Ananta remained a mystery for many years, but it's finally got a solid 2027 release date. Plus, there's now plenty of proper gameplay footage and hands-on impressions to peruse in the meantime, letting us all in on the secret of what else "anime GTA" is actually offering.From its release date, to characters, to gacha and gameplay, I'll explain everything you need to know about Ananta (previously Project Mugen), so you can decide if any of its approximately one million features are for you or not.Ananta release date and (lack of) betas(Image credit: NetEase)Ananta release dateAfter years of no-showing at big events, it finally turned up to Gamescom's 2026 Opening Night Live to announce that Ananta is releasing on January 15, 2027 for PC, PS5, and mobile. You can play it via Steam, or its own separate launcher.Is there an Ananta beta?There has never been an open beta for Ananta, and it's not looking like there will be one before the game's January launch either. That's uncommon for gacha games, but Ananta is developed by a NetEase studio, and NetEase's live service games don't tend to get open betas—just closed private testing. So all is (disappointingly) normal here.(Image credit: NetEase)Is pre-registration for Ananta open?Yep! You can head on over to Ananta's official site and sign-up for pre-registration goodies right now. The rewards are the usual handful of weirdly-named currencies with unspecified purposes (y'all know what a Golvent is?), but there's also a regular ol' outfit up for grabs as the top milestone.It's worth keeping in mind that Ananta will likely dish out these rewards to every player at launch, not just those who pre-register. This is the norm for live service anime games, but there is a chance Ananta bucks this trend, as nothing's been confirmed yet.Ananta TrailersLatest trailerAs well as highlighting your main character, the Captain, and their crew's bizarre shenanigans about Nova City, Ananta's newest trailer revealed its second city: Chongxiao. Its other location, Nova City, seems more urban and Tokyo-inspired, while Chongxiao seems to be using China's Hangzhou as a reference. It's a little more tranquil, with scenic lakes, greenery, and historic architecture.First trailerIf you want to know how it was revealed three years ago, you can check out Ananta's very first trailer above. Anana changed more than its name since then—its city and protagonist looked a lot different, and it had a more serious tone.Ananta gameplay details(Image credit: NetEase)Our Ananta previewPC Gamer's Wes Fenlon went hands on with Ananta at Tokyo Game Show last year, and he thought that although Ananta is borrowing—or brazenly copying—a lot, that it "might have some wild-ass ideas of its own, too."He found the influences of the Batman Arkham games, Sleeping Dogs, Uncharted, and Spider-Man pretty clear, but they all worked well enough. "This may be a game that does dozens of things acceptably well. And it made me laugh," he said. You can read Wes's full Ananta preview for more details.Ananta gameplayAnanta is a free-to-play urban open-world RPG that may look like the next Genshin Impact or Neverness to Everness, but actually has more in common with GTA, the Arkham series, and Insomniac's Spider-Man. Just, you know, with 500% more anime-ified silliness.While there seems to be some underlying sinister plot involving supernatural occurrences unleashed upon the dual cities of Tokyo-like Nova City and Hangzhou-like Chongxiao, Ananta is leaning harder into its goofy side. With a social media and follower system linked to your "Yeet Squad" saving the world.(Image credit: NetEase)At any moment you might be swinging through the city skylines (à la Peter Parker) on your way to start a mission. Or you could be swimming, driving, boating, or gliding your way to the start point instead. While on a mission, it might be a Batman-like infiltration of slowly picking off enemies, or scoping out the place with gadgets that wouldn't be out of place in a Watch Dogs game. Or you could just wind up on a classic "murder the baddies" mission.While killing said baddies, you can whip out guns like an assault rifle and rocket launcher, or you could put your fists to the test and time hits and combos as enemies surround you—maybe use the environment to bash a head or two while you're at. If melee weapons are more your thing, bats, swords, tennis rackets, mallets, and golf clubs are also at your disposal. Add on each character's unique attacks (like Alan's ice yo-yos, Bansy's paintguns, and Taffy's motorbike-chucking), and you've got one very versatile combat system at play.