PlayStation 5 to get built-in Crunchyroll anime hub in spring 2027
Anime is getting its own front door on the PlayStation 5.
Sony's PlayStation will launch a new Crunchyroll anime hub built into the PS5 home screen, the main menu players land on when they switch the console on, in spring 2027, according to Variety. That puts anime alongside games from the moment the machine starts. It is a visible promotion.
The plan was announced by PlayStation president and CEO Hideaki Nishino at the inaugural Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum. The forum is Sony's showcase for its anime business. Nishino used the appearance to set out what comes next for PS5 viewers.
Right now, Crunchyroll lives on PS5 as a separate app. It has worked that way since the console launched in 2020. Viewers have to find the app, open it, and then search for something to watch. That routine is about to change.
The coming hub is intended to make Crunchyroll an integral part of the home-screen experience. In plain terms, it will sit in the main line-up rather than off to one side. It will provide a dedicated place to discover anime and anime-inspired games together, organised around discovery rather than separate downloads.
For people watching at home, this means less hopping between menus. A viewer could move from a game to a related series without leaving the home screen. New shows and game tie-ins can surface in one spot. Discovery gets quicker.
The anime hub is not the first addition to that menu. Live TV on PS5, which offers more than 100 free ad-supported channels, meaning channels that are free to watch with adverts, debuted in August. That service brought live streaming into the console itself. The Crunchyroll hub extends the same idea to anime.
Sony also used the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum to unveil its Crunchyroll Storyworks division. No first projects were detailed in the announcement. Its reveal on the same stage puts games and animation planning side by side.
What makes this stand out is placement. A home-screen slot decides what gets seen. An app waits to be opened. A hub greets every player on start-up, and that changes who might give anime a try.
