Updated 26 August 2026
ANANTA news
Every announcement, dated and sourced. Anything that did not come from NetEase Games directly is labelled with where it did come from, so you can tell an announcement from a hands-on impression from a leak.
- Reported by press
Playable behind closed doors at gamescom
Not an official announcement. Reported by the press from a demo or a hands-on session.
NetEase brought ANANTA to gamescom in Cologne, 26 to 31 August. Press were given a closed build rather than a show-floor demo, which is why the hands-on impressions published that week all describe the same slice of the game.
- Reported by press
Female Captain shown in gameplay, co-op mentioned but not detailed
Not an official announcement. Reported by the press from a demo or a hands-on session.
Gamescom footage showed the female Captain in action, after months of trailers built around the male version. Both versions have now appeared in official material, but whether you pick one at the start or can switch later has not been stated. Co-op is a different case: GamingPH reported developers mentioning it in a gamescom interview, but no player count, scope or launch date has been given, and the official Steam page lists the game as single-player only.
- Reported by press
No pay-to-win, and more than 100 hours of content
Not an official announcement. Reported by the press from a demo or a hands-on session.
In the same gamescom interview, the developers said ANANTA will not sell direct gameplay advantages and put the content at more than 100 hours. Both are statements of intent made before launch, not features anyone outside the studio can verify yet. They are consistent with what was already known: characters are unlocked through the story, not a gacha.
- Official announcement
Release date set for 15 January 2027
Announced during gamescom Opening Night Live, alongside a new trailer. The launch is simultaneous on PlayStation 5, PC, iOS and Android. Xbox and Nintendo Switch were not mentioned, and still have not been.
- Official announcement
Lingyun City revealed as the second explorable hub
The gamescom trailer introduced Lingyun City, in the Chongxiao region, as the second place to explore after Nova City. NetEase describes its cities as inspired by Shanghai, Hangzhou and Tokyo. Chongxiao is greener and slower than Nova City, with bamboo forests and tea plantations instead of wall-to-wall towers. Across the game, NetEase lists cinemas, mahjong parlours, arcades, cat and maid cafés, gyms, restaurants, clothing stores and open-air hot springs, and more than 100 NPCs with their own stories and quests.
- Official announcement
The official premise: “Go Viral. Save the World.”
The gamescom press release states the idea the whole game hangs on. You play as an influencer, and the core systems run on social influence and the pursuit of attention. That is a sharper pitch than “anime open world”, and it matches the promotional images on the official site, which show the Captain taking a selfie in the street and posing in front of a night skyline rather than fighting.
- Reported by press
Pre-registration passes 17 million
Not an official announcement. Reported by the press from a demo or a hands-on session.
NetEase put the figure at more than 17 million sign-ups at gamescom. Treat pre-registration counts as a marketing number rather than a forecast of players: they are free, cross-platform and heavily incentivised by milestone rewards. What the figure does show is the size of the audience that will search for this game in January.