Echoes of Aincrad has launched and debuted at No. 2 on Steam Japan's weekly sales and No. 5 in Japan's overall weekly sales, but reviews are mixed with a Metascore of 60 on PC and 64 on PS5.
Bandai Namco Entertainment's action RPG Echoes of Aincrad, set in the Sword Art Online universe, rolled out a demo on June 16 that covered the full beta test chapter. Players control a fixed young swordsman avatar during the beta test, then customize their real appearance when the main story begins. The full game launched July 9 in Japan on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and July 10 on PC via Steam, with a Western release on all platforms July 10. Aimer performed the theme song "Live to Survive."
Marketing included a second story trailer, an opening movie, and an unusual limited-time 18-minute anime promo that was removed from the internet after July 6. The game offers a permadeath Death Game Mode that deletes the player's save file upon death, normally unlocked after completing the game once but available early with Deluxe and Ultimate Editions. Bandai Namco also ran a Clearance Group Recruitment Campaign through July 17, inviting streamers to play on Very Hard difficulty with Death Game Mode enabled.
Post-launch, Echoes of Aincrad debuted at No. 2 on ASCII.jp's Steam sales ranking for Japan as of July 13, 2026, behind Counter-Strike 2, and at No. 5 in Famitsu's weekly Japan sales ranking for July 6-12. Critical reception has been mixed. Game Spark's roundup of international reviews reported a Metascore of 60 on PC (9 reviews) and 64 on PS5 (34 reviews). Critics praised the story but cited repetitive design, limited exploration, and technical issues, with some outlets calling it the weakest entry in the series.
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Famitsu's weekly ranking for July 6-12 shows Rhythm Heaven Groove repeating at No. 1 with 126,073 copies sold (519,451 total). New releases include Magical Girl Witch Trials (No. 2), Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced (No. 4), Echoes of Aincrad (No. 5), and Digimon Story: Time Stranger (No. 6 on Switch 2, No. 8 on Switch). Tomodachi Life remains a steady seller at No. 3.
Game Spark published its weekly ranking of the most-read articles from July 10 to 16. The list includes a column on MechWarrior 2's cultural impact, free Epic Games titles, the full release of Survival Machine, and a roundup of Steam games including the co-op horror Cursed Companions. The top spot is not shown in the excerpt.
ASCII.jp's weekly Steam sales ranking for Japan, as of July 13, 2026, shows Valve's Counter-Strike 2 holding the top spot for another week. Bandai Namco's Sword Art Online title Echoes of Aincrad, released on July 9 (Steam version July 10), enters at No. 2 with a price of ¥8,910. Cygames' Granblue Fantasy: Relink, boosted by its Endless Ragnarok expansion, ranks third. Other notable entries include Pocketpair's Palworld at No. 4, now out of early access, and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Black Flag Re:Sync at No. 9. The ranking also features free-to-play titles Apex Legends, eFootball, and Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond, as well as the indie hit Meccha Cameleon and Kuro Games' Wuthering Waves. Meanwhile, Game Spark's roundup of international reviews for Echoes of Aincrad reports a Metascore of 60 on PC (9 reviews) and 64 on PS5 (34 reviews). Critics praise the story but criticize repetitive design, limited exploration, and technical issues, with some outlets calling it the weakest entry in the series.
Bandai Namco and Game Studio released an 18-minute original anime promo made solely for the action RPG Echoes of Aincrad, set in the Sword Art Online universe. The promo will be removed from the internet on July 6, after which it will be unviewable. The game launches globally July 9/10 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.
Bandai Namco Entertainment released a new trailer for Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad on Tuesday, previewing the game's Death Game Mode. The mode is a permadeath option that deletes the player's save file upon character death, with no respawns. It is normally available only after completing the game once, but early access is included with the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions. The game launches in Japan on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on July 9, and on PC via Steam on July 10. The Western release is July 10 across all platforms. Players create their own customizable avatar and explore Aincrad alongside characters like Kirito and Asuna. Aimer performs the theme song "Live to Survive." The game has four editions: Standard, Deluxe, Ultimate, and Aincrad (Bandai Namco Store exclusive). The Ultimate Edition adds a digital soundtrack, digital artbook, an in-game armor pack, and the bonus anime "Unanswered//butterfly," which follows other characters during the original Sword Art Online story. The Deluxe Edition includes expansion DLC and a starter item pack.
