No Gacha. Every Character Free. Seriously.
ANANTA, the game formerly known as Project Mugen during its development phase, has made headlines for a decision that runs directly against the grain of the mobile RPG market: every playable character is free. No gacha pulls. No pity counters. No spending premium currency to unlock the character you want. Every character in the game is earned through gameplay, story progression, or in-game challenges. Monetization is built entirely around cosmetics.
In a genre where gacha revenue drives billion-dollar earnings for games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, ANANTA's approach is either visionary or reckless depending on who you ask. NetEase, one of China's largest game publishers and the studio behind ANANTA, clearly believes the cosmetics-only model can sustain a AAA-quality open-world RPG. The confidence is not unfounded. Fortnite proved the model works in the battle royale space. League of Legends proved it works in competitive gaming. ANANTA is betting it can work in the gacha RPG space too, by simply removing the gacha entirely.
An Urban Open World Unlike Anything Else on Mobile
ANANTA is set in a modern urban environment that blends real-world city aesthetics with supernatural elements. Think Tokyo meets a parallel dimension, with neon-drenched streets, towering apartment complexes, underground transit networks, and pocket dimensions that warp the cityscape into surreal combat arenas. The art direction is stunning. Screenshots and trailers have drawn comparisons to anime films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, with a visual density that pushes mobile hardware to its limits.
The city is fully explorable. You can enter buildings, ride vehicles, traverse rooftops using parkour mechanics, and discover hidden areas tucked away in alleys and basements. The world is not just a backdrop for combat encounters. It is filled with NPC interactions, side quests, collectibles, environmental puzzles, and dynamic events that trigger as you move through different districts. The sense of a living, breathing city is palpable, and it distinguishes ANANTA from the fantasy wilderness settings that dominate the open-world RPG genre.
Day-night cycles and weather systems affect gameplay in meaningful ways. Certain enemies appear only at night. Rain makes surfaces slippery, affecting dodge mechanics. Some abilities gain bonus effects under specific weather conditions. These systems add variety to exploration and combat without overcomplicating the core experience.
Combat: Fast, Flashy, and Character-Driven
Combat in ANANTA is real-time action with a party system. You bring three characters into the field and swap between them freely during combat, similar to the structure used by Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves. Each character has a unique weapon type, skill set, and combat style. One character might specialize in close-range sword combos, another in ranged gunplay, and a third in area-of-effect magic.
The key difference from gacha competitors is that character power progression is tied entirely to equipment, skill upgrades, and player skill rather than constellation or dupe systems. In gacha games, pulling duplicate characters unlocks additional power nodes that can significantly increase a character's effectiveness. ANANTA eliminates that system entirely. A character at their base form is their complete form. Upgrades come from gear, materials, and player mastery, not from pulling the same character multiple times.
This design philosophy has implications for endgame balance. Without constellation-style power spikes, the gap between free-to-play and spending players narrows considerably. Skill expression and build optimization become the primary differentiators, which creates a more level playing field for competitive and cooperative content. For players who have felt pressure to spend in gacha games to keep up with power creep, ANANTA offers a refreshing alternative.
The Cosmetics Economy
If characters are free, then cosmetics carry the full weight of ANANTA's revenue model. NetEase has invested heavily in this area. Character skins are elaborate, often changing not just the outfit but also visual effects on abilities, idle animations, and voice lines. Weapon skins, vehicle skins, apartment decorations (yes, player housing is included), emotes, and profile customization options round out the cosmetic catalog.
A seasonal battle pass offers cosmetic rewards across free and premium tracks. The premium pass is expected to cost around $10 USD per season, consistent with industry standards. Exclusive limited-time cosmetics tied to real-world events and collaborations are planned, following the model that has worked for games like Fortnite and Apex Legends.
The in-game premium currency, called Prisms, can be purchased through the in-game store or topped up through third-party platforms. While none of the cosmetics provide gameplay advantages, the variety and quality on display suggest that NetEase is serious about making the cosmetic store compelling enough to sustain long-term revenue. Early previews of the cosmetic catalog show character skins ranging from casual streetwear to full fantasy armor sets, each with distinct visual flair.
How ANANTA Stacks Up Against the Competition
The most obvious comparisons are to Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves. All three are open-world action RPGs with anime-inspired art, party-based combat, and live-service content models. The critical difference is monetization philosophy. Genshin and Wuthering Waves are built around gacha as the primary revenue driver, with characters and weapons locked behind randomized pulls. ANANTA rejects that model entirely.
Whether this works financially depends on whether the cosmetic store generates enough revenue to justify the development and content costs of a AAA live-service game. NetEase is not a small company. They have the financial resources to sustain ANANTA through a slow-burn growth period if the initial cosmetic revenue does not immediately match gacha-game earnings. The long-term play is that a larger player base, attracted by the fair monetization model, eventually generates more total revenue through volume than a smaller player base spending heavily on gacha.
For players, the value proposition is straightforward. You get a full open-world RPG with every character available for free. You spend money only if you want your characters to look different. That is a compelling pitch, and it could attract a significant audience of players who have been interested in gacha RPGs but turned off by the spending expectations.
Release Window and Platforms
ANANTA has not locked down a specific release date yet, but NetEase has indicated a launch window in late 2026. The game will be available on PC, iOS, Android, and PlayStation, with full cross-platform play and cross-save from day one. Closed beta testing is ongoing in select regions, and open beta registration is expected to open in the coming months. If the no-gacha model appeals to you, ANANTA is a game worth following closely as it moves toward launch.
