NetEase has officially unveiled Project Mugen.
NetEase originally revealed Project Mugen last year, confirming that it is a free-to-play open-world RPG. It also demonstrated the game’s cel-shaded anime art style.
Today, as reported by Gematsu, NetEase has officially announced the game under its real name, Ananta. They provided this description on the game’s official website:
“Get ready! Ananta is an urban open-world RPG where you’ll play as an A.C.D. Agent, embarking on an exhilarating adventure.
Welcome to Nova, the sun-soaked coastal hub that’s perfect for ditching winter!
This city is electric—whether you’re street surfing in Paradox Plaza or pulling marathon gaming sessions at Glimmergold, there’s never a dull moment. And with humans and Chaos living side by side, you never know what crazy twists your adventure might take!
Nova Tourism Board Pro Tip: Run into Chaos gone wild? Report it first, snap selfies later! Have a blast, but stay safe!”
The game has also been announced for PlayStation 5, PC, iOS and Android. NetEase has yet to reveal the game’s release date and monetization model.
While there may be differences in storyline and gameplay, one can see that NetEase may have planned for Ananta to be their answer to Cognosphere’s/miHoYo’s Genshin Impact or Zenless Zone Zero.
Both games are monetized by using time limited gacha events to unlock characters. While it is technically possible to earn the chance to unlock these characters for free, these systems are designed to convince players to spend money.
A combination of advertising, including PR, and community building has helped miHoYo to not only justify this business model, but to even get their fans and players to defend the system. It’s been very successful and popular as a result, so it’s no surprise if other developers will want to try the same for their games.
NetEase, of course, has many other games coming much sooner, such as Marvel Rivals and FragPunk. Ananta seems to be designed more for an Asian audience. But as we have seen from Cognosphere’s/miHoYo’s success, these kinds of games can also be popular and successful in the global gaming market.
So if Ananta does well, we would certainly hope that NetEase and Naked Rain moves to bring the game to more platforms. Cognosphere has already worked out a deal to bring their games to Xbox, after a certain period of being PlayStation exclusive.
Both NetEase and Cognosphere surely also realize there’s huge potential for their games on Nintendo’s platform; if not the Switch, perhaps its successor.
But for now, we anticipate when NetEase shares more information about Ananta, especially its release date. In the meantime, you can watch the official announcement trailer below.