Valve's Counter-Strike 2 reclaimed the top spot on the Steam sales ranking for Japan as of July 6, 2026, according to ASCII.jp's weekly chart. The free-to-play shooter took first place ahead of EA's Apex Legends in second and Cygames' Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond in third. Bandai Namco Entertainment's new Sword Art Online action RPG Echoes of Aincrad debuted at seventh place ahead of its Steam release on July 10. The game launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on July 9, with a standard edition priced at 8,910 yen. To promote the title, Bandai Namco is running a Clearance Group Recruitment Campaign through July 17, inviting streamers to play on Very Hard difficulty with Death Game Mode enabled. Participants receive a NerveGear streaming kit and have their names inscribed on a Monument of Life page. Separately, Sony Interactive Entertainment aired a two-part talk show on July 7 and 8 featuring SAO game general producer Takasuke Futami and Echoes of Aincrad production manager Yasuhiro Yawata, who demonstrated character creation and early story content.
Game Spark and Inside have published their weekly roundups of new game releases for the week of July 6, 2026, covering both the Japanese and North American markets. The headline titles this week are 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced', 'GRANBLUE FANTASY: Relink - Endless Ragnarok', and 'Palworld', all scheduled for release on July 9 and July 10 respectively. 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced' launches on July 9 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. 'GRANBLUE FANTASY: Relink - Endless Ragnarok' also arrives July 9 on PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch 2. 'Palworld' follows on July 10 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Other notable releases include 'Echoes of Aincrad' (July 9 on PS5, Xbox, PC; July 10 on PS5, Xbox, PC), 'Digimon Story Time Stranger' (July 9 on Switch 2 and Switch), 'Wuthering Waves' (July 10 on Xbox Series X|S), and 'College Football 27' (July 9 on PC, PS5, Xbox). The lists also include dozens of smaller indie and digital-only titles across all platforms.
Bandai Namco Entertainment America released the opening movie for the action RPG Echoes of Aincrad, featuring the theme song "Live to Survive" by Aimer. The song launches digitally Wednesday in English and Japanese. The game launches July 9 in Japan and July 10 worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
Bandai Namco Entertainment America released the second story trailer for Echoes of Aincrad, a new action RPG set in the original Sword Art Online world. The game launches July 9 in Japan on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and July 10 on PC via Steam, with a Western release on all platforms July 10. Aimer performs the theme song.
On June 20, 2026, VTuber Sakuna Yuki streamed the demo of the new Sword Art Online game Echoes of Aincrad, which released on all platforms on June 16. The action RPG, based on the Aincrad arc, puts players in the role of a regular player rather than Kirito. Sakuna completed the roughly four-hour demo on Normal difficulty and expressed interest in the full game's Death Game mode, where a game over deletes save data. The full version launches July 9, 2026, with the Steam version following on July 10.
Bandai Namco Entertainment released the demo for Echoes of Aincrad, the new action RPG set in the Sword Art Online universe, on June 16. The demo covers the entire beta test chapter that opens the full game, letting players experience the period before the official service of the in-game MMO Sword Art Online becomes a death game. Playtime is roughly three to four hours, and save data carries over to the full release. Players control a fixed young swordsman avatar during the beta test, then customize their real appearance when the main story begins. The demo includes five missions, all weapon types, and a tutorial for the combat system, which features light and heavy attacks, sword skills, guarding, dodging, parrying, and a severance mechanic that lets players destroy enemy limbs. Partner character Iori, a hardcore beta tester, accompanies the player and can be ordered into Switch Mode or Free Mode. The full game launches July 9 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and July 10 on PC via Steam. Aimer performs the theme song "Live to Survive." Streaming guidelines restrict full-game streaming to Very Hard difficulty with Death Game Mode enabled until July 17.
Bandai Namco Entertainment released a second story trailer for the action RPG Echoes of Aincrad, set in the original Sword Art Online death game world. A demo arrives June 16. The game launches July 9 in Japan on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and July 10 on PC via Steam, with a Western release on all platforms July 10. Aimer performs the theme song.
Bandai Namco Entertainment announced on June 11 that a demo version of the new Sword Art Online action RPG Echoes of Aincrad will be released on June 16 for PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The full game launches July 9 on consoles and July 10 on Steam. Echoes of Aincrad reboots the Aincrad arc from the original light novel, placing the player as a beta tester trapped in the death game. Character creation lets players customize their avatar's real appearance, which is revealed during the iconic death game declaration scene by Kayaba Akihiko. The demo covers the early first-floor quests Summon and Going Ahead, where players meet partner character Iori and experience the moment logging out becomes impossible. The game offers four difficulty levels plus a permadeath Death Game Mode unlocked after clearing the story. Kirito voice actor Yoshitsugu Matsuoka recorded new lines for the game, which uses the original anime audio for Kayaba's announcement.