BTS is set to officially kick off their global tour titled “BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’” on April 9, 2026, in Goyang, South кσяєα. Although there are still two months to go before the first concert, fans have already begun preparing for the event, including securing tickets and an essential item for every music festival: the ARMY Bomb.
As expected, BigHit Music quickly announced the latest version of the official lightstick, ARMY Bomb Ver. 4, designed to match the new era of the upcoming world tour. On February 6, BigHit announced that ARMY Bomb Ver. 4 would go on sale via Weverse Shop at 11:00 a.m. KST on Monday, February 9, 2026, sparking mαѕѕive excitement among fans.
However, what no one anticipated was that this sales event would turn into one of the most “bittersweet” moments for ARMYs this year!
On February 9, just about 30 minutes after sales began, the lightstick completely sold out on Weverse, demonstrating the immense purchasing power of BTS fans worldwide. At the same time, Weverse experienced a temporary system crash during the sales period, preventing some fans from accessing the website. By the time the system was restored, the lightstick was already fully sold out. This situation led to a mαѕѕive wave of disappointment and frustration among unlucky fans.
Notably, one week prior, BigHit had announced that Weverse’s system had been upgraded in preparation for this event, but it appears that the overwhelming traffic still exceeded its capacity.
Given its mαѕѕive scale, the platform rarely experiences temporary outages. However, BTS’s return alone has been enough to overload one of South кσяєα’s largest platforms at least three times within the first two months of the year. One incident occurred when BigHit announced BTS’s world tour, another when ARMY Membership packages went on sale ahead of the ARMY Membership Tour pre-sale on Ticketmaster and NOL Ticket, and now during the release of ARMY Bomb Ver. 4—highlighting just how intense the hype surrounding BTS’s comeback truly is.
Another surprising development occurred just three days before ARMY Bomb Ver. 4 went on sale, when BigHit announced that starting from the Busan concert on June 12, 2026, only ARMY Bomb Ver. 4 would be fully compatible with the wireless synchronization system during concerts. This also marks the first time that older lightstick versions will be completely removed from the synchronization system. Previously, even when newer versions were released, older models could still be used alongside them.
This decision disappointed many ARMYs, especially those who had spent large sums to purchase rare editions, including the limited-edition ARMY Bomb MAP OF THE SOUL, but never had the chance to use them due to concerts being canceled during the ¢σνι∂-19 pandemic. The fact that these versions are now almost “rendered useless” at future concerts has sparked widespread debate over HYBE’s product policy.
Many αѕѕumed that this disappointment would significantly impact the sales of ARMY Bomb Ver. 4, but the reality proved otherwise—the battle to purchase the lightstick remained extremely intense. The current situation has left ARMYs both laughing and crying at the same time, commenting:
- It got sold out when I finally got it on my cart. I have no word
- Yesterday: ‘We’re not buying Ver. 4.’ Today: Sold out in 30 minutes. ARMYs, who betrayed the group chat?
- Weverse crashed so many times, but I managed to get the lightstick & cradle. Didn’t bother with attachments as every time I tried to add them, it crashed again. Was definitely stressful! Now it’s almost 3am in UK but I can’t sleep…
- It's fcking 3am here. the side was crashing for half an hour and then they marked it as sold out, fml
- Didn’t everyone say we were boycotting ARMY Bomb Ver. 4? So who exactly bought all of them and made it sell out?
- I got it one minute before it sold out, my stress level was so high
- I have been trying to buy it for 36 minutes and it's SOLD OUT NOW I want to cry
- ARMYs disappoint new rule and also ARMYs crash Weverse and sell out everything in half an hour. I literally don't know how to react rn
- BTS Lightstick secured but this was truly the most stressful experience I have had in a long time. The tour tickets haven’t gone on sale yet in Aus but after how hard a light stick was to get, tickets are going to be a вℓσσ∂bath
- Did BigHit really upgrade the system? Oh my new lightstick! Please restock it immediately!
