Crunchyroll Officially Confirms The Beginning Of A Brand-New Era

Oct 08, 2026 - 13:03

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Solo Leveling Beyond the system poster with the statue of god in the background

Published Oct 8, 2026, 5:53 AM EDT

Paul Farrelly is a Contributing Writer for Screen Rant’s Gaming section and the founder of GeekGasm.org, a site dedicated to celebrating all things gaming, from triple A blockbusters to weird and wonderful indie hits. Based in Louth, Ireland, Paul has spent years writing about games, pop culture, and tech, turning his lifelong love of gaming into a career that lets him talk (probably too much) about what makes this industry so endlessly fascinating.
He’s previously written and collaborated with several entertainment outlets, including LADbible, gaining a wide perspective on how gaming fits into today’s pop culture conversation. His work blends genuine enthusiasm with thoughtful analysis, exploring how design, storytelling, and community have made gaming one of the most creative mediums around.
When he’s not glued to a controller or keyboard, Paul’s usually spinning vinyl, plotting his next horror marathon, or debating which Resident Evil entry really reigns supreme.

The Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum took place on October 7, 2026. The idea behind the forum is to bring industry leaders together along with creators and innovators to deliver future news about the platform to a wide audience. For those who aren't in the know, Crunchyroll is a massively successful anime streaming service that has been around since June 2006. This year's event led to an announcement that just might reshape the relationship of Crunchyroll with gamers. A new era is about to begin!

Sony's CEO and President of Entertainment, Hideaki Nishino, made the announcement during this year's Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum that Crunchyroll was being integrated into the PlayStation platform in brand-new ways. Crunchyroll will be getting its very own dedicated hub on PlayStation consoles in Spring 2027. Rather than falling under the usual media tab on the home bar, it's expected that Crunchyroll will have its very own section and be integrated on the home screen unlike before.

Luffy from One Piece and Deku from My Hero Academia

Sony acquired Crunchyroll in 2021 through Sony Pictures and since then, many cross-platform collaborations have been implemented. Having a dedicated hub on the PlayStation 5 is completely new though, and some fear it might feel like aggressive advertising for non-subscribers who just want to play their library of games. Having to scroll past an advert for Solo Leveling just to get to the upcoming Uncharted 5 icon on the home screen seems like an annoyance to many. However, how deep the integration goes hasn't been confirmed yet.

Quote from Hideaki Nishino at the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum 2026:

"Whether longtime anime fans or discovering a series through a game, character or world they already love, players will have a dedicated place to discover anime and anime-inspired games and easily access the full Crunchyroll app."

Naruto and Sasuke fight in official Naruto artwork

Little is known about the upcoming dedicated hub except that it is hoping to bring together anime and anime-inspired gaming all under one umbrella. With both gaming fan bases and anime fan bases often intersecting, it seems wise to have a small niche carved out on the PS5 home screen for people to search for all things anime all in the one space. With PS Productions currently working on a game-inspired anime series, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, it seems fitting that cross-overs in gaming and anime should be visible under a dedicated hub.

This is a pretty nice bit of news for PlayStation fans that should come as a small respite from the deluge of bad news from the company over the last few months. Between PlayStation's stance on physical discs to price increases, it's not been the best year for them. A bit of anime is a welcome distraction.

The Crunchyroll app is currently available on the PS5 with some content available to watch for free and new users can sign up for a 7-day free trial. There are also multiple paid tiers available to enjoy the full catalog of anime content ad-free. With the lines between anime and gaming blurring, its likely we'll see plenty more cross-overs, campaigns and integrations for years to come. A Chainsaw Man game made by Shift Up (the team behind Stellar Blade) would be absolutely amazing! Or perhaps an Attack on Titan/Elden Ring crossover somewhere down the line. The potential for cross-overs is endless.