By way of the official website for the series, we now know that Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online is set to be animated by Studio 3Hz, most notably responsible for cult-classic Flip Flappers, and is