The latest trailer has come up for upcoming free-to-play open world game Ananta, and some people are saying it’s giving Grand Theft Auto. Well, even more than ever before.
We covered Ananta since NetEase originally announced it under the codename Project Mugen. It’s described as an ‘urban open-world game,’ but the Grand Theft Auto comparisons were already there.
The Big New Gameplay Trailer
But this new trailer seems to have driven the point home even further. We now have seven minutes of gameplay, and we see the playable character the Captain and his oddly female dominated platoon engage in activities reminiscent of Rockstar’s games.
That comparison goes beyond the presentation. They could take cues from Rockstar’s trailers, but the proof is in the gameplay.
And the gameplay shows that the Captain can freely travel this open world, on foot, using vehicles, and more (More on that later).
The Captain can also clearly take on specific missions, but then take off to do side missions, or just kill time. We’re sure the game has created its own lore to explain this away.
But They’re Copying More Than Rockstar’s Homework
It’s quite visible that Ananta’s Captain also has Spidey swinging abilities to traverse the city. On top of that, he can attack enemies with tendrils coming out of his arm.
So yes, it’s clear that Ananta is also taking cues from other games. We don’t know if this is enough for Insomniac Games, Sony, or for that matter, Marvel Entertainment, to lawyer up and contact NetEase.
Is Ananta Really Rockstar’s Competition?
As NikTek engages with the “GTA at home” discourse on Twitter, it does raise the spectre of what some Rockstar fans are apparently unhappy about with the Ananta comparisons.
There’s no doubt that Ananta looks great in its own right. But if this game is launching as free-to-play, it could be real competition against Grand Theft Auto 6. Or could it?
The Real Story Here Could Be The Monetization
NetEase recently announced that they dispensed with original plans to make Ananta a gacha game. So you’ll collect all of the Captain’s ‘partners’ without paying anything.
Instead, the monetization will revolve around cosmetics. This seems to be driven by both the unpopularity of gacha, and a new trend to get gamers to spend for cosmetics.
So there could be a real argument that Ananta could turn out to be a better deal than Grand Theft Auto 6. But that’s obviously not the whole story.
There’s still a lot of differentiation between Ananta and Grand Theft Auto 6. There’ll be fans open to playing both games, and gamers who will prefer one over the other.
Rockstar still has the edge here for having one of the biggest franchises in the business with a 20 year legacy.
For Ananta to seriously compete against Grand Theft Auto 6, it’s not enough for developer Naked Rain to make the best game they possibly can. Take-Two and Rockstar would have to have made so many mistakes to even that playing field.
With that said, there’s no reason for gamers to get weird about other people’s favorite games. We’re sure Naked Rain’s title is going to be a huge success, and there’s still room for everyone.
You can watch the full trailer below.
