Echoes of Aincrad Opening Movie Released

Bandai Namco released the opening movie for upcoming action RPG Echoes of Aincrad: Sword Art Online. The two-minute video showcases the game’s major cast members and features the theme song “Live to Survive”, performed by Aimer.

Echoes of Aincrad sees the first “full-dive” VRMMORPG turned into a death game where the death of a player in the game causes their death in real life. Players control a fully customisable character who is one of the players trapped in the game, soon reunited with a fellow beta tester called Iori. It will also include characters from the original series, including Kirito and Asuna. The game, being developed by Game Studio Inc., will release for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on July 10, 2026, with a demo currently available.