinct modes: Battle for Tomorrow, Cyberdyne Crisis, Steel Pursuit and Puzzle Dash. The most mechanically varied collab the game has run.
Silent Hill
Ran 29 October to 10 December. Heather Mason as the hero, evolvable to Starshine tier, with a dedicated Silent Hill storyline delivered through Story Missions in tower-defence mode. Tonally the boldest pick, and it landed well with players who wanted the horror played straight.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo against Shredder's forces. The lightest in tone of any crossover so far, and aimed at a noticeably broader audience.
Pacific Rim
Kaiju Knifehead and Obsidian Fury arrive with secondary hormones that let them control zombie hordes, and you fight back with the Jaegers Striker Eureka and Gipsy Avenger. The most inventive premise for stitching two settings together.
Rambo
Limited-time events built around breaking a siege. Shorter and tighter than the larger licensed events.
The King of Fighters XV
Version 1.26.100 announced the crossover with Mai Shiranui and B. Jenet. The announcement establishes the collaboration and characters; use the live event for its acquisition costs, rules and regional availability.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Version 1.26.800 announced Ichiban Kasuga, Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. Its website publication date is not a universal per-state start date. Check the event timer rather than inferring an end date from earlier collaborations.
What a Collab Actually Contains
| Component | Typically included | Free or paid |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed hero | Often | Depends on the event and development stage |
| Themed story mode | Usually | Free |
| Hero skins | Often | Usually paid |
| HQ / capital city skin | Often | Usually paid |
| Settlement decorations | Often | Mixed |
| Marching vehicles | Sometimes | Usually paid |
| Avatar frames | Usually | Mixed |
| Collectibles / card book | Sometimes | Mixed |
Inspect the actual free track, paid track and hero requirements. The available free progress and paid benefits differ by collaboration.
Should You Chase Collab Heroes?
Depends what you need them for.
For collection and cosmetics: obviously yes, that's the appeal, and there's nothing wrong with buying a skin you like.
For account power: compare the specific skills, partner requirements and attainable development. The license does not establish parity, superiority or value. A reliable comparison needs the actual role and matchup.
For a specific role: occasionally worth it. Some collab heroes fill a niche well, and if one matches a gap in your formation, that changes the maths.
[!IMPORTANT] The trap is fragment dilution. Pulling for a collab hero spends resources that would otherwise finish a core hero you actually run. An unfinished hero may fail to outperform the developed hero already in your march. Finish what you started before chasing a licence.
Playing the Free Track Well
When a collaboration offers free progression, plan it from the live reward track:
- Read the track on day one. Know what the milestone rewards are before you spend a single point.
- Compare reachable milestones. Work out the time and resources required for the next reward.
- Bank event currency rather than spending it on the first exchange option.
- Check the exchange shop early. Record prices, limits and its closing time. Do not assume rates will improve or currency will carry over.
- Do the story mode. It's typically the largest free chunk and it's the same effort whether you engage with the theme or not.
Collab story modes frequently use different mechanics to the main game, tower defence in Silent Hill's case, puzzle stages in Terminator's. They're generally undemanding and worth clearing for the rewards even if the format isn't your thing.
F2P vs Spender
F2P players should identify the useful rewards attainable without purchases. Clear available story and free tasks, then compare the next milestone with its time and resource cost. Partial hero progress is useful only if it contributes to a feasible development path.
Spenders should compare the full cost of the intended upgrade across eligible bundles. There is no universal best bundle tier. Set a budget before starting a progression path that requires further purchases.
Common Mistakes
Derailing core hero progress for a licence. The most expensive mistake on this page. Fix: finish your current hero investment first.
Ignoring the free track because you won't buy the bundles. The free tiers are real rewards. Fix: clear the story mode regardless.
Ignoring currency rules. Check whether this item expires, converts or carries over, and note the shop deadline.
Assuming a return is guaranteed. No universal rerun rule applies. Make the current decision within your budget rather than relying on a future event.
FAQ
What collabs has State of Survival had? Confirmed crossovers include The Walking Dead, The Joker, UFC, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Hitman, Terminator 2, Silent Hill, TMNT, Pacific Rim, Rambo, The King of Fighters XV and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Is there a State of Survival Batman collab? The game has run a Joker crossover from the DC universe. A Batman-led event isn't something we can confirm, and searches for it usually lead back to the Joker collab.
Are collab heroes better than normal heroes? Not necessarily. Compare the actual kit, partner requirements, development and mode. There is no universal parity rule for licensed heroes.
Can I still get a collab hero after the event ends? Only if the game offers a later acquisition route or rerun. Do not assume that every licensed hero will return.
How often do collabs happen? The schedule and duration vary. Use the current collaboration announcement and in-game timers.
Which collab was the best? There is no supported overall ranking here. Choose by the story or collection you enjoy, or compare the specific attainable hero upgrade with your current team if your goal is combat performance.
Do collab events give free rewards? Collaboration events commonly include free tasks or story rewards. Inspect the current reward track and separate claimable free rewards from benefits that require a purchase.
Key Takeaways
- The reference now includes The King of Fighters XV and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth; schedules vary.
- Check the current free tasks and story rewards separately from paid benefits.
- Compare the actual hero kit and development cost. A license alone establishes neither strength nor value.
- Fragment dilution is the real cost. Finish core heroes before chasing licensed ones.
- Check the specific currency rule and shop closing time.
- A rerun is not guaranteed. A countdown still does not justify exceeding your budget.