(Image credit: NetEase)Confirmed open-world activities include racing, dating, arcade mini-games, going to the gym, watching TV, shopping for new fits, customising houses, and picking up and carrying around chunky cats. For reasons. There's also a chance you might swap characters and catch one of your buds doing any of these things, as a GTA 6-style character switching system has been seen in trailers and demo gameplay.So yeah, there's a lot. Honestly I can't tell if all that variety will be any good or just feel like Ananta is throwing everything at the wall, but I'm open to being persuaded.Does Ananta have multiplayer?Not at launch, but the developers have stated that the team is looking into a four-player co-op mode where you'd be able to complete missions or "dungeons" together.Is Ananta gacha?(Image credit: NetEase)Despite all appearances, no, Ananta is not a gacha game. Well, at the very least, its characters aren't obtained from gacha pulls. Instead, they're all available completely for free by just playing through the game.It is a free-to-play, live-service game, though, so Ananta will be looking to part you with your money somehow. Clothes, vehicles, and homes are the only confirmed cosmetics you'll buy with real-world money right now. But nobody knows 100% for sure if these cosmetics are available for outright purchase, or pulled through their own gacha systems. The only thing the developers have confirmed is that characters are not linked to gacha.Wait, what's Project Mugen?The title "Ananta" was only revealed in December 2024, before that, the game was solely referred to as Project Mugen (well, Project Mugen and "anime GTA" in some circles). So if you ever see a trailer or some gameplay for a game that looks mighty like Ananta, it's probably some pre-title reveal footage.Ananta characters(Image credit: NetEase)A mix of trailers, social media posts, and the official website has revealed 16 Ananta characters so far:Aileen - Maid cafe manager who utilises some sort of martial arts in combat.Alan - Rich student and part-time model, Alan uses the age old weapon of… high tech yo-yos.Bansy - Graffiti artist who can use a paintball minigun and paint can grenades in combat.Captain (Main character) - Pick between male or female presenting protagonists. The female Captain has gone missing in recent marketing, but as far as we know she's just MIA and not removed from the game.Dila - White-haired lady "shrouded in mystery" who uses a claymore in battle and is also confirmed to have supernatural powers.Lykaia - Fox lady who uses a two-handed spear-like weapon. She's both the Prime Minister of Nova City and Director of the Nova City Crime Agency (NCCA).Mechanika - Also referred to as "Meg," she's a high-energy engineer and "ghost worker," whatever that means. Meg's "Esper" ability can bring machines to life.Mimiko - Streamer who wears glasses and seems to be friends with Taffy.Richie - Slightly unhinged ACD officer who can arrest people and commandeer vehicles.Ringo - A lively, "digitally native" high schooler who works for an organization called the DPA.Seymour - Hacker who lives in an RV and likes to wear a derpy mask. He's been spotted using robot spider gadgets in Watch Dog-esque stealth sections.Shi Ye - Techy friend with lots of contacts.Taffy - The short, bunny-eared delivery girl seen in every trailer, and one of the founding members of your "Yeet Squad". Can use her motorbike in combat and for exploration.Wei Yinglong - Lingyun Temple's 21st Director who keeps trying to stop her sister from causing trouble. She seems to reside in Chongxiao city.(Image credit: NetEase)There are also two characters with unknown names:A bat-wielding woman with a demon tail who dresses in redA Katana-using school girl who likes to drumIf you're looking at this list trying to suss out who might work well in a team, it's most likely a waste of time. From what's been revealed so far, Ananta is not a game about fast-action character-swapping. Instead, you're either on a mission as one character for an extended period of time, or you can switch to a specific character when you need them for exploration and puzzle-solving purposes.Interestingly, it has been confirmed that each character has their own story, and we'll get to experience different lives depending on the character we're currently playing. That's 16 storylines already, if all of these characters are available at launch.