Wuthering Waves anime announced as Kuro Games launches Kuro Onroad

Kuro Games has announced an anime adaptation of Wuthering Waves, its gacha action-RPG, as the first project under a new animation banner called Kuro Onroad. Polygon reports the studio will use the Kuro Onroad brand for its animation work going forward.

The announcement trailer confirms the show is titled Wuthering Waves: Elysium and shows that it will use 3D animation and feature characters from the game. Beyond that, details are scarce. Kuro Onroad describes the series as based on the world of Wuthering Waves, which leaves open whether it reinterprets familiar characters or slots into the game’s existing narrative and lore.

It is also unclear whether Kuro Onroad is producing the animation internally or partnering with an outside studio. In a press release, Kuro Games said it hopes the project expands the Wuthering Waves universe beyond the game and offers fans another way to experience its characters, stories and world through animation.

The structure of the announcement is the most concrete signal about the studio’s intent. Kuro Games created a standing animation brand rather than licensing the property to a third party for a single production, which points to a longer-term commitment to animation than a one-off adaptation would. What that pipeline holds beyond Elysium has not been detailed.

Another entry in a crowded adaptation slate

The project arrives during a run of video game to anime adaptations. FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is getting an anime movie in September, and Ghost of Tsushima: Legends is being adapted as a series.

The closest comparison is Genshin Impact, the gacha RPG Wuthering Waves competes with most directly. That game’s anime has been in the works at Ufotable since it was announced in 2022, with few updates since. Which of the two reaches audiences first is an open question, as Wuthering Waves: Elysium does not have a release date.