Ananta vs Neverness to Everness: what's the difference?

The short version

Ananta is frequently compared to Neverness to Everness (Hotta Studio), another urban open-world anime game^[1]^[2].
The main reported difference: unlike NTE, Ananta has no character gacha; all playable characters are earned through play^[1]^[3].
Both games had demos at Tokyo Game Show 2025, which fueled the comparison^[1]^[5].

Ananta and Neverness to Everness (NTE) are two urban open-world games with an anime style, and they are often mentioned in the same breath^[1]^[2]. The clearest difference is the business model: unlike NTE, Ananta has no character gacha, and every playable character is obtained through gameplay and story^[1]^[3]. Here is what the two games share and where they split, based only on what has been reported.

What is Neverness to Everness?

Neverness to Everness is an urban open-world anime game developed by Hotta Studio^[1]. Like Ananta, it takes place in a modern city^[1]^[2]. This site covers Ananta only, so we do not detail NTE's release plans or systems here; check its official channels for those.

Why are Ananta and NTE compared?

Timing and genre. Both games are anime-styled open worlds set in a city, both carry the "GTA-like" label, and both had playable demos at Tokyo Game Show 2025^[1]. Ananta was on the show floor at Makuhari Messe from September 25 to 28, 2025^[5]. The Escapist covered the two side by side under the headline "There are two big GTA-like gacha games coming soon, and both have demos at TGS 2025"^[1].

For the other big comparison, read Ananta vs GTA.

What is the biggest difference between Ananta and NTE?

The business model. As reported by the press, NTE uses a character gacha, while Ananta does not^[1]^[2].

For Ananta, the rule was first reported through Famitsu and relayed by Automaton in September 2025: all playable characters are obtained for free through gameplay and story progression^[3]. The developers repeated it later to TechRadar and said monetization focuses on cosmetics such as outfits, with home and vehicle customization also cited^[4]^[3]. Ananta itself is free-to-play^[6].

One nuance matters. PC Gamer points out that it is not confirmed whether Ananta's paid cosmetics will be sold directly or through their own random system^[2]. "No character gacha" does not automatically mean "no randomized purchases at all". Our free-to-play and gacha guide follows this closely.

How do the two games compare at a glance?

Point	Ananta	Neverness to Everness
Developer	Naked Rain (NetEase), its first game	Hotta Studio
Genre	Urban open-world anime RPG	Urban open-world anime game
Character gacha	No	Yes
Demo at TGS 2025	Yes	Yes
Release	January 15, 2027	Not covered on this site

Sources: The Escapist and PC Gamer for the comparison^[1]^[2], Steam and the official site for Ananta's details^[6]^[7].

Who makes Ananta, compared with NTE?

Ananta is the first game from Naked Rain, a studio under NetEase, and is published by NetEase Games^[1]^[6]. Our Naked Rain studio page covers its background. NTE comes from Hotta Studio^[1].

Which one should you play?

It is too early to say. Ananta launches on January 15, 2027^[7], and nobody outside test sessions has played the final game. If avoiding character gacha matters to you, that is the clearest confirmed difference. Players are still debating what "no character gacha" covers, as our community debates article explains.