ANANTA is an upcoming free-to-play urban open-world RPG developed by Naked Rain and published by NetEase Games. The game drops players into Nova City, a Manhattan-sized modern metropolis where supernatural events called “Chaos” bleed into ordinary life — and into the working day of an elite agent of the Anti-Chaos Directorate (A.C.D.).
Overview
The pitch is unusual for the genre. ANANTA is not a fantasy world or a sci-fi station — it is a recognisably modern city in which paranormal incidents are part of the news cycle. The player character, known simply as the Captain, leads field operations for the A.C.D. across that city. The blend the developers emphasise is urban fantasy layered on top of slice-of-life: mystery, humour, and routine city detail, sharing the same frame as the supernatural.
Nova City
Nova City is the single open world of the game. Public coverage from NetEase and Naked Rain has consistently described it as roughly the size of Manhattan, organised into multiple districts that players can free-roam, traverse on foot, by vehicle, or via the game’s swinging system.
Key qualities pulled from official material:
- A dense, modern metropolis — skyscrapers, suburbs, transit networks, parks, alleyways.
- A living NPC ecosystem, with citizens behaving authentically rather than as static set dressing.
- Public transport and street-level traffic that emphasise the “real city” texture rather than a stylised hub.
- District variety designed to support both the Story Mode and an Exploration Mode demoed at Tokyo Game Show 2025.
The city is the protagonist as much as the Captain is. The narrative tone treats it as a place where everyday life and Chaos investigations share the same streets.
The Anti-Chaos Directorate (A.C.D.)
The A.C.D. is the in-world organisation the player works for. It functions as Nova City’s specialist response body for Chaos-related incidents: investigation, containment, public safety, and field combat operations.
Players take the role of a Captain — selectable as male or female — who leads A.C.D. operations. Other playable characters belong to civilian professions that intersect with the Directorate’s work, which is what gives the cast its slice-of-life flavour (see the Gameplay & Mechanics guide for examples like Taffy the delivery worker and Richie the police officer).
The Chaos Phenomenon
“Chaos” is the umbrella term for the paranormal events that the A.C.D. investigates. Public materials have not yet detailed a single, defined Chaos taxonomy, so the safe summary based on official-source language is:
- Chaos is a supernatural disruption of ordinary Nova City life.
- It is treated as a recurring, investigable phenomenon — not a one-off catastrophe.
- A.C.D. field work is structured around responding to specific Chaos incidents, which gives missions their narrative shape.
More detail is expected as NetEase publishes additional story material in the lead-up to launch.
Tone and storytelling
NetEase and Naked Rain have repeatedly emphasised that ANANTA’s storytelling sits at the intersection of three tones:
- Mystery — investigations, casework, and Chaos-driven plot hooks.
- Humour — character-driven banter and everyday-city absurdity.
- Paranormal urban fantasy — the supernatural treated as part of city life rather than a separate realm.
Rather than a single linear quest line, the design language points to character-driven storytelling woven through open-ended city exploration. Many gameplay loops are tied to specific characters’ day jobs, which means story moments often emerge from routine activity in Nova City rather than only from major plot beats.
The Captain protagonist
The player character — the Captain — is the throughline:
- Selectable gender: male or female Captain at the start of the game.
- Role: elite A.C.D. agent leading field operations.
- Position in the cast: the constant point of view, while other characters rotate in as playable party members.
Because the Captain is positioned as a Directorate leader, the framing of missions is closer to “you are running this operation” than “you are a passenger in someone else’s story” — a deliberate contrast with the wandering-traveller framing common in the genre.
Why the setting matters
The setting choice is central to ANANTA’s identity. A modern, real-feeling city plus a public-facing supernatural agency gives the game a different texture from typical anime-styled open-world RPGs. It also frames the no-gacha monetisation model: playable characters are unlocked through play because they are characters who live and work in Nova City, not pulls from a wish banner.
Sources
- ANANTA Fandom — ANANTA hub page: https://ananta.fandom.com/wiki/ANANTA
- Official ANANTA website (NetEase / Naked Rain): https://ananta.netease.com/
- NetEase Games press material: Enter A New Era of Urban Open World RPG with ANANTA (2024-12-05)
- NetEase Games press material: ANANTA, the Highly-Anticipated Urban Open World RPG, Releases New Trailer and Gameplay Details for Tokyo Game Show (2025-09-22)