Why ANANTA is called the “anime GTA”, and how it actually differs

ANANTA gets called the “anime GTA” because it puts an anime cast into a modern open city with cars, police and street chaos. GamesRadar’s 2025 hands-on headline called it a free anime take on GTA, TechRadar’s 2026 interview headline called it a free GTA 6 competitor, and Russian outlets such as Hi-Tech Mail use “anime GTA” as well. NetEase itself avoids the comparison and calls ANANTA an urban open-world RPG.

What ANANTA shares with GTA

• A modern city you can drive through: cars, motorcycles, helicopters, yachts, the subway and hang gliders are on NetEase’s list (fact in the registry).
• Cities modeled on Shanghai, Hangzhou and Tokyo and reworked for the story (fact in the registry).
• Street racing, which the Steam page puts at 3 a.m., and fight clubs in the Veluxity Zone.
• Police in the city, the NCCA, and a long car chase in the Tokyo Game Show 2025 demo, according to GamesRadar.
• A phone with a social network, where you can also snoop on strangers’ messages.

You lead a task force against Chaos

In ANANTA you are the new captain of the ACD, a task force against Chaos, the supernatural anomalies that jam traffic and haunt Nova City (fact in the registry). One of the playable characters, Richie, is a police officer who can check citizens for warrants. NetEase’s 2025 press release says reckless racing has consequences in the city, but NetEase hasn’t described a GTA-style wanted level or car theft.

Movement is closer to Spider-Man

GamesRadar compared ANANTA’s traversal to Marvel’s Spider-Man: you swing between skyscrapers on a line, run along walls and climb onto rooftops. Producer Ash Qi said in 2023 that movement was designed without stamina (fact in the registry), and NetEase promises you can reach anything you see. All playable characters also have telekinesis, GamesRadar reports.

Combat is martial arts

Fights draw on action films and real martial arts, including Shaolin kung fu, according to Game Informer. You dodge, block and counter, take weapons from enemies and swing golf clubs or trash bins. GamesRadar compared the timing to Batman: Arkham Asylum and the set pieces to Uncharted. Details are on our combat page.

A cast you switch between

Instead of one or two protagonists, ANANTA gives you a roster that grows: six playable characters on the official site, roles such as NCCA officer, hacker, delivery rider and content creator, and more characters promised in free updates (fact in the registry). Ash Qi told GamesRadar that a character you leave keeps living their own life, and when you come back you see how it has moved on.

Fame as progression

NetEase’s tagline is “Go Viral. Save the World.” The Captain grows a following through missions, bounties, side quests and small moments like selfies with citizens, and more fame unlocks missions and influencer perks (fame and influence). The press release describes the player as an influencer in a city run by algorithms and online culture.

Free, rated for teens, and on phones

ANANTA is free to play on PC, PS5, iOS and Android, and characters aren’t sold through gacha (fact in the registry). Store ratings so far are 13+ on the US App Store and Teen on Google Play, for mild violence, suggestive themes and language (fact in the registry). Multiplayer is co-op with friends, which the producer says is not an MMO (fact in the registry).

So is it an anime GTA?

Our assessment: as shorthand for “a modern open city with cars and an anime cast”, yes. As a description of how you play, it misses most of the game: the hero is a task force captain, traversal is superpowered, combat is martial arts and progress is measured in followers. The same label gets attached to Neverness to Everness, which PCGamesN called a “GTA-meets-anime gacha game”; we compare the two in ANANTA vs Neverness to Everness.

All the systems in one place: ANANTA gameplay explained.