Ananta Gamescom 2026 hands-on: what the press actually played

Ananta was playable behind closed doors at Gamescom 2026, in Cologne, a few days after its January 15, 2027 release date was announced. Most coverage at the time was about the trailer. The hands-on reports came later, and they say more about how the game actually plays. Here is a summary of what the press played, what NetEase confirmed and what nobody can tell yet.

Who actually played Ananta at Gamescom?

Two reports describe a real play session rather than a trailer or a slide deck:

• PCGamesN, by Tom Hopkins, published on October 3, 2026: about 45 minutes with the game and a chat with the NetEase team^[1].
• AXYO, a German site, published on September 4, 2026: a preview of a two-part demo plus an interview with the developers^[2].

Wccftech covered NetEase's Gamescom press briefing on August 25. It is a presentation, not a hands-on, but it lists the systems the studio wants to highlight^[3].

What was in the demo?

AXYO describes two sections. In the first, set in Nova City, you play the protagonist, the Captain: the demo starts in the middle of a fight, moves into a vehicle chase with shooting, then opens up to free exploration^[2]. The second section switches to Yinglong in a large estate with gardens, a stealth sequence built around avoiding guards rather than fighting them^[2].

PCGamesN mentions two locations: "a massive New York-inspired city" and "a small country town", where the author rode a motorbike^[1]. The report also lists a car chase, an assault rifle segment, quick-time events and cinematic sequences, and a moment "flying through the skies" without saying what makes the character fly^[1].

Combat: martial arts, finishers and Venom-style arms

On combat, the two reports agree on the essentials. PCGamesN fought groups of enemies "with my Venom-style extendable arms"^[1]. AXYO found the system accessible: simple combos, a block, and finishers that use the environment, which the author enjoyed the most^[2].

NetEase's own pitch, as reported by Wccftech, is that fights draw on Eastern martial arts such as Shaolin kung fu and blade techniques, with hidden masters in the city (a yo-yo player, a masseuse) who teach new moves and weapons^[3]. How the full move list works is detailed in our guide to Ananta combat.

Traversal and vehicles

Traversal is the part the press compares most often to other games. PCGamesN writes that you can swing between buildings, climb walls and launch from grapple points, and that it "feels just like" Insomniac's Spider-Man games^[1]. AXYO is more reserved: the Captain's net-swinging felt unintuitive at first next to Spider-Man^[2].

Driving is arcade, with exaggerated drifts and loose physics that suit the action tone, according to AXYO^[2]. NetEase's list of transport is long: flying cars, hang gliders, tour boats, bicycles, electric scooters and skateboards^[3]. Not all of them were in the demo. Our page on Ananta vehicles and traversal tracks which ones have been shown.

What is confirmed after Gamescom

• Release on January 15, 2027 on PC, PS5, iOS and Android^[4]. Details in our Ananta release date page.
• No traditional character gacha: in the AXYO interview, the team says monetization is cosmetic and does not affect gameplay or story^[2].
• Social-media progression: you grow a following through the story, side activities and livestreams, and a larger fanbase unlocks chapters, side quests, mechanics and companions^[3].
• Post-launch content: the team told PCGamesN it plans new locations and characters^[1].

What is still unclear

• The launch hour is still not official^[4].
• The follower system was not really testable in a short demo; neither report judges how it feels over hours of play^[1][2].
• Mobile performance: the developers told AXYO the core experience will not suffer on weaker devices, but no outlet has played the mobile version yet^[2].
• Coherence: PCGamesN's main worry is that "all of the systems and mechanics" could overwhelm the story^[1].

We will add new hands-on reports to this page as they are published.