Aniimo Developer and Publisher: Pawprint Studio and FunPlus

Who is actually behind Aniimo? The question sounds simple, but the answer gets garbled constantly: the game’s anime-styled presentation reads as Japanese, its reveal sat on an Xbox stage, and its credits name two different companies. This page settles it with the official record — who develops, who publishes, and what each name on the title screen actually does.

Last updated: August 21, 2026 — verified against the official aniimo.com credits and publisher announcements.

Aniimo Wiki is a fan-made community site, not affiliated with Pawprint Studio or FunPlus.

The Short Answer

Role	Company	Notes
Developer	Pawprint Studio	Legal entity: Pawprint Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd. (the © line on aniimo.com)
Publisher	FunPlus	Official announcements, 2026 global closed beta, launch publishing
Debut title	Aniimo	Revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025; launched September 16, 2026

That two-company split — one name builds the game, the other funds, markets and operates it — is standard in free-to-play publishing, and Aniimo follows the pattern exactly.

Pawprint Studio, the Developer

Pawprint Studio is the development house behind Aniimo, and the game is its first announced title — the studio was founded to build it. The name on the official site’s copyright line is the legal entity Pawprint Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd.; industry trackers such as Gematsu report the studio is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.

What the studio has shown of its approach, from the record:

• A single flagship project, built openly. Pawprint ran Aniimo through global closed beta tests in 2026 (the final one concluded July 25, 2026 — full timeline in our closed beta guide) and publishes the official Aniimo Index wiki that community sites like this one build on.
• Platform-ambitious from reveal. The 2025 Xbox Games Showcase debut set the tone: PC, console and mobile targets from day one, with cross-platform play in the design.
• Quiet on controversy. Through the community debates covered in our controversy roundup, the studio’s pattern has been to answer with gameplay deep-dives rather than statements.

FunPlus, the Publisher

FunPlus is Aniimo’s publisher of record — the games company known for free-to-play titles including King of Avalon and State of Survival, with years of live-operations experience at global scale.

In Aniimo’s lifecycle so far, the publisher side has handled:

• the official announcement cadence from the 2025 reveal onward;
• the 2026 global closed beta program (recruitment through the official site and Steam);
• launch publishing for the September 16, 2026 PC and console release.

For players, the practical meaning is operational: FunPlus’s involvement is the best signal for what launch-day server capacity, live-event cadence and long-term support will look like — the publisher, not the developer, typically runs that layer in free-to-play.

Why Two Companies Confuse People

The garbling has three sources:

1. The anime aesthetic. Aniimo’s art direction leads many to assume a Japanese studio. It is not one — see the FAQ above.
2. Two names on the credits. “Pawprint Studio” appears in announcements; “Pawprint Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd.” appears in the copyright line; “FunPlus” appears in publishing credits. All three refer to two companies.
3. Community speculation. Rumors about corporate parentage circulate on forums. Unless it is on aniimo.com or in an official announcement, treat it as unconfirmed — this page sticks to the official record and labeled press reporting.

What Changes at Launch

Nothing structural — the same two-company setup carries into the September 16, 2026 launch. What players will notice instead is the operational layer spinning up: pre-registration rewards, day-one server capacity, and the live-service cadence — the gacha and battle-pass monetization layer — that a publisher with FunPlus’s background runs. When official post-launch credits or corporate updates change any fact on this page, it updates with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who develops Aniimo?

Aniimo is developed by Pawprint Studio. The studio’s legal entity is Pawprint Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd., the copyright holder named on the official aniimo.com site, and industry trackers such as Gematsu report it is headquartered in Hangzhou, China. Aniimo is the studio’s debut title.

Who publishes Aniimo?

Aniimo is published by FunPlus, the games company known for titles such as King of Avalon and State of Survival. FunPlus handled the game’s official announcements around the 2025 reveal and the 2026 global closed beta, and it is the publisher of record for the September 16, 2026 launch.

Is Aniimo made by a Japanese studio?

No. Despite the anime-style presentation, Aniimo is not a Japanese production. The developer, Pawprint Studio, is reported to be based in Hangzhou, China, and the publisher, FunPlus, is a Chinese-founded games company operating globally. The game itself launches on PC and consoles on September 16, 2026, with mobile following on September 23, and English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese language support.

Is Aniimo Pawprint Studio’s first game?

Yes — Aniimo is Pawprint Studio’s first announced title. The studio was founded to develop it, revealed the project at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2025, and has run it through global closed beta testing ahead of the September 16, 2026 launch.