PlayableExplore
Explore Ananta
PlayableProtagonist
PlayableTaffy
PlayableRichie
UpcomingSeymour
UpcomingLykaia
UpcomingAileen
UpcomingAlan
UpcomingBansy
UpcomingDila
UpcomingMechanika
UpcomingRingo
Combat
Real-time action combat with a two-button core (one attack, one block/counter) and contextual finishers. Players grab and weaponise urban props — golf clubs, trash cans, cleavers, chainsaws, cars — and a GTA-style weapon wheel covers pistols, assault rifles, snipers, flamethrowers, grenade launchers and RPGs. Producer Ash Qi has framed the result as choreography inspired by Hong Kong action cinema and Jackie Chan.
Traversal
An 'anywhere in sight' framework covering ground and aerial movement: parkour, wall-climbing, uncapped swimming, motorcycles, cars with physics, helicopters, public transit (subway + bus), and Spider-Man-style grapple-swinging between skyscrapers. No stamina bar caps sprint, climb or swim. Three vertical layers — rooftops, mid-levels, ground floors — are designed to be reachable in real time.
Role-switching
Players seamlessly switch between members of the A.C.D. Task Force — Captain, Taffy, Richie, Seymour — mid-mission. Each character has independent storylines, day jobs and progression paths. Richie levels by issuing tickets and arresting suspects; Taffy levels by completing deliveries on her transforming mallet-vehicle (nicknamed the 'Bunny Bike').
Open world
A Manhattan-scale city in three districts (Residential West, Commercial Central, Financial East). 24/7 NPC routine cycle, dynamic traffic ripple effects, interactive hotspots (pet cats, gang clashes), mini-games (basketball, claw machines, darts, arcades), photography, an in-game social-media app (Scope), home decoration in player residences. NetEase's design framing is that anything you can see should be something you can interact with.
Monetization
Ananta is free-to-play, but every playable character is unlocked through story progression or organic open-world encounters. Producer Ash Qi, in an interview after Tokyo Game Show 2025, explicitly stated locking characters behind gacha would clash with Ananta's high-freedom design. Cosmetics (outfits, vehicles, home decoration) are the monetization backbone. Outfits are gender-shared with automatic body-type adaptation across tall, short and curvy frames.
Nova City
The city in motion
Jun 8, 2026 No-show across the June 2026 summer showcases
Ananta was absent from June's marquee showcases — Sony's State of Play (June 2), Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase and the PC Gaming Show (June 5-8). Coverage flagged it among the notable absentees and pointed to ChinaJoy or Tokyo Game Show as the next likely reveal windows. After the May 20 NetEase 520 no-show, this extends an official news drought: no date, beta or new character reveal since TGS 2025.
May 21, 2026 NetEase Q1 2026 earnings call — 'later in 2026, quality first'
On the NetEase Q1 2026 earnings call, management reiterated that Ananta targets a launch later in 2026 and stressed prioritising content quality over hitting a precise launch window. The team restated the 'urban open-world' differentiation — living a life in a modern virtual city — against a crowded genre. No exact date, beta or platform additions were announced.
May 20, 2026 Absent from the NetEase Games 520 Conference
Despite speculation that a beta or release date would be revealed, Ananta was NOT featured at the NetEase Games 520 Online Conference 2026 — a notable no-show. No new official information dropped.
May 14, 2026 Pre-registration crosses 17 million
Reportedly, on May 14, 2026, Ananta's pre-registration counter passes 17 million (not confirmed by NetEase) — still with no public beta and no tier rewards attached.
Mar 15, 2026 Pre-registration crosses 15 million
NetEase publicly confirms the 15-million pre-registration milestone for Ananta — without attaching specific tier rewards.
Jan 16, 2026 Closed Technical Test #1 (CBT1)
First public-facing closed test. PC only, CN-region accounts, offline-style invite-only. Build size approximately 46 GB, SSD required, DualSense PS5 controller reportedly supported on PC. Playable cast confirmed via social: Captain, Taffy, Richie. Five main-chapter slots tested. Testable systems: Nova City exploration, real-time combat, 3C traversal, special missions, character ability layouts, character customisation, vehicle upgrades, street challenges.
Studio
Who's making Ananta
- Developer
- Naked RainAn internal studio created specifically for Ananta, operating as a sub-entity of Hangzhou NetEase Thunderfire Technology Co., Ltd. Offices in Hangzhou (HQ) and Montréal.
- Publisher
- NetEase Games
- Producer
- Ash QiLead producer
- Engine
- Unity
- Team size
- Approximately 700–800 people on Ananta across Hangzhou and Montréal — a figure producer Ash Qi gave in his Tokyo Game Show 2025 interviews, not in an official press release.
About
What is Ananta?
Ananta is an urban open-world action RPG by Naked Rain and NetEase Games. Set in Nova City, a Manhattan-scale Japanese-influenced metropolis, the game pairs seamless real-time character switching across the Anti-Chaos Directorate Task Force with the '3C System' (Character, Camera, Control) for high-mobility traversal, environment-driven combat heavily inspired by Hong Kong action cinema, and per-character day-job progression loops. Free-to-play, explicitly non-gacha — every playable character is unlocked through play.
Free-to-play, explicitly non-gacha — every playable character is unlocked through play. Cosmetics (outfits, vehicles, home decoration) are the monetization backbone.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
When does Ananta release?
Ananta targets 2026. No exact day has been officially confirmed.
Is Ananta free?
Yes — free-to-play.
Is Ananta a gacha game?
No. The producer confirmed all playable characters are unlocked through play, not pulled from a banner.
What platforms is Ananta on?
Confirmed: PC (Windows, via the NetEase launcher), PlayStation 5, iOS, Android, PlayStation Cloud.
Who develops Ananta?
Developed by Naked Rain (a subsidiary of Hangzhou NetEase Thunderfire) and published by NetEase Games Montréal.
How many characters are announced?
11 characters are officially announced so far: The Captain (M/F protagonist), Taffy, Richie, Seymour, Lykaia, Aileen, Alan, Bansy, Dila, Mechanika (Meg) and Ringo.
Was there a beta?
Yes. The first Closed Technical Test ran 16-20 January 2026 on PC (offline / invite-only). No public beta has been announced yet.
What engine does Ananta run on?
Unity. Producer Ash Qi confirmed it at the Tokyo Game Show 2025 interview cycle.
Has Ananta won any awards?
Yes. Ananta is a Japan Game Awards 2025 Future Division laureate — the only Chinese-developed title on the 2025 winner slate.
How many people pre-registered?
Pre-registration crossed 15 million in spring 2026 and 17 million by mid-May 2026. No specific milestone rewards have been attached to either figure.