From Solo Leveling’s Triumph to 2025: A-1 Pictures’ Next Blockbuster Anime and its Gaming Industry Repercussions

The success of Solo Leveling (Korean: Na Honja Man Rebeleop), a Korean manhwa adapted into a critically acclaimed anime by A-1 Pictures, has fundamentally recalibrated the anime industry’s approach to global IP. Following the series’ triumphant second season, Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-, which aired in early 2025, A-1 Pictures has cemented its role as a premier studio for adapting high-octane fantasy and action IPs, regardless of origin.

This success story has set the stage for A-1 Pictures’ next anticipated venture, one that leverages its recent genre expertise but aims for a different format: a high-budget theatrical release. The studio is prioritizing the movie format to maximize both the spectacle and the financial return on a major IP, a strategy proven highly effective by competitor successes like Demon Slayer.

The 2026 Blockbuster: Keeper of the Camphor Tree

While the fan community clamors for an immediate announcement of Solo Leveling Season 3 (which has instead been re-slated as a theatrical anime film for late 2026), A-1 Pictures’ immediate next high-profile project confirmed for 2026 is an adaptation that diverges sharply from the action-fantasy genre:

• Title: Kusunoki no Bannin (English: Keeper of the Camphor Tree)
• Format: Theatrical Anime Film
• Source Material: A bestselling mystery and drama novel by Keigo Higashino (known for his highly successful, critically-acclaimed mystery works).
• Director: Tomohiko Ito, a veteran director known for his previous work with A-1 Pictures on blockbuster franchises like Sword Art Online.

This strategic shift away from the pure action-fantasy of Solo Leveling and Sword Art Online demonstrates A-1 Pictures’ commitment to genre diversity and high-quality storytelling across various media. While a non-action film might seem less immediately impactful than a shonen sequel, the studio’s backing of a major literary figure like Higashino is a move to capture a more mature, broad domestic and international audience, securing long-term critical acclaim and strengthening their brand prestige.

In the immediate term for 2025, A-1 Pictures also has the sequel to their hit film, Gekijōban Uta no☆Princesama♪ TABOO NIGHT XXXX, and the continuing popularity of Lycoris Recoil with a new short film project, Friends are thieves of time, but Keeper of the Camphor Tree is positioned as the major new IP push.

The Gaming Industry Repurcussions: The ‘Solo Leveling’ Effect

The true market ripple effect of A-1 Pictures’ recent successes—particularly the monumental triumph of Solo Leveling—is not found in their next non-action film, but in the validated Webtoon-to-Game Pipeline. The Solo Leveling anime created a massive, pre-qualified global audience, leading to a frenzy of related media, most notably in the gaming sector. This phenomenon has massive Gaming Industry Repercussions:

• Validation of Korean Webtoon IP: Solo Leveling’s success confirms the global, high-value demand for Korean webnovel/webtoon (manhwa) IPs. This has led to a major increase in investment and bidding wars for other top-tier webtoons, such as Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint and The Beginning After the End, which are now being adapted into anime.
• High-CPC Gaming Titles: Games based on these IPs, like the Solo Leveling: Arise mobile and PC action-RPG, benefit from the immediate, massive visibility generated by the anime. Keywords such as “Solo Leveling Arise Tier List,” “Best Waifus in Solo Leveling Game,” and “Solo Leveling Game Download” now possess extremely high CPC value, indicating significant advertising budget allocation.
• Art Style Influence: The visually stunning, high-contrast, action-packed style of Solo Leveling animation by A-1 Pictures has now become the gold standard for modern fantasy RPGs and mobile games. Game developers are increasingly adopting the vivid, fluid, and often exaggerated anime-style aesthetics for combat sequences and cutscenes to maximize player engagement and aesthetic appeal, directly influencing the next generation of Gacha and Live Service Games.
• Investment in Anime-Game Synergy: The synergy is so potent that gaming conglomerates are actively investing in anime production committees (like Aniplex/Sony, who own A-1 Pictures) to secure simultaneous anime and game releases, creating a powerful, mutually beneficial cross-media marketing engine designed to maximize the Player Lifetime Value (PLV).

A-1 Pictures, through its careful selection and spectacular execution of these global IPs, has become a key facilitator in a multi-billion dollar cultural feedback loop between the anime and gaming industries, making their production slate a leading indicator of future Digital Entertainment Market Trends.

You can see the hype for A-1 Pictures’ recent smash hit in this clip: Solo Leveling – Official Opening (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese). This video gives an idea of the production quality that influences modern game aesthetics.