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This PS5 RPG Will Expand ‘Beyond the Game’ with an Official Anime
Kuro Games, the developer behind the successful open-world RPG Wuthering Waves, has launched an internal animation studio called Kuro Onroad. The studio's debut project will be an anime adaptation titled Wuthering Waves: Elysium, which will bring the game's characters, stories, and world to a new medium for fans.
This move reflects a broader trend in the gaming industry to expand franchises into animation, following companies like HoYoverse's efforts with Genshin Impact anime and Honkai: Star Rail adaptations. Rather than partnering with external animation studios, Kuro Games opted to develop its own in-house animation capabilities, potentially to maintain creative control and streamline production. The anime has no confirmed release date but is expected to arrive several years from now.
In short
- Kuro Games established internal animation studio Kuro Onroad
- First project is Wuthering Waves: Elysium anime based on the popular RPG
- Move reflects industry trend of game franchises expanding into animation
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The case for
Establishing an internal animation studio allows Kuro Games to maintain creative control over how its intellectual property is adapted, ensuring the anime aligns with the game's artistic vision and narrative quality. This vertical integration keeps revenue within the company, builds long-term competitive capabilities in a growing medium, and enables better synergy between game and anime storytelling, ultimately strengthening franchise cohesion and fan engagement.
The case against
Building a competent animation studio requires substantial capital investment and specialised expertise that lies outside Kuro Games' core competency in game development. External animation studios have proven production pipelines and established track records, making them lower-risk partners who can deliver quality adaptations whilst allowing the company to concentrate its resources and focus on its primary product.
Explained simply
Wuthering Waves is a video game developed by Kuro Games that allows players to explore a fantasy world, complete quests, and follow a story. It has become popular on PlayStation 5 and other platforms since its launch.
Many successful video games have recently been adapted into anime series and other entertainment formats. This trend has emerged as developers seek to expand their franchises and introduce their characters and stories to new audiences who may not play the original games.
Kuro Games has chosen to create its adaptation in-house through its own animation studio rather than hiring an external company. This approach may allow the developer to maintain tighter creative control over how the game's story and characters appear in the anime version.