The free-to-play NetEase title is just over four months away from being released.
ByTrey Alston
August 29, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Naked Rain and NetEase Games will launch the free-to-play anime open-world game Ananta globally on January 15, 2027, for PS5, PC, iOS, and Android.
- A new trailer introduces Chongxiao, a Shanghai-, Hangzhou-, and Tokyo-inspired city where players can learn Shaolin kung fu and other martial arts, alongside the GTA: Vice City-like Nova City.
- Players can parkour, grapple, swing, drive, and explore without stamina limits, while unlocking playable characters through gameplay instead of a character-gacha system.
Ananta, the long-awaited open-world anime action game, has been given a firm release date set for next year.
Developer Naked Rain and publisher NetEase Games have confirmed that Ananta will launch globally on January 15, 2027, on PS5, PC, iOS, and Android, as a free-to-play title.
The January window puts the game’s arrival several months afterGTA VI‘s anticipatedNovember release, which is a good thing — considering the game looks like a Grand Theft Auto title inspired by anime.
Alongside the date, a new trailer scored to The Cranberries’ 1992 single “Dreams” introduced Chongxiao, a second launch city inspired by Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Tokyo. The setting brings martial-arts-driven combat into the mix, with players able to track down in-game masters to learn Shaolin kung fu techniques and other fighting styles.
Chongxiao joins Nova City, the game’s first setting, which has drawn frequent comparisons to Vice City from the GTA series.
Players take the role of Captain, a member of a struggling peacekeeping organization called the ACD, searching for a missing father while rebuilding the group’s standing. Traversal spans wall-climbing, parkour, grappling, and Spider-Man-style swinging with no stamina penalty, while open-world activities run from jet skis and flying vehicles to arcades, gyms, and tow-truck side jobs.
One of the more notable design calls is the monetization model: Ananta carries no gacha mechanics for character unlocks. Naked Rain has said Ananta will not use a character-gacha system; playable characters will instead be unlocked through gameplay.
Anantabegan life as Project Mugen when it was first revealed at Gamescom in August 2023, before being renamed in November 2024.
