Ankama’s 25th Anniversary Retrospective “From Sketch to Saga” Opens at Annecy International Animation City

To mark the 25th anniversary of French transmedia studio Ankama, landmark retrospective exhibition Ankama: From Sketch to Saga debuted at the Cité Internationale du Cinéma d’Animation in Annecy on June 19, 2026. Running until January 31, 2027, the 650-square-meter show occupies the venue’s historic riding arena hall. It traces the evolution of the iconic Krosmoz fantasy universe spanning DOFUS, Wakfu and brand-new flagship title WAVEN, featuring hundreds of never-before-seen original artworks, world premiere screenings and anniversary special events. It ranks as Europe’s largest crossover art exhibition bridging video games and animation this year.

1. A 25-Year Journey: Building a Self-Contained Transmedia IP Empire

Founded in Roubaix, France in 2001, Ankama rose to worldwide fame with its blockbuster MMORPG DOFUS launched in 2004. Riding the game’s phenomenal success, the studio expanded into publishing and animation divisions, creating the original interconnected fantasy cosmos named the Krosmoz. The unified lore crosses boundaries of video games, animated series, graphic novels, board games and feature films, split into three distinct eras:

1. The DOFUS Era: The IP’s origin, built around the myth of the World of Twelve and magical dragon eggs (Dofus), expanded into comics, tabletop games and theatrical film Dofus – Book 1: Julith.
2. The Wakfu Era: A serialized animated sequel set centuries after DOFUS, distributed globally on major streaming platforms, with exclusive teaser footage for Season 5 unveiled at the Annecy event.
3. The WAVEN Era: The brand-new chapter set decades after Wakfu’s timeline, where a great flood submerges most land, forcing humanity to seek shelter in pocket parallel dimensions.

The franchise has accumulated hundreds of millions of registered users globally, forming a full industrial chain covering games, animation, collectible figures and graphic novels, making Ankama one of Europe’s rare fully independent end-to-end entertainment creators.

2. Core Exhibition Highlights: Exclusive Artworks & Immersive Narrative Zones

Designed for visitors of all ages with bilingual French-English captions, the exhibition’s standout offerings include:

1. Three-Era Chronological Tour: Visitors follow the creative evolution of DOFUS, Wakfu and WAVEN, comparing art styles across game assets, animation storyboards and manga character designs to reveal Ankama’s unified cross-media art system.
2. Over 230 Exclusive Rare Materials: Unreleased concept sketches, character sheets, environment paintings early development files, creator interview footage and physical props document the full creation journey of iconic protagonists such as Yugo from initial rough drafts to final screen iterations.
3. Immersive Themed Installations: Spanning the spacious riding arena, life-sized scene reproductions recreate iconic towns and fantasy realms from the Krosmoz universe.
4. Exclusive 160-Page Bilingual Art Book: A dedicated exhibition catalogue compiling all showcased art and the studio’s 25-year chronological history, available for on-site purchase only.

3. Premiere & Screening Events on June 22

A full day of exclusive screenings marks the exhibition’s flagship anniversary program:

1. World Premiere of WAVEN Episode 1 (15:00): The first official screening of the brand-new animated series, unveiling the next chapter of the Krosmoz saga.
2. Evening Feature Screenings: Back-to-back screenings of Princesse Dragonand the studio’s first theatrical animated film Dofus – Book 1: Julith, offering a complete retrospective of the IP’s cinematic output.
3. Invitation-Only Opening Reception (18:00): Creatives, industry guests and Ankama leadership gather for the exhibition launch.
4. Permanent Viewing Zone: Rotating daily screenings of Wakfu series highlights and behind-the-scenes production documentaries throughout the exhibition run.

4. Practical Visitor Information

• Venue: Cité Internationale du Cinéma d’Animation (Manège / Former Riding Arena Hall), Annecy
• Exhibition Period: June 19, 2026 – January 31, 2027
• Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 – 18:00
• Ticketing: Free entry June 19–21; standard full ticket €12, reduced ticket €9.5. Tickets launched online June 16 with advance reservations available via official website.
• Audience: Open to game fans, animation professionals, visual artists and family visitors of all ages.

5. Industrial Significance

1. Benchmark Case of European Transmedia IP: The exhibition publicly demonstrates how a single fantasy universe can sustain 25 years of cross-platform content, providing actionable references for global IP operators.
2. Bridge Between Game Art and Animation: Hosted in Annecy, the global capital of animation, it fosters communication between video game artists and animation creators.
3. Balanced Fan Retention & New IP Promotion: The retrospective honors long-time veteran fans while premiering WAVEN to attract new audiences to the franchise.
4. Model for Independent European Original IP: Ankama’s global success without licensed foreign IP proves strong European fantasy content holds vast international market potential.