Heartipedia

Ananta (video game)

Ananta, revealed in 2023 as Project Mugen, is a free-to-play urban open-world role-playing game developed by Naked Rain and published by NetEase Games.[^1][^5][^6] It is due worldwide on Jan 15, 2027 for PlayStation 5, PC and mobile, and as of Nov 7, 2026 it is not yet out.[^1][^2] The player leads a broke task force that fights supernatural beings in modern cities while chasing fame online, and NetEase says every playable character is earned in play rather than sold through a gacha.[^2][^10][^12]

The Captain fights a street gang in a city plaza From NetEase's Gameplay Video of September 2025: in captured play, the suited Captain punches and dodges through a crowd of masked gang members in front of their armored trucks, then lashes them with black tentacles that grow from his body.

Developer
Naked Rain (studios in Hangzhou and Montreal)[1][7]
Publisher
NetEase Games[1]
Genre
Free-to-play urban open-world RPG[2]
Platforms
PlayStation 5, PC (Steam and its own client), iOS, Android[2][4]
Release date
Jan 15, 2027, worldwide[1][2]
Former name
Project Mugen (Aug 2023 to Nov 2024)[5][6]
Engine
A modified Unity engine, per the lead producer[11]
Pre-registrations
26,007,256 on the official counter (Nov 1, 2026)[26]
Award
Japan Game Awards 2025, Future Division[19]

Overview

Ananta is an open-world action role-playing game set in present-day cities, developed by Naked Rain and published by NetEase Games.[1][2] Steam's listing calls it "an Urban Open World RPG with no rules" and gives its release date as Jan 15, 2027.[1] It is free to play on PlayStation 5, on PC through Steam and NetEase's own client, and on iOS and Android, and the date is the same worldwide.[2][4] As of Nov 7, 2026 the game is not out: Steam says it is not yet available, and the App Store lists it as expected on Jan 15, 2027.[1][17] NetEase's own description makes the player the new captain of a special task force who can also take to the streets as a hacker, a delivery rider or a live-streamer.[10] The campaign around the release date summed up the premise as "Go Viral. Save the World."[2]

The Captain fights a street gang in a city plaza From NetEase's Gameplay Video of September 2025: in captured play, the suited Captain punches and dodges through a crowd of masked gang members in front of their armored trucks, then lashes them with black tentacles that grow from his body.

Development

NetEase revealed the game as Project Mugen on Aug 24, 2023, as a free-to-play title for PC, mobile, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.[5] That first pitch was darker: the player was an Esper called the "Infinite Trigger" in a world where urban legends come true, fighting in teams of four characters, each with a movement skill such as parkour, swinging or wall-climbing.[5] After more than a year of near silence, the game was renamed Ananta on Nov 29, 2024, with a countdown on its website pointing to a further reveal on Dec 5.[6] The press release of that day made the player an elite agent of the Anti-Chaos Directorate (A.C.D.) in Nova City, and said Naked Rain runs studios in Hangzhou and Montreal with over a decade of experience in free-to-play games.[7]

The 2023 Project Mugen reveal The reveal trailer IGN posted in August 2023 moves through city scenes labeled as in-game footage, from a neon street at night to a crowded crossing and a beach, under the game's original name.

The teaser that renamed Project Mugen In NetEase's 49-second teaser of Nov 29, 2024, a white-haired girl with rabbit ears lounges on a rooftop while explosions light the skyline, then writes the new name over a sheet of crossed-out alternatives.

Testing and the road to a date

China's regulator licensed Ananta in its December 2024 batch, when NetEase counted more than 8.43 million pre-registrations worldwide.[8] A first offline closed test ran in China in January 2025, and on its earnings call the next month NetEase reported positive feedback and a team still expanding in an orderly way.[9] At Tokyo Game Show 2025, lead producer Ash Qi told Inven that about 700 people work on the game in research and development, that the Chinese and Montreal teams build it together, and that it runs on the Unity engine, modified by the team through trial and error.[11] Famitsu had printed a 2026 release; the producer said the year came from internal presentation materials and that a firm date would follow later.[13] On May 21, 2026, NetEase's Hu Zhipeng told investors that Ananta was "not a reskin" and that the team would rather take more time on quality than rush out an ordinary game.[14] The release date was announced at gamescom Opening Night Live on Aug 25, 2026.[4]

