PlayStation Is Getting a Dedicated Crunchyroll Anime Hub on PS5 — Here’s What It Means

Sony just made it official: your PlayStation 5 is about to become an anime destination. The company announced a dedicated Crunchyroll anime hub coming to the PS5 home screen in Spring 2027, and it might be the smartest move the console has made in years.

The announcement came from PlayStation president and CEO Hideaki Nishino at the inaugural Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum in New York, where Sony also pulled the curtain back on a new Crunchyroll Storyworks division. But the real headline for gamers and anime fans alike is this: anime is getting a permanent, prominent home on one of the world’s most popular consoles.

What the Crunchyroll Anime Hub Actually Is

Let’s be clear about what this is and what it isn’t. Crunchyroll has been available as a standalone app on the PS5 since the console launched in 2020. You could already watch Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Solo Leveling on your PlayStation if you knew where to look. But the app lived in the media section, buried alongside Netflix, Disney+, and a dozen other streaming icons.

The new hub changes that equation entirely. Instead of being one app among many, Crunchyroll will be integrated directly into the PS5’s home screen experience. Think of it as a dedicated anime destination — a curated space where you can discover new series, jump into anime-inspired games, and access the full Crunchyroll app without leaving the hub.

“Anime and gaming have deeply engaged and overlapping fan communities, and the new experience will bring those worlds closer together on PS5,” the Crunchyroll announcement reads. That’s not just corporate speak. The overlap between anime fans and gamers is massive, and Sony is finally treating it as a feature rather than an afterthought.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

The PS5 has an installed base of over 92 million units worldwide. That’s a staggering audience for anime content, and most of those console owners probably don’t realize how much anime is already available to them — or how much more is coming.

Sony’s relationship with Crunchyroll runs deep. The company acquired Crunchyroll for nearly $1.2 billion in 2021, merging it with Funimation to create what is now the dominant player in global anime streaming. But until now, that investment has lived mostly on phones, tablets, and smart TVs. Bringing it front and center on the PS5 is a signal that Sony sees anime as a core pillar of the PlayStation brand, not a niche add-on.

The timing is also notable. This announcement comes on the heels of Sony launching “Live TV on PS5,” a free ad-supported streaming offering with over 100 channels. The PlayStation is quietly transforming from a gaming console into a full-fledged entertainment hub, and anime is the next logical piece of that puzzle.

The Crunchyroll Storyworks Division

While the PS5 hub is the consumer-facing news, the Crunchyroll Storyworks division might be the more significant long-term play. Led by Sony veteran Tohru Iokibe, Storyworks will focus on adapting global stories into anime and Japanese anime into live-action, working closely with Japanese creators to preserve original creative visions.

The division will operate within Crunchyroll’s content group and deliver greenlight-ready projects for HAYATE, Crunchyroll’s joint venture with Aniplex. HAYATE, founded in March 2025 and headquartered in Tokyo, already acquired anime studio Lay-duce as a wholly owned subsidiary. This is Sony building an anime production pipeline from the ground up — not just distributing content, but creating it.

Iokibe, who previously led IP initiatives connecting Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions, described Storyworks as building “a creative bridge between Japan and storytellers around the world.” That’s a bold ambition, and it suggests Sony is thinking about anime the way Marvel thinks about the MCU — as a interconnected universe of stories that can span formats and platforms.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends and the Anime-Gaming Pipeline

The most exciting proof of concept for this strategy is already in development: a Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime series coming to Crunchyroll in 2027. The adaptation is a collaboration between multiple Sony divisions — PlayStation Studios, PlayStation Productions, Sucker Punch Productions, Aniplex, and Sony Music — and it represents exactly the kind of cross-platform storytelling that Storyworks is designed to enable.

The series will be directed by Takanobu Mizuno with story development by Gen Urobuchi (the writer behind Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero), with animation by Kamikaze Douga. That’s a serious creative team, and it signals that Sony isn’t interested in cheap cash-grab adaptations. They want anime that stands on its own merits.

This is the model: take a beloved game IP, adapt it with top-tier anime talent, distribute it through Crunchyroll, and use the PS5 hub to connect it back to the gaming community. It’s a closed loop that benefits every part of Sony’s ecosystem.

What It Means for Anime Fans

For anime fans who also game — which is a enormous overlap — this is genuinely good news. Instead of switching between devices, you’ll be able to discover anime on the same console where you play games. Finished a session of a game inspired by anime? The hub will recommend series that match your interests. Watching an anime based on a game you love? One click takes you to the game page.

The discovery angle is huge. Anime has exploded in global popularity over the past five years, but it still suffers from a discoverability problem. New fans often don’t know where to start, and the sheer volume of content on Crunchyroll can be overwhelming. A curated hub on a console that 92 million people already own solves that problem elegantly.

And for the anime fans who don’t game? They benefit too. As anime becomes more visible on a mainstream platform, the cultural conversation around it shifts. Anime stops being a niche interest and becomes simply another form of entertainment — which is exactly where it belongs.

The Bigger Picture

Sony is playing a long game here. The PS5 is the most powerful console on the market, but raw specs only take you so far. What keeps people engaged with a platform is content — and anime is one of the most passionate, loyal content communities in the world.

By integrating Crunchyroll into the home screen, launching a production division, and building cross-platform franchises like Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, Sony is positioning the PlayStation as the definitive destination for anime and gaming culture. Spring 2027 can’t come soon enough.

Whether you’re a longtime anime fan or someone who’s been curious but never knew where to start, the PS5 about to become the best place to dive in. And if you need recommendations, our coverage of Demon Slayer and Solo Leveling is a great place to begin.