ANANTA beta tests: every test so far and whether you can play early

No. Nothing announced so far lets you play ANANTA before January 15, 2027. NetEase hasn’t announced an open or global beta (fact in the registry), and there is no pre-download date. ANANTA has had tests, but they were limited to players in China or to trade show visitors.

January 2025: the offline test in Hangzhou

The only reported official test started in Hangzhou on January 3, 2025. Breakflip reported it in December 2024: an in-person session for Chinese players only, checking technical elements (fact in the registry). NetEase didn’t publish results or describe what exactly was tested, and players abroad weren’t invited. Our registry labels the claim “reliable source”: it comes from the press, and we didn’t find a NetEase announcement of the test.

The test came right after two milestones. On November 29, 2024 Project Mugen became ANANTA, and on December 25, 2024 the game received its Chinese publishing license (fact in the registry).

September 2025: the first public demo at Tokyo Game Show

The first build the public could play was at Tokyo Game Show 2025, at the NVIDIA booth in Hall 6 (fact in the registry), at Makuhari Messe in Chiba from September 25 to 28. Visitors tried Story Mode and Exploration Mode in Nova City. GamesRadar played car chases, a delivery mission with a vampire in a coffin, a gym and basketball, and called it the first public playable build. It was a trade show demo with no sign-up.

January 2026: a reported closed test in China

A fan wiki reports an invite-only PC test for Chinese accounts from January 16 to 20, 2026, citing participants and social media without links, and mentions a 46 GB build (rumor in the registry). NetEase hasn’t announced or confirmed this test on its sites. Until it does, the claim stays a rumor; it is on our timeline with that label.

What the tests said about the release date

The Hangzhou test also shaped release expectations. In December 2024 Breakflip doubted a 2025 launch because a technical test was only starting, and outlets kept guessing between 2025 and 2026 until NetEase set January 15, 2027 at Gamescom 2026 (debunked in the registry). NetEase itself never tied any test to a release window.

How we label each test

Each test on this page carries a different label in our fact registry. The absence of a beta announcement and the Tokyo Game Show demo are official. The Hangzhou test comes from a reliable source, because only the press reported it. The January 2026 test is a rumor, because its only source is a fan wiki without links. If NetEase confirms any of them, the label changes and the fact’s history shows when. To practice telling the labels apart, try the ANANTA fact or rumor quiz.

Will there be a beta before launch?

Nothing has been announced as of October 27, 2026. The official news feed has no beta announcement, and the August 2026 press release goes straight from pre-registration to the January 15 launch. The question is on our list of unknowns. Pre-downloading hasn’t been announced for any platform either (open question).

Update, October 28: Tian Yu of the development team told GAME Watch that ANANTA has had confidential tests but no global beta, because many tests would spoil the story; any future plans will be announced officially (fact in the registry).

Be careful with “beta keys”

Our advice: since NetEase hasn’t announced any test outside China, a site selling or giving away ANANTA beta keys, early-access codes or a “leaked client” isn’t tied to an official test. The safe places are the official site, the game’s pages on Steam, the PlayStation Store, the App Store and Google Play, and the official YouTube channel.

What you can do before launch

• Pre-register on the official site and in your store; pre-registrations passed 25 million by October 27, 2026.
• Watch the official gameplay videos from September 2025: the seven-minute gameplay trailer and the ten-minute gameplay video.
• Go through our launch checklist.

The full chronology of tests and trailers is in from Project Mugen to ANANTA, and launch details are in the release date article.