Setting and story

The story opens in Nova City, a fictional metropolis where the A.C.D. deals with Chaos, supernatural beings whose antics include toilets racing through traffic.[7] The player arrives as the task force's new captain and plays alongside companions, and NetEase's own text lists a cop, a hacker, a delivery rider and a live-streamer among the lives the cast leads.[10] A second city, Chongxiao, was unveiled in the release date trailer of Aug 25, 2026.[2] That trailer closes with Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower in view and uses "Meng Zhong Ren", the song from the film Chungking Express, as its music.[4] PocketGamer.biz describes the two cities as fictional places drawn heavily from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Tokyo, and the producer told 4Gamer that Nova City gathers interesting places from across Asia rather than Japan alone.[3][12] Allies join through the main story, side quests and missions, and through friendships that gifts help along.[12]

Nova City in the Announce Trailer The Announce Trailer of Dec 5, 2024, the first under the Ananta name, shows Nova City's skyline above a beach road, then cuts through a street race, a skate park, a club stage, a crowded beach and a basketball court.

Gameplay

Combat is hand to hand in a martial arts style, and players switch between characters and use their surroundings in a fight.[3] NetEase says golf clubs and trash bins work as weapons.[10] The city is crossed by subway, bus, car, taxi and helicopter, and the producer adds motorbikes, boats and planes.[10][12] Movement and combat share what Naked Rain calls the "3C system", including swinging between buildings, and many interiors can be entered without a loading screen.[6] Between missions there are hotspots such as petting cats in parks, a basketball court and a live music venue where characters can perform.[10][12] NetEase's publishing and marketing leads promised at least 100 hours of content at launch and support for at least seven years, with new quests, characters and maps.[15] The producer told Famitsu that Ananta is not an MMORPG but that a multiplayer mode is planned.[13] As of Nov 7, 2026 Steam lists single-player, online co-op and cross-platform multiplayer among its features, and the PlayStation Store says online play is required.[1][18]

A street fight at Tokyo Game Show 2025 Braxophone, who played the Tokyo Game Show 2025 demo, describes fighting off a surrounding gang with punches, counters and a staggering parry, finishers that send thugs into a windshield or a dumpster, and a sewer grate lifted with psychic powers and thrown.

Business model

Ananta has no character gacha, the randomized draw many free-to-play games use to sell characters.[12] Producer Ash told 4Gamer that with a gacha, whether a player could pull a character would change which story that player experiences.[12] He told Famitsu that every banner would have pushed a new character into the spotlight at the expense of existing companions, and that the number of playable characters should not depend on spending.[13] What is sold instead is cosmetic: outfits, special event outfits and customization for cars and bikes, including itasha, vehicles decorated with anime art.[12] Many clothes can be bought with in-game currency, the producer said, and the team avoids pay-to-win items.[11][13] The store listings leave one question open. Apple's App Store marks the game as containing loot boxes and infrequent simulated gambling, without saying which items are random, and the PlayStation Store lists in-game purchases as optional.[17][18]

The producer's answer on gacha and paid items MugenFox reads out the producer's Tokyo Game Show 2025 answer: Ananta runs as a free-to-play game with no gacha for characters, sells character skins and limited-time event outfits, and lets players buy cars and home renovation mostly with in-game currency.

Release and platforms

As of Nov 7, 2026, Ananta's release date stands at Jan 15, 2027, the date NetEase announced at gamescom on Aug 25, 2026.[1][4] The PlayStation Store lists the PlayStation 5 version, marked PS5 Pro Enhanced, for 10:00 UTC that day, and NetEase Interactive Entertainment, the company's Singapore arm, is named as the publisher on the PlayStation Store and the App Store.[17][18] PlayStation 4, named at the 2023 reveal, is absent from the current listings, and no Xbox or Nintendo version has been announced.[5][2][18] Steam lists 16 languages, four of them with full audio, and still gives the processor and graphics requirements as "TBD".[1] NetEase counted more than 17 million pre-registrations from over 110 countries and regions when it announced the date, and the official site's counter read 26,007,256 on Nov 1, 2026, by Vi.ki's reading.[3][26]

The launch date card The end of the Launch Date Trailer of Aug 25, 2026: after tea fields, a village street and a carnival, a title card gives Jan 15, 2027, then a final card adds a global, free-to-play release on PS5, Windows, iOS and Android.

