⚠️ Pre-launch FAQ — based on official announcements and previews. Updated as new information is confirmed.
Everything you need to know about Ananta, answered. This page is updated as new official information becomes available.
What is Ananta?
Ananta is a free-to-play open-world urban action RPG developed by Naked Rain (a NetEase Games studio). Set in a sprawling modern metropolis called Nova City, it blends fluid parkour traversal, real-time action combat, and a story-driven world full of characters to meet and play as. It was previously known by its working title, Project Mugen.
Is Ananta free to play?
Yes. Ananta is completely free to download and play on all confirmed platforms. There’s no base purchase or subscription. Its monetization is cosmetic-only — primarily character outfits and furniture customization items — so spending never affects gameplay.
Does Ananta have a gacha system?
Ananta does not use a gacha pull system for characters. All playable characters are unlocked through story progression — every player gets the full cast for free by playing the game. This is one of the biggest differences between Ananta and most other games in the genre.
When is Ananta releasing?
January 15, 2027. NetEase confirmed it at gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026, with a Launch Date Trailer, and the date went up first-party the same day on anantagame.com’s front page. Global pre-registration is open on every platform. No further test phase has been announced — which, for a game dated mid-January, leaves a narrow window. Full breakdown in the release date guide.
What platforms is Ananta on?
Ananta is officially confirmed for PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, Android, and cloud gaming. The PC storefront question is now settled: Steam, plus the official site. NetEase’s August 25, 2026 pre-registration post gave the list as “PC (Official Website / Steam) | PlayStation | iOS | Android.” Xbox and Nintendo Switch have not been confirmed. See our Platforms Guide for full details on each.
Is Ananta on Steam?
Yes. The Ananta Steam store page went live on August 25, 2026 (app 4814120), listed Free To Play and Windows-only. This answer used to be “no,” and it was correct until that day — the storefront had never been named and the official ANANTA Steam Community group was not a store listing. Full detail in the platforms guide.
Who develops Ananta?
Ananta is developed by Naked Rain, a studio under NetEase Games with teams in Hangzhou and Montreal.
What is Nova City?
Nova City — officially called Nova Inception Urbs — is the open-world setting of Ananta. It’s a vast, vertical modern metropolis with distinct districts including Paradox Plaza and Glimmergold. The city is built for traversal, with humans and “Chaos” living side by side. Additional cities inspired by European and American locales are planned for future content. See our Nova City Guide.
Is Ananta like Genshin Impact?
They share a structure — free-to-play, open world, large character roster — but they’re quite different. Ananta is set in a modern urban city rather than a fantasy world, emphasizes kinetic parkour traversal, and crucially has no character gacha. See our full Ananta vs Genshin Impact comparison.
How do you get characters in Ananta?
Characters are unlocked by progressing through the main story. As you advance the narrative, new playable characters join your roster — all for free, no pulls required. Because of this, there’s no reason to reroll. See the full Ananta characters roster, or our Reroll Guide for the best way to start instead.
Who is the main character in Ananta?
The Captain is the protagonist — a member of the ACD task force and the character you control from the start. You switch between other characters in your roster in real time during play, but the Captain is the story’s anchor.
You choose a male or female Captain at the start of the game and can customise their name, outfit and car. Their build and role in the story stay largely the same either way, with only minor dialogue differences.
What is an Esper in Ananta?
Esper is the in-world term for a person with supernatural abilities. All main characters and some NPCs are Espers, and each has their own story in which they fight a force called Chaos that threatens humanity. The player character is described as an Infinite Trigger — a top investigator of anomalies and paranormal events.
Note that “Esper” describes what these characters are in the fiction. It is not a rarity tier, a combat class or an element — none of those systems have been officially announced.
Character lists longer than ours
Four bios — Alan, Bansy, Dila and Mechanika — were published on the official site and then removed on September 23, 2025. Sites that snapshotted the roster before that date still list them. We keep them on a separate unconfirmed characters page with the removal date, rather than on the main roster — see the full character roster for what is currently confirmed.
Can my PC run Ananta?
Specs were shared for the pre-release builds (the TGS 2025 demo and the January 2026 closed beta), but final launch requirements have not been published. See the system requirements guide for what was shared and how to read it as a planning estimate rather than a guarantee.
Does Ananta have multiplayer?
A multiplayer mode is in development. Asked at gamescom whether Ananta is a single-player game and whether co-op was being considered, a NetEase representative said the current story and maps may make it feel single-player, but that a multiplayer mode is also being developed, with details to be announced at the appropriate time. Published by AUTOMATON on September 14, 2026.
⚠️ That is a translation, not a quotable English original. The interview was published in Japanese: 「ただ実際には、マルチプレイモードの開発も進めています」.
And it is the whole of what was said. Player counts, session structure, cross-play and whether any of it ships on January 15 are all still unannounced — treat numbers quoted elsewhere as unsourced. The older data point still stands and still fits: in a 2023 interview, lead producer Ash Qi said the game would include multiplayer components while keeping “a strong focus on solo play,” and that Ananta is not an MMORPG. In the meantime, see the Team Building Guide for how character switching works.
What was Ananta called before?
Ananta was announced at Gamescom on August 24, 2023 under the working title Project Mugen. It was renamed Ananta in late 2024 — NetEase published the official reveal on December 5, 2024. “Ananta” is Sanskrit for endless. Tokyo Game Show 2025 is a separate milestone: that’s where the game first became publicly playable, not where it was renamed. Full chronology in the release date hub.
Can I pre-register for Ananta?
Yes. Global pre-registration is open now. You can pre-register on the App Store and Google Play, and sign up on the official site at anantagame.com. See our Pre-Registration Guide for step-by-step instructions.
Last updated: September 21, 2026. Four answers changed in this pass, and three of them had gone from right to wrong while the page sat still: the release date (January 15, 2027, confirmed August 25), the PC storefront and the Steam store page (both now yes, live since August 25), and multiplayer (in development, per a NetEase interview published September 14). Have a question not answered here? This FAQ is updated as new information is confirmed — and corrected when older answers turn out to be wrong.
See also: Beginner’s Guide | Release Date | the full character roster | Games Like Ananta | interactive map