.hack

.hack is a Japanese multimedia franchise built around an imagined online game called The World and the unexplained incidents surrounding its players, operators, and artificial intelligences. Rather than treating games, animation, books, and comics as separate adaptations, the franchise uses them as interlocking viewpoints on a shared fictional history. Its setting begins after a major worldwide computer-network catastrophe in 2005 and follows the growth of a new generation of networked entertainment, culminating in the popularity of The World and later versions of the game. The franchise began in 2002 as Project .hack, a coordinated production involving CyberConnect2, Bandai, Bandai Visual, Bee Train, and other partners. Its first releases were the television anime .hack//Sign and the PlayStation 2 game .hack//Infection. The initial project was designed to make the player feel that the fictional online world continued beyond the console game: the four principal PlayStation 2 volumes were accompanied by the .hack//Liminality original video animation episodes, while novels, manga, and related anime expanded the history and character perspectives. The original game cycle follows Kite and BlackRose as they investigate why people connected to The World are falling into comas, including Kite's friend Orca and BlackRose's brother Kazu. .hack//Sign established the franchise's distinctive tone. Its story follows Tsukasa, a player who cannot log out of The World, and uses virtual space to explore isolation, anxiety, escapism, identity, and relationships. The associated .hack//Liminality episodes shift attention to events in the physical world, allowing the franchise to present the fictional online game as both a narrative environment and a technological mystery. Other early works, including .hack//Legend of the Twilight, .hack//AI buster, and .hack//Zero, broadened the setting through different casts and formats. A second production phase, known as .hack Conglomerate, followed the original project. It moved the setting forward to later versions of The World and introduced the .hack//G.U. trilogy, the anime .hack//Roots, additional novels and manga, and related games. The G.U. storyline centers on Haseo, whose search for a cure for a friend draws him into conflicts involving player killers, the enigmatic AIDA phenomenon, and the organization known as Project G.U. The setting subsequently expanded through .hack//Link, .hack//Versus, the CGI film .hack//The Movie, mobile titles, and other spin-offs. The franchise's commercial identity is therefore broader than a conventional game series. Its major offerings include role-playing games, anime television productions, original video animations, feature-length computer-generated animation, manga, novels, trading-card games, and mobile games. Several products were Japan-exclusive, while selected games and anime received releases or licensing in North America, Europe, and other regions. The remastered .hack//G.U. Last Recode collection brought the three G.U. games to PlayStation 4 and PC and added a fourth volume, Reconnection. Based on the supplied reference material, the franchise's present operating status and ownership arrangements are not fully documented.

The .hack franchise originated as Project .hack, a coordinated Japanese media project launched in 2002. CyberConnect2 served as the principal game developer, while Bandai and associated animation and publishing companies supported the wider production. The project was conceived around a fictional online role-playing game, The World, and used several media formats to depict different parts of the same fictional chronology. The first major release was the anime television series .hack//Sign, which premiered in Japan in April 2002. The series follows Tsukasa, a player trapped inside The World, and established the franchise's interest in psychological unease, online identity, and the boundary between virtual and physical experience. The first PlayStation 2 game, .hack//Infection, followed in June 2002. It began a four-part game sequence that continued with .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and .hack//Quarantine. The games follow Kite and BlackRose as they investigate abnormal events and the comas affecting players connected to The World. The game releases were supported by .hack//Liminality, a four-part original video animation series distributed with the game volumes. Unlike the console games, Liminality concentrates on the real world and follows Mai Minase, Yuki Aihara, Kyoko Tohno, and Junichiro Tokuoka as they investigate the same crisis from outside the virtual environment. This parallel structure became one of the franchise's defining features. Project .hack also produced novels, manga, additional animation, and the comic OVA .hack//Gift. .hack//Legend of the Twilight, .hack//AI buster, .hack//Another Birth, .hack//Zero, and .hack//Epitaph of Twilight each added characters or alternative perspectives to the setting. The franchise expanded internationally during the early 2000s. Bandai announced an overseas release for .hack//Infection in 2003, and an English-dubbed version of .hack//Sign was broadcast through Cartoon Network. Other titles were distributed or licensed in different territories, although availability varied considerably by format and market. The online game .hack//frägment was released only in Japan; its online service operated from November 2005 until January 2007. The collectible card game .hack//Enemy was also produced during this period and ended after five expansions released between 2003 and 2005. A successor phase called .hack Conglomerate moved the story to later versions of The World. Its principal game line was .hack//G.U., a trilogy consisting of Vol. 1 Rebirth, Vol. 2 Reminisce, and Vol. 3 Redemption. The storyline follows Haseo and his involvement with Project G.U., after his friend is attacked by the player known as Tri-Edge. The associated anime .hack//Roots depicts Haseo's earlier experiences and his membership in the Twilight Brigade. The Conglomerate period also included novels, manga, the trading-card game .hack//G.U. The Card Battle, and additional animation. The later franchise continued through .hack//Link for PSP, .hack//Versus for PlayStation 3, the CGI film .hack//The Movie, and several Japan-exclusive mobile games. .hack//The Movie presents a future version of The World called FORCE:ERA, while .hack//Link advances the chronology to The World R:X. The mobile titles .hack//Guilty Dragon and New World Vol. 1: Maiden of Silver Tears both operated for limited periods in Japan. In 2017, .hack//G.U. Last Recode remastered the G.U. trilogy for PlayStation 4 and PC and added a new fourth volume, Reconnection. The supplied reference material also identifies .hack//Z.E.R.O. as a game announced for 2026, but does not provide enough information to establish its release status or commercial outcome. Across its history, .hack has remained identifiable through its linked-media structure, recurring fictional game-world mythology, and focus on the social consequences of networked virtual environments. Its catalog includes completed, discontinued, and ongoing-status-uncertain works. The available reference material does not establish a current headquarters, a single legal owner, or a definitive current activity status for the overall franchise.

• 2026

  .hack//Z.E.R.O. announced

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  The supplied reference identifies a new game announced for 2026; release details are not established.

• 2017

  .hack//G.U. Last Recode is released

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  The remastered G.U. collection launches for PlayStation 4 and PC with the additional fourth volume Reconnection.

• 2016

  New World mobile service ends

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  The Japan-exclusive mobile game New World Vol. 1: Maiden of Silver Tears ends service on December 20.

• 2012

  .hack//The Movie reaches Japanese theaters

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  The CGI film is released in Japan on January 21, depicting a future reboot of The World.

• 2007

  .hack//frägment service ends

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  The game's online servers close on January 18 after its Japan-only run.

• 2005

  .hack//frägment online service starts

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  The Japan-exclusive online .hack game begins service on November 23.

• 2003

  International expansion begins

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  Bandai announces an international release for .hack//Infection, while .hack//Sign receives an English dub and overseas television exposure.

• 2002

  Project .hack launches

  [1].hacken.wikipedia.org

  The franchise begins with the anime .hack//Sign in April and the PlayStation 2 game .hack//Infection in June.

A cross-media cyber-fantasy franchise that combines role-playing-game mechanics, anime storytelling, and serialized mystery around the social and psychological consequences of life inside a virtual MMORPG.

• PlayStation 2 role-playing games · 2002

  .hack video game series

  The original four-volume console sequence consists of .hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and .hack//Quarantine. Players follow Kite and BlackRose as they investigate abnormal incidents in The World, including the comas affecting people connected to the fictional MMORPG.

• Anime television series · 2002

  .hack//Sign

  A 26-episode anime series with additional video episodes, .hack//Sign follows Tsukasa, a player who wakes inside The World and cannot log out. Its story emphasizes alienation, virtual identity, anxiety, and the emotional relationships formed through online communities.

• Original video animation · 2002

  .hack//Liminality

  This four-part OVA series accompanied the original PlayStation 2 games and focuses on the real-world investigation into players falling into comas. Its parallel narrative complements the in-game investigations undertaken by Kite and BlackRose.

• PlayStation 2 role-playing game trilogy

  .hack//G.U.

  The G.U. trilogy comprises Vol. 1 Rebirth, Vol. 2 Reminisce, and Vol. 3 Redemption. It follows Haseo in the later game environment The World R:2 as he searches for answers after his friend is attacked and becomes involved with Project G.U. and the AIDA anomalies.

• Remastered video game collection · 2017

  .hack//G.U. Last Recode

  Last Recode packages remastered versions of the three G.U. volumes for PlayStation 4 and PC and adds a fourth chapter, Reconnection. It serves as the principal modern reissue of the G.U. storyline.

• Anime television series

  .hack//Roots

  Set before the G.U. games, .hack//Roots follows Haseo's entry into The World R:2, his association with the Twilight Brigade, and his transformation into the figure known as the Terror of Death.

• CGI animated feature · 2012

  .hack//The Movie

  The film is set in 2024 and depicts a new generation encountering a rebooted version of The World called FORCE:ERA. It extends the franchise's recurring themes of technological change and the social effects of online worlds.

• Mobile card-based game · 2012

  .hack//Guilty Dragon

  A Japan-exclusive card-oriented mobile game for Android and iOS. Its service ran from October 2012 until March 2016.

• Mobile role-playing game · 2016

  New World Vol. 1: Maiden of Silver Tears

  This Japan-exclusive Android and iOS title functioned as a reboot of the franchise concept. Its service operated during 2016 and ended in December of that year.

1. 1.hacken.wikipedia.org