Comparisons and controversies

The press often calls Ananta an "anime GTA", after its anime-styled cast in an open city with cars to take.[25] It launches eight weeks after Grand Theft Auto VI, which Rockstar Games has set for Nov 19, 2026.[23] A closer rival is Neverness to Everness, another anime-style open world in a modern city from Hotta Studio and Perfect World, which launched on Apr 29, 2026 on the same four platforms.[24] NetEase's Hu Zhipeng acknowledged that the open-world field was crowded in 2026 but said competition in the industry is not zero-sum.[14] The sharpest criticism came from Insider Gaming on Sep 24, 2025, which wrote from a clip shared on X that Ananta's swinging animations look identical to those of Marvel's Spider-Man 2.[16] The same article said Ananta used the usual gacha mechanics for characters, which the producer's interviews that week contradicted.[16][12][13] NetEase has not publicly answered the animation comparison.

Reception

Ananta has no reviews as of Nov 7, 2026, since it is not released; what critics have written comes from trade-show demos.[1] It won the Future Division of the Japan Game Awards 2025, one of 11 unreleased games honored at Tokyo Game Show on Sep 28, 2025.[19] It is also one of 20 nominees for Most Wanted Game at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026, beside The Witcher 4, Fable and Persona 6, with the winners due on Nov 11, 2026.[20] After gamescom 2026, Automaton West wrote that its cinematic style and lifelike cities make it feel more like a full-priced AAA game than a free one.[22] Gamer Guides judged that the sandbox has a ton of promise even if it has all been done before, while listing forced stealth and linear story missions as weak points.[21] PC Gamer's headline after Tokyo Game Show 2025 named the borrowings plainly, Spider-Man's swinging and Batman's punching.[25]

IGN's verdict after gamescom 2026 IGN's hosts, one of whom played the gamescom 2026 demo for most of an hour, note that any open world arriving after Grand Theft Auto 6 will be measured against it, call Ananta a singular game built from many others, and wonder how its pieces will come together.

  1. NetEase reveals the game as Project Mugen for PC, mobile, PS4 and PS5.[5]
  2. A teaser renames the game Ananta.[6]
  3. The Announce Trailer and press release introduce Nova City and the A.C.D.[7]
  4. China's December batch of game licenses includes Ananta.[8]
  5. A first offline closed test runs in China.[9]
  6. Ananta wins the Japan Game Awards 2025 Future Division at Tokyo Game Show.[19]
  7. NetEase tells investors Ananta is "not a reskin" and that quality comes before speed.[14]
  8. The Jan 15, 2027 date and the second city, Chongxiao, are revealed at gamescom Opening Night Live.[2][4]
  9. Golden Joystick Awards 2026, where Ananta is nominated for Most Wanted Game.[20]
  10. Scheduled worldwide launch on PS5, PC, iOS and Android.[1][2]

What we think

This section is Heartipedia’s own opinion, not sourced fact. Each view is reasoned from the facts cited above and from trends we see; it may turn out wrong. A prediction’s words are never changed once made: when the facts are known we add the result under it, right or wrong. Every prediction we have made.

The Jan 15, 2027 date holds

We expect Ananta to launch on Jan 15, 2027 on PlayStation 5, PC, iOS and Android, with no delay on any of the four.

Why: NetEase already took its extra time in public: in May 2026 it told investors it would rather spend longer on quality than rush, and it named the date three months later, with Steam, the App Store and the PlayStation Store all listing it. It also chose a date eight weeks after Grand Theft Auto VI knowing where that game sat, so a late move by Rockstar gives it no reason to shift.

Prediction Confidence: Likely Check by: Jan 2027 Made

The random paid items are outfits and car looks, not characters

We expect the random items behind the App Store's loot box label to be cosmetic draws, such as outfit or vehicle-skin capsules, on sale from launch day. We think no character, and no item that makes a character stronger, will ever be sold at random.

