Ananta has not yet launched globally. This page includes details from official posts, developer interviews, hands-on previews, and the January 2026 Closed Beta Test as of February 22, 2026.
Overview
Naked Rain is a game development studio under the umbrella of NetEase Games. It was described as a "brand new game studio from Thunder Fire" when it was first revealed publicly in August 2023. The studio's sole known project is Ananta, an urban open-world RPG previously codenamed Project Mugen. Naked Rain operates out of two main locations: Hangzhou, China and Montreal, Canada.
Thunder Fire Studio
Thunder Fire Studio is a major development division within NetEase Games. Founded in 2007 near West Lake in Hangzhou, the studio has grown to roughly 3,000 employees across all of its subsidiary teams. Thunder Fire has produced several commercially successful online games, including Naraka: Bladepoint, the Justice series (also known as Ni Shui Han or Justice Online), the Revelation series, and the Ghost series.
Naked Rain was formed as a distinct entity within the Thunder Fire family specifically to tackle the ambitious scope of Ananta. NetEase built a fresh studio identity around the game rather than assigning it to an existing team. The new brand let them recruit from both internal NetEase talent pools and external hires, particularly in North America.
Team and leadership
The team working on Ananta numbers approximately 700 to 800 people, split between the Hangzhou headquarters and the Montreal office. Many of the Montreal-based staff come from NetEase's existing Montreal branch, which has operated for several years as part of NetEase's broader push into western markets.
The most visible public figure from Naked Rain is Producer Ash Qi. Ash Qi has served as the studio's primary spokesperson during major press events, giving extended interviews at TGS 2025 to outlets including Famitsu, IGN, and INVEN (a Korean gaming publication). In those interviews, Ash Qi discussed everything from combat design to monetization philosophy, establishing himself as the go-to voice for official information about the game.
Development of Ananta
Ananta was first shown at Gamescom on August 24, 2023 under the codename Project Mugen. That initial reveal trailer immediately drew attention for its blend of superhero-style traversal, urban open-world exploration, and anime-influenced art direction. The game was officially renamed to Ananta in November 2024, with a full re-reveal trailer arriving on December 5, 2024.
Since then, the project has been shown at TGS 2025 (where a playable demo was available) and a first Closed Beta Test ran from January 16 to 20, 2026, limited to PC in the China region. The CBT gave outside players their most extensive hands-on experience with the game so far, covering Nova City exploration, combat, traversal, and story content.
Ananta is Naked Rain's first and, as of this writing, only known project. No other games have been announced from the studio.
Studio philosophy
In press interviews, Ash Qi has emphasized the team's focus on player freedom and immersion. The decision to forgo character gacha in favor of cosmetics-only monetization was presented as a core creative choice, not just a business calculation. Ash Qi has also spoken about wanting players to "really live out a new life" in Nova City, pointing to the Day-Night Cycle, NPC daily schedules, and the wide array of Mini-Games as evidence that the team prioritizes the feeling of inhabiting a living city over pure combat focus.
Sources
Gematsu game page (accessed February 22, 2026)
Wikipedia, Ananta (video game) (accessed February 22, 2026)
PC Gamer, No character gacha confirmed (accessed February 22, 2026)
Icy Veins, TGS 2025 interview details (accessed February 22, 2026)
MMORPG.com, Developer interview (accessed February 22, 2026)
Famitsu, TGS 2025 coverage (accessed February 22, 2026)
IGN, Producer interview TGS 2025 (accessed February 22, 2026)