Aside from a longer hands-on session, we got to learn more about Echoes of Aincrad in an interview with the game’s producer, Yosuke Futami, including its connection to Kirito and the original SAO story, as well as the new Death Game Mode.
In case you missed it, Echoes of Aincrad is a new game in the ever-popular Sword Art Online franchise, though it’s quite different from the previous SAO games. That’s because players take on the role of a new character instead of the series’ iconic protagonist, Kirito.
One of the questions that Futami was asked was why the team decided to go with an original protagonist instead of Kirito. In response, Futami said that they think that SAO Last Recollection’s story is a fitting conclusion to Kirito’s story in the games, and this became a jumping-off point in developing Echoes of Aincrad’s premise.
Futami’s full answer is as follows:
“We considered the story of Kirito and the others in ‘Last Recollection’ to be complete, so we wanted to treat it as a natural stopping point. After that, as we explored a new approach for a console game, we came up with the concept of the player joining Aincrad, which is both the origin of the series and one of its most popular settings.”
In Echoes of Aincrad, players take on the role of another beta tester who gets stuck in Aincrad, but unlike Kirito, the player starts as a beginner. As such, this game aims to deliver a fresh take on the story that kick-started the entire series.
This begs the question – is Echoes of Aincrad canon? Typically, games based on popular anime or manga IP are considered to happen in an alternate universe, meaning they’re not exactly canon entries on the same level as the original work. While Futami didn’t outright confirm that this is the case (given that what’s canon or not is generally more of a fan discussion), he did mention that, when it comes to characters and histories, the events of this new game will be true to the original Sword Art Online story.
“While keeping the characters and histories of the original story as they are, this game’s story is about what if you were there as a ‘Sword Art Online’ player,” said Futami. “Thus, the characters from the original story, including Kirito, will appear in the game.”
While Futami didn’t go into detail about Kirito’s role in the story, based on the promotion for the game, he will not exactly be an ally, with some thinking that he may serve as more of an antagonist.
Even with this unique twist to the concept of SAO, Echoes of Aincrad does aim to give long-time fans the same feeling of dread and danger that the beta testers faced in the initial levels of Aincrad. This is courtesy of the game’s Death Game Mode, which is essentially a perma-death mode.
Futami shared:
“We consider that the original appeal of Aincrad story in Sword Art Online is the feeling of life and real death once it’s game over. So we prepared the Death Game Mode to experience the feeling more deeply as a reward for clearing the game. If you purchase a DELUXE or ULTIMATE edition, you will receive an early unlock bonus.
However, the Death Game Mode is for fans who want to experience the same tension the original characters felt, so we have no particular concern about it. It is up to the player’s choice, and it will likely provide a completely different experience from a typical RPG.”
Note that this mode is made for long-time fans and more hardcore gamers. Overall, Echoes of Aincrad is still designed to be an accessible game. In fact, given that its premise is essentially based on the very first SAO story, this is a promising game for series fans who haven’t really played the various Sword Art Online games that have been released over the past few years.
Futami echoed this when he answered a question about recommendations for newer players:
“For beginners, we recommend one-handed swords that the protagonist equips at the beginning. The one-handed swords are easy to use and balanced, since they can be used with a shield.
Advanced players can use daggers or two-handed axes.
Daggers allow for countless swift strikes and strong attacks. Two-handed axes’ slow area-of-effect strikes hit very hard, and these allow you to perform tricky movements.”
Based on its premise and gameplay, this new SAO game seems to be quite an interesting release for long-time series fans, as well as more casual viewers. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see if the gameplay holds up in the final version.
Echoes of Aincrad will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on July 10, 2026.