Why: Every producer interview since Tokyo Game Show 2025 says characters join through play and that pay-to-win items are avoided, while the paid side is outfits, event outfits and car customization. A store label for loot boxes has to cover something, and in a game that sells only looks, the only thing left to randomize is looks.

Prediction Confidence: Likely Check by: Feb 2027 Made

A Project Mugen face comes back

Our prediction is that at least one character from the 2023 Project Mugen trailers, cut from the official roster since, returns as a playable ally in a 2027 update.

Why: The 2023 game was built around a team of Espers, and Naked Rain has promised at least seven years of new characters, quests and maps. A studio that must keep adding characters it cannot sell needs story reasons for each, and a cast already designed and remembered by the fans who followed the codename is the cheapest place to find them.

Prediction Confidence: Long shot Check by: Dec 2027 Made

No Xbox version through 2027

We expect no Xbox or Nintendo Switch 2 version of Ananta to be announced before the end of 2027.

Why: PlayStation 4 was named in 2023 and quietly dropped, which shows the team cutting platforms rather than adding them. The PlayStation 5 version is marked PS5 Pro Enhanced on Sony's store, the PC version has NetEase's own client beside Steam, and phones are where a free game finds most of its players, so the first years of support are likely to go into content for the four platforms it has.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Dec 2027 Made

The counter passes 30 million before launch

We expect the official pre-registration counter to pass 30 million before Jan 15, 2027.

Why: NetEase counted 17 million on Aug 25, 2026 and the counter read 26,007,256 on Nov 1, 2026, about 9 million in 68 days. Reaching 30 million needs about 4 million more in the 75 days left, roughly 53,000 a day, and the weeks before a free launch add a final trailer and store features that push sign-ups up again.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Jan 2027 Made

The loot box label is the question NetEase most needs to answer

We think the unexplained loot box label is Ananta's biggest pre-launch weakness. We think its no-character-gacha promise is the most player-friendly business decision in its genre, and that leaving the label unexplained lets one store line undercut it.

Why: The producer's reasons for dropping the character gacha, that a pull should not decide which story a player sees and that no companion should be pushed aside by the next banner, are the clearest answer any anime open-world game has given. Yet Apple's listing flags loot boxes and simulated gambling, and the early Insider Gaming report already called Ananta a gacha game once. A single sentence naming what is random would settle it.

Opinion Made

Moments

  1. The Captain fights a street gang in a city plaza From NetEase's Gameplay Video of September 2025: in captured play, the suited Captain punches and dodges through a crowd of masked gang members in front of their armored trucks, then lashes them with black tentacles that grow from his body.
  2. The 2023 Project Mugen reveal The reveal trailer IGN posted in August 2023 moves through city scenes labeled as in-game footage, from a neon street at night to a crowded crossing and a beach, under the game's original name.
  3. The teaser that renamed Project Mugen In NetEase's 49-second teaser of Nov 29, 2024, a white-haired girl with rabbit ears lounges on a rooftop while explosions light the skyline, then writes the new name over a sheet of crossed-out alternatives.
  4. Nova City in the Announce Trailer The Announce Trailer of Dec 5, 2024, the first under the Ananta name, shows Nova City's skyline above a beach road, then cuts through a street race, a skate park, a club stage, a crowded beach and a basketball court.
  5. A street fight at Tokyo Game Show 2025 Braxophone, who played the Tokyo Game Show 2025 demo, describes fighting off a surrounding gang with punches, counters and a staggering parry, finishers that send thugs into a windshield or a dumpster, and a sewer grate lifted with psychic powers and thrown.
  6. The producer's answer on gacha and paid items MugenFox reads out the producer's Tokyo Game Show 2025 answer: Ananta runs as a free-to-play game with no gacha for characters, sells character skins and limited-time event outfits, and lets players buy cars and home renovation mostly with in-game currency.
  7. The launch date card The end of the Launch Date Trailer of Aug 25, 2026: after tea fields, a village street and a carnival, a title card gives Jan 15, 2027, then a final card adds a global, free-to-play release on PS5, Windows, iOS and Android.
  8. IGN's verdict after gamescom 2026 IGN's hosts, one of whom played the gamescom 2026 demo for most of an hour, note that any open world arriving after Grand Theft Auto 6 will be measured against it, call Ananta a singular game built from many others, and wonder how its pieces will come together.

