Crunchyroll Announces Ghost of Tsushima Anime, Manga Subscription App
By producing a Ghost of Tsushima anime and launching a dedicated manga app, Crunchyroll is expanding beyond its core streaming business into original content production and a separate comics subscription tier, testing whether it can replicate the vertical integration model of larger media conglomerates.
Reporting from 1 sources: Deadline Anime.
Crunchyroll announced two major initiatives during Sony's CES press conference in Las Vegas on January 6: a series adaptation of the video game Ghost of Tsushima and a new manga reading app for subscribers. The Ghost of Tsushima anime is a co-production between Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Sony Music, and PlayStation Productions, adapting both the main game and its Legends cooperative multiplayer mode. Takanobu Mizuno will direct, with Gen Urobuchi handling story composition and Kamikaze Douga providing animation. The series is set to premiere exclusively on Crunchyroll in 2027. Separately, Crunchyroll Manga will launch later this year in the U.S. and Canada as a standalone iOS and Android app, offered as a premium add-on for existing subscribers. The app will carry titles from multiple publishers and eventually support web browser access. Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini described the manga app as complementing the company's existing anime library, Game Vault, and merchandise store.
The Ghost of Tsushima anime is the first original series Crunchyroll has co-produced from a major video game property, drawing on Sony's internal studios and music divisions. The project adapts Sucker Punch Productions' 2020 open-world samurai game, which sold millions of copies and won several Game of the Year awards. The Legends mode, a separate co-op experience inspired by Japanese folklore, will also be incorporated into the anime. Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini called the project a result of creative synergy across Sony's family of companies. Most of the cast and additional creative staff have not been announced. The 2027 premiere date suggests a multi-year production timeline.
The Crunchyroll Manga app represents a new revenue stream for the company, which has previously offered limited manga reading through its main platform. The app will launch as a premium add-on, meaning subscribers will pay extra beyond their existing Crunchyroll membership. Purini framed the app as a way to give fans access to the source material behind many anime series. The move follows similar attempts by other streaming services to bundle comics with video, though Crunchyroll is positioning its app as a standalone experience rather than a feature within the video player.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.