Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad Announced for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 05 March 2026 / 3,546 Views
Publisher Bandai Namco and developer Game Studio have announced action RPG, Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad, for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. It will launch in Japan on July 9 and worldwide on July 10.
View the announcement trailer below:
The game will be available in three different editions:
Standard Edition ($69.99 / £54.99 / €69.99 / ¥8,910)
- A copy of the game – Step into the floating castle of Aincrad, a world of breathtaking beauty and danger where every battle could be your last. Enter a mysterious, vibrant world and shape your fate. Create your hero, choose your gear, and master combat through your special skills and reflexes. Build synergy with the partner of your choice, level up, and unlock powerful abilities as your horizon expands with every victory. Will you rise and claim your destiny or fall to foes stronger than you imagined?
Deluxe Edition ($89.99 / £74.99 / €89.99 / ¥11,440)
- A copy of the game
- Expansion downloadable content – Experience a completely new side story in Aincrad that can be enjoyed after clearing the main story, along with newly added companions. Enjoy new encounters, further exploration, and battles against even stronger enemies.
- Starter Pack – A starter set filled with various items that will be useful in the early stages of your adventure. Get an edge in this deadly game where any moment could be your last!
- “Death Game Mode” Early Unlock – Once you die, it’s over. You’ll be given access to Death Game Mode where death equals data deletion. Death Game Mode can also be unlocked by clearing the main story.
Ultimate Edition ($109.99 / £94.99 / €109.99 / ¥14,960)
- A copy of the game
- Expansion downloadable content
- Starter Pack
- “Death Game Mode” Early Unlock
- Echoes of Aincrad Unanswered//butterfly bonus contents app – A digital app as a separate application from the main game where you can fully enjoy the world of Echoes of Aincrad, an RPG set in the floating castle of Aincrad. In addition to content not seen in the main game, such as character and enemy concept art and background art, it includes Unanswered//butterfly, a feature-length promotional animation of approximately 120 minutes depicting a separate story from the main game! Furthermore, the digital soundtrack includes various songs from Echoes of Aincrad and Unanswered//butterfly. Immerse yourself in the world of Echoes of Aincrad with this app!
- Armor Pack: Flutter Boots and Flutter Robes – A set of armor for Rex and Emirun, characters appearing in the promotional video Unanswered//butterfly. Includes “Flutter Robes” and “Flutter Boots.” The appearance of the armor will change depending on the avatar’s body type: Rex’s armor for TYPE1 and Emirun’s armor for TYPE2.
Read details on the game below:
Step into Aincrad, a world of beauty and danger where every battle could be your last. Create your hero, choose your gear, and master combat by building synergy with your partner, leveling up, and unlocking special abilities to expand your horizons.
Risk Your Reality
Step into the floating castle of Aincrad, a world of breathtaking beauty and danger where every battle could be your last. Enter a mysterious, vibrant world and shape your fate. Create your hero, choose your gear, and master combat through your special skills and reflexes. Build synergy with the partner of your choice, level up, and unlock powerful abilities as your horizon expands with every victory.
Will you rise and claim your destiny or fall to foes stronger than you imagined?
This is not just a game; it’s a battle for survival. Take up your weapon, shape your legend, and enter an adventure to risk your reality!
Forge Your Hero
Live this JRPG adventure as yourself by designing and customizing your own avatar to create a hero that reflects your vision. This is your identity, your legend, and your chance to leave a mark on a world where survival is everything.
Define Your Progression
Shape your adventure and determine your fate by adapting your equipment, weapons, statistics, partner and special skills to reflect your favor for speed, intelligence, or endurance. Gather more strength as you level up. Growth is essential for your survival. Deepen the synergy with your partner, adapt their tactics and build to create a team dynamic that turns every battle into a triumph.
Explore a Thriving World
Wander across diverse cities and journey through stunning environments, from serene plains to perilous dungeons filled with secrets. Complete quests, hunt rare treasures, and challenge formidable foes in real-time action combat. The map expands as your story unfolds, revealing new areas and dangers at every turn.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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This one looks amazing. Just hope that is not souls like, because IGN video that they have clearly shows all signs of Souls type game. Why developers want every action game to be like souls is beyond me. Souls-type genre is the most bloated genre right now and its not even close.
Namco made an announcement of an announcement to announce the 800th SAO game. I'm sure it will be mediocre like the IP itself. What's next EA to make an announcement of an announcement to announce another Madden is happening? SHOCKER!
Bandai in every anime game: "lets launch on other platforms and 1 year later for Nintendo platforms to make more money with the fans that will double dip the game" in the end the game will sell less than expected...
Yeah, I am getting really tired of this, I canceled my pre order for Digimon Time Stranger, because it turns out that it's not October anymore and I am no longer hyped for that game, maybe I will get it on a huge discount some other time.
The NS2 has been out for a while now, I am not interested in games that decide to skip it.
