ANANTA: over 100 hours of play, no character gacha and 7 years of support

At Gamescom 2026, the Japanese outlet AUTOMATON interviewed a NetEase representative about ANANTA, the free-to-play urban open-world RPG from Naked Rain. The game launches worldwide on January 15, 2027, on PC (official client and Steam), PS5, iOS and Android. Here are the key points, summarized and translated by us, plus what the team told Insider Gaming about long-term support.

More than 100 hours, if you want them

Play time depends on how you play, the team said: players who want to can spend more than 100 hours in the game. They could not give the map size in real-world numbers, but they promised plenty to do in every city. Some reports turned this into “100 hours per city”; the interview gives no per-city figure.

No character gacha: every character is free

ANANTA has no character gacha. Playable characters join for free as the main story moves forward. The reason is fairness: the team wants everyone to enjoy the open world freely, and selling specific characters would not treat all players equally. Money is spent only on cosmetic items, such as outfits, and the team also promised customization of each character’s look and build. More in our monetization guide.

Two connected cities

So far two cities have been shown. Chongxiao takes inspiration from real places such as Shanghai and Hangzhou, while Nova City draws on East Asian cities. Each city stands on its own, but they are connected, and the protagonist travels back and forth between them.

Chongxiao is the protagonist’s hometown, with childhood friends and neighbors, and going back there opens new stories. The team is also watching cities around the world for ideas, but would not say which cities might come next.

Getting around and fighting

You can drive cars, motorbikes and trucks, fly helicopters and glide with a wingsuit, but you cannot fly on your own. Combat draws on Chinese kung fu films, with chases and objects from the street used as weapons. Multiplayer is in development and will be announced later.

At least seven years of support

In a separate Gamescom interview with Insider Gaming, the publishing and marketing leads said the current plan is to support ANANTA for at least seven years, with regular new quests, characters and maps. That means new content could keep coming until 2034 or later. It is a plan, not a guarantee: like any live game, it will depend on how ANANTA does after launch.

ANANTA launches on January 15, 2027. See our release date page and pre-registration guide.