Crunchyroll is adding mobile games to its subscription

07.11.2023 - 17:41 / theverge.com / Andrew Webster

By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

Crunchyroll is making a bigger push into games. The anime streaming service, which has previously published a handful of mobile titles, is adding mobile games to its offering in a move similar to Netflix’s ongoing foray into gaming. The new feature is called the Crunchyroll Game Vault and is available starting today.

The vault is available for free to subscribers of the Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan tiers of Crunchyroll — the two higher-cost tiers available — and at launch, there will be five titles. That includes Captain Velvet: The Jump+ Dimensions, River City Girls, Wolfstride, Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery, and Inbento. Much like on Netflix or Apple Arcade, the games will all be free and devoid of in-app purchases.

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Whereas most gaming subscription services tend to offer a large breadth of titles, it sounds like Crunchyroll’s will be more focused. The company says it will feature “premium mobile games specifically for fans of anime and anime-inspired entertainment.” And while there are only five games at launch, Crunchyroll says the vault will “feature continuous additions to its line-up, with a whole new wave of titles coming soon.”

Despite launching two years ago, Netflix’s gaming ambitions remain largely in the experimental phase, and it’s unclear yet whether they’re reaching many of the company’s subscribers the company is pushing forward with cloud-streamed games. Apple Arcade, meanwhile, continues to nab notable new games, but also recently raised its price alongside many of Apple’s other services.

For now, Crunchyroll’s games offering seems like a nice bonus, not unlike the digital manga included in the subscription’s higher tiers.

The news comes a day after Crunchyroll announced a partnership with Walmart that will see Crunchyroll-branded “fan shops” in 2,400 retail locations in the US, selling things like Blu-ray collections, vinyl records, and physical subscription cards.

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