References

  1. ANANTA on Steam, Valve, 2026-11-07primary
  2. Ananta launches on January 15, 2027 for PS5, PC, mobile, RPG Site, 2026-08-25press
  3. Ananta sets January 2027 launch date as pre-registration passes 17m, PocketGamer.biz, 2026-08-27press
  4. NetEase's Ananta to launch globally on January 15, 2027, Inven Global, 2026-08-25press
  5. First trailer and screenshots for Project Mugen, pre-registration now available, RPG Site, 2023-08-24press
  6. Project Mugen has a new name, PCGamesN, 2024-11-29press
  7. Enter a New Era of Urban Open World RPG with Ananta, NetEase Games and Naked Rain, via Game Developer, 2024-12-05primary
  8. China approves 135 games in December, including NetEase's Ananta and Tencent's Monster Hunter Outlanders, TechNode, 2024-12-25press
  9. NetEase Q4 2024 earnings call, Yangtse Evening Post, 2025-02-21press
  10. Ananta at Tokyo Game Show 2025, NetEase Games, 2025-09-22primary
  11. Ananta lead producer interview (in Korean), Inven, 2025-09-26press
  12. Ananta producer interview (in Japanese), 4Gamer, 2025-09-27press
  13. Ananta producer interview (in Japanese), Famitsu, 2025-09-30press
  14. NetEase Q1 2026 earnings call (in Chinese), Tencent News, 2026-05-21press
  15. Ananta will be supported for at least 7 years, Insider Gaming, 2026-09-04press
  16. Ananta is an open world anime gacha game that looks suspiciously like Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Insider Gaming, 2025-09-24press
  17. ANANTA on the App Store, Apple, 2026-11-07primary
  18. ANANTA on the PlayStation Store, Sony Interactive Entertainment, 2026-11-07primary
  19. Japan Game Awards 2025 Future Division winners (in Japanese), Denfaminicogamer, 2025-09-28press
  20. Golden Joystick Awards 2026 nominees (in Japanese), Denfaminicogamer, 2026-09-29press
  21. Ananta looks to cover all walks of life, Gamer Guides (Ben Chard), 2026-09-11press
  22. Ananta is a free-to-play title, but its rich cinematic style and lifelike cityscapes make it feel more like a full-priced AAA game: gamescom 2026 demo impressions, Automaton West, 2026-08press
  23. Grand Theft Auto VI is Now Set to Launch November 19, 2026, Rockstar Games, 2025-11-06primary
  24. Neverness to Everness launches on April 29 worldwide for PS5, PC, iOS, and Android, RPG Site, 2026-02-27press
  25. I played China's anime GTA Ananta and I wasn't surprised to find Spider-Man swinging and Batman punching, but I wasn't quite ready for the vampire who vomits rainbows, PC Gamer, 2025-09-27press
  26. Ananta pre-registration and rewards, Vi.ki, 2026-11-01self

Reference links open in a new tab, so this page stays where you left it.

About this page

Drafted by
claude-opus-5-5 on 2026-11-07T12:00:00Z
Checked by
no AI check has run on this page
Reviewed by
not yet reviewed by a named human
Status
Published and revised continuously; this version is the one described here.
Published
7 November 2026
Last updated
7 November 2026, see what changed
Sources
No Wikipedia source; the sources are listed above.
License
Text CC BY-SA 4.0; embedded videos and thumbnails remain their uploaders’ property, shown under YouTube’s Terms of Service; quotations excluded. Details

Suggest a change Revision history

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Jump to the search box
F
Full screen on or off
Ctrl + ,
Settings
? or Ctrl + /
Open this list
Esc
Close this list, or the Settings or account menu

Video, on a page that has one

Space or K
Play or pause
← →
Back or forward 5 seconds
J L
Back or forward 10 seconds
0 to 9
Go to 0% to 90% of the video
, .
Previous or next frame, while paused
M
Mute or unmute
C
Captions on or off
F
The video full screen on or off
A D
Previous or next moment