Anime platform Crunchyroll launches Game Vault to let subscribers play

Anime streaming platform Crunchyroll is bundling a selection of games into two of its membership tiers as part of a new "Game Vault" initiative.

The Crunchyroll Game Vault will provide Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscribers with unlimited access to an expanding library of premium mobile games chosen specifically for "fans of anime and anime-inspired entertainment."

Game Vault titles will be playable without ads or in-app purchases and will be made available to Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscribers in over 200 countries.

At launch, the Game Vault will contain Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery, Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions, inbento, River City Girls, and Wolfstride. Crunchyroll said those five titles will be made available to iOS and Android users "exclusively" on Game Vault, and noted that a "whole new wave of titles" will be added to the platform soon.

"Crunchyroll Game Vault is a curated, focused library of premium titles for the global anime fan that loves gaming, adding even more value to Crunchyroll memberships by connecting fans with anime-infused content," said Terry Li, EVP of emerging business at Crunchyroll, in a press release.

"With Crunchyroll Game Vault, we're also looking forward to working with international developers to bring their titles to mobile for the first time or introduce existing mobile games to the Crunchyroll community as part of an amazing line-up."

Crunchyroll isn't the first streaming service to segue into the world of games. Netflix has spent liberally in a bid to break into the game industry since launching Netflix Games, which grants some Netflix subscribers access to a growing roster of games.

Netflix, however, isn't content to simply offer its users access to games. Instead, the company has been acquiring major studios and talent with a view to releasing its own first-party titles.  

Earlier this year, the company hired longtime Halo creative director Joseph Staten and former God of War art director Raf Grassetti. It has also bought notable studios such as Cosy Grove developer SpryFox and Finnish studio Next Games, the latter of which cost the company a whopping $72 million.