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It still boggles my mind that I’ve gone hands-on with Ananta, NetEase’s wildly ambitious anime open world.
The free-to-play effort – planned for PS5 – is one of the most extraordinary productions I’ve played in recent memory, blending a dizzying array of different gameplay elements. (A recent closed beta even confirmed a soccer minigame.)
But the 800 people working on this project are taking their sweet time releasing it – I first spoke to the title’s producer in 2023, back when it was revealed as Project Mugen.
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However, it sounds like we’ll get a meaningful update on the team’s progress next week, during Gamescom Opening Night Live.
Writing on social media, host Geoff Keighley says we’ll get a “fresh look” at the GTA-style free-to-play game during the abovementioned livestream, scheduled to air next week on 25th August. (You can find out when and where to watch through here.)
As a reminder, while this game will be free-to-play, it’s scrapping the traditional gacha element. The title will be monetised through cosmetics, although we’re obviously still waiting for more details.
I’m hopeful we may finally get some kind of release window or open beta announcement for this release next week, as it has been a long time coming. But given the scale of the ambition on display, I’m not expecting this until 2027 at the earliest – potentially later.