Can you be a villain in ANANTA? Crime, police and consequences

Only up to a point. In the demos journalists shot at civilians, knocked a passerby down and drove off in other people’s cars, but the civilians didn’t seem to die, nobody reported a police chase, and producer Ash says every bad deed lowers your fame (fact in the registry). The other side of the law is far better documented: as Richie, an NCCA officer, you question, test and arrest people.

On Steam NetEase calls ANANTA “an Urban Open World RPG with no rules”, and the announce trailer ends on the line RULE-BREAKING URBAN OPEN WORLD (2:06). Yet the tagline is “Go Viral. Save the World.”, and the routes to fame the developers describe are heroic ones. This guide draws on NetEase’s materials, interviews and the hands-on reports from Tokyo Game Show 2025 and Gamescom 2026.

Can you attack civilians in ANANTA?

Yes, but they don’t seem to die. Takuya Watanabe of IGN Japan wrote from the Tokyo Game Show 2025 demo that you could take a seated passerby’s chair as a prank, snatch someone’s phone to read their messages or fire a gun, and that civilians apparently don’t die (fact in the registry). In the interview that followed, the writer told producer Ash about shooting civilians and asked whether the Captain can do bad things. Ash replied that you can do a lot, but every bad deed lowers your fame.

At Gamescom 2026 GAME Watch played as Wei Yinglong in Longqi Village, knocked a passerby over with a car and read the chat on the phone that fell out of the passerby’s hands. The writer called this tyrannical behavior and was impressed that the game allows it. Famitsu found a weapon wheel with guns and a baton in the 2025 demo.

Can you steal cars in ANANTA?

You can take them, and the game doesn’t treat it as theft. Akihiro Sakurai of AUTOMATON wrote from Tokyo Game Show 2025 that, as is customary in the genre, you can borrow a passing car and drive it, but in ANANTA getting into someone else’s car isn’t a crime: it counts as the heroes requisitioning it. The writer saw no sign that the team’s actions turn into crimes that bring the police after you (fact in the registry).

Famitsu confirms that in the same demo you could call up your own car or borrow someone else’s, and at Gamescom 2026 GAME Watch got into parked cars without asking. NetEase itself hasn’t mentioned car theft. Its 2025 press release lets you defy traffic laws with reckless street racing and says every choice ripples through the life of the city, without explaining how. Cars, bikes and tuning are covered in ANANTA vehicles.

Is there a wanted level or police chase?

None that anyone has described. NetEase’s materials mention no wanted level, and AUTOMATON saw no police pursuit in the 2025 demo. GamingBible’s September 2026 guide lists a “police wanted system” among the reasons for the “anime GTA” nickname but gives no source, and the same guide says that in ANANTA you enforce the law. We found no such system in any NetEase text or hands-on report we read.

The police do appear in the trailers. In the Launch Date Trailer an NCCA patrol car with flashing lights drives down a street, and a man in a green cap runs to a fence (0:36). The 2025 gameplay trailer has a police car chasing traffic (4:06), and the announce trailer shows armored officers taking cover behind police cars (0:42). Our assessment: in what NetEase has shown, the police are an ally or a job for the player, not a threat.

Who enforces the law in ANANTA?

• NCCA: Nova City’s police. The official site uses only the abbreviation; in the subtitles of the 2025 gameplay video it is the Nova City Crime Agency, led by Lykaia Reign (9:43; fact in the registry). She asks whether the Captain has ever thought of joining the NCCA (7:27).
• Richie: the NCCA officer you can play. Her official bio says she fights crime by day and moonlights at night, and advises thugs she catches to cooperate unless they fancy dodging her fists.
• ACD: the Captain’s task force against Chaos (fact in the registry). AUTOMATON describes the team as apparently on the side of public authority, keeping order in the city.
• Lingjing Supervisory Agency: the Chongxiao agency whose portal on the official site calls itself a platform for atypical talent and Chaos affairs.
• Vault Security: a private security firm with its own armed division, according to its in-game company page.

Playing the cop: Richie’s patrols and arrests

This is where ANANTA lets you deal with crime head-on. NetEase lists NCCA officer among the roles you can play in its 2026 press release, and the 2025 release invites you to protect justice as a cop. In the 2025 gameplay trailer Richie stops a woman on a night street, and a menu offers an order, an ID check, a search, alcohol and drug tests, a ticket, arrest or release (3:18); later Richie bursts into a room and aims a gun marked POLICE (4:00).

The demos match the menu (fact in the registry):

• GamesRadar+ (2025): the officer can investigate any citizen, and some have open warrants, though most don’t.
• AUTOMATON (2025): as Richie you question suspicious citizens and crack down on crime; the writer spotted thugs surrounding a woman in an alley, got out of the car and a fight broke out.
• Famitsu (2025): switching to Richie brought up public order missions.
• GamesRadar+ (2026): you can question and detain random passersby; a salaryman whose breath test came back clean ran off in fear when the writer tried to arrest him anyway.
• MMORPG.com (2026): the writer called in a police car, drove it with the lights on and arrested one person after another, something the writer especially enjoyed.

IGN Japan’s interviewer said some characters made the game feel like a police simulator. Ash replied that each character offers a job of their own, with delivery and police work in that demo. The developers gave Famitsu the same example in 2026: a police officer out to catch criminals gets a completely different game from a truck driver. Whether arresting innocent people has a cost, NetEase hasn’t said.

Bounties and crises: the hero’s route to fame

The routes to fame NetEase staff describe are mostly heroic. Wccftech reports from NetEase’s Gamescom 2026 presentation that you grow your following by helping citizens during random crises and completing challenges and bounties, and Game Informer lists bounties among the activities that bring fame. Link and Rain of NetEase told Pocket Tactics you can beat enemies to become a hero or help pedestrians to win fans. What bounties involve, NetEase hasn’t explained. Our assessment: they most likely mean tracking down wanted targets, which makes you the hunter, not the hunted. More in how fame works in ANANTA.

What happens after bad deeds?

You lose fame. Producer Ash told IGN Japan at Tokyo Game Show 2025 that characters have a public reputation that drops with every bad deed and makes life in the city harder, and that misbehaving can get you exposed on the in-game social network, which updates as the story progresses (fact in the registry). Ash also said the team plans more reactions from passersby, such as anger when you take their phone.

That cost hits the core of the game: fans unlock story chapters, places and allies (fact in the registry). Our assessment: the price of misbehaving in ANANTA seems to be slower progress, with no police involved so far. How much fame a bad deed costs and whether you can win it back, NetEase hasn’t said.

Gangs and enemies in the trailers

The villains you fight are gangs, robbers and Chaos. NetEase’s 2025 press release lists gang clashes among the events you can trigger around the map, and GamesRadar+ described Nova City in 2025 as full of warring gangs and superpowered villains. From the official videos and site:

• Black Metal Rhythmists: gang members in spiked red masks fight the Captain outside a restaurant in the 2025 gameplay video; the subtitles name them Black Metal Hammer and Black Metal Rhythmist of the Black Metal Crew, whose boss wants to hold a concert in Nova City (0:20). The chase ends in a fight with a giant red truck (7:50). GamesRadar+ described the city enemies of the 2026 demo as rust-punk bad guys in leathers.
• In the 2025 gameplay trailer: the red-masked gang blocking a street (1:00), a brawl with men in red jackets that ends in a dumpster (1:12), robbers holding people in a luxurious lobby, one of them named Masked Malice Robber in the subtitles (1:33), men in black suits holding a man at gunpoint (3:36), and bikers in red outside a garage (5:27).
• In the announce trailer: the red-masked gang with saws and clubs (0:52) and a gang with chainsaws around an SUV (0:58). In the Launch Date Trailer masked gunmen surround the Captain (1:10).
• ParaBoar: on the official site, the gang that runs the Veluxity Zone; you hear their engines long before you see them.

The Captain’s official bio mentions gangs of rock ’n’ roll fanatics on the ACD’s tail. Our assessment: that is the Black Metal Crew, though NetEase hasn’t linked the two. The supernatural threats are covered in ANANTA story and world explained.

Can you join a gang?

Possibly, but nothing has been shown. Listing the lives you can step into, the Steam page asks: “NCCA officer, genius hacker, or gang leader?” NetEase has shown an NCCA officer, Richie, and a hacker, Seymour, but no gang leader, and its press releases list NCCA officer, hacker, delivery rider and content creator as roles. Who the gang leader is, NetEase hasn’t said.

What do the age ratings say?

They describe violence, not crime. The App Store rates ANANTA 13+ for frequent cartoon or fantasy violence and guns or other weapons (fact in the registry), and Google Play rates it Teen for mild violence, suggestive themes and language. The ESRB hasn’t rated the game yet (fact in the registry). Our assessment: mild, cartoon-style labels fit what the demos showed, with civilians who don’t die. The full list is in ANANTA age rating.

Is ANANTA a crime game like GTA?

Not by the press’s account. The IGN Japan interviewer felt a GTA-like atmosphere in places, which is how the question about bad deeds came up, and GamesRadar+ put the “free anime GTA” comparison in the headline of its 2026 hands-on. AUTOMATON, after finding no police pursuit, concluded that ANANTA has a different flavor from crime action games. How the two games compare on price, platforms and ratings is in ANANTA vs GTA 6.

What NetEase hasn’t said

• Whether there is a wanted level or any police response to the player.
• Whether civilians can be killed in the final game.
• How much fame a bad deed costs and how to win it back.
• Whether taking a car or arresting an innocent person as Richie has any cost.
• What bounties involve.
• Who the gang leader on the Steam page is, and whether you can play one.

ANANTA launches on January 15, 2027 on PC, PS5, iOS and Android (fact in the registry).