A new Sword Art Online experience is in the works, and it’s set to break up the franchise’s main power couple. It’s called Sword Art Online Anomaly Quest, and it’s being teased as an experience that is “more than a video”. The assertion implies that the project may be a real-life attraction, one that isn’t enjoyed primarily on screens the way an anime series, film, or game would be. [Thanks Dengeki!]
Details about what Sword Art Online Anomaly Quest will actually be are scarce, though. The main bit of information available is a teaser trailer that accompanied the initial announcement.
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新プロジェクト
アノマリークエスト
◣__________◢キリトとアスナが敵になる―!?
映像ではない、新たなSAO体験プロジェクトがベールを脱ぐ。
詳しい情報は近日公開!https://t.co/ufn9Nh3IKV pic.twitter.com/muZ3VIVOSM— アニメ ソードアート・オンライン 公式 (@sao_anime) February 8, 2023
The teaser and tweet trumpet the unthinkable, which is Kirito and Asuna becoming enemies. The teaser also incorporates footage from the show, recut to make it look like the pair are fighting each other. The video closes on a piece of art that show the pair dressed in new black outfits, sporting glowing red eyes. The same art is visible on the attraction’s official web site.
Promotional text on the site says that “this quest” will not be one undertaken on the screen. Come April 2023, Shinjuku in Tokyo will become a place where people can “put their bodies to the test” in a “Real Dungeon.”
Sword Art Online Anomaly Quest is in development, and will open in Japan in April 2023. More details about the attraction are set to be announced. A screen-based attraction, Sword Art Online: Last Recollection, is in development for the PS4, Ps5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC for release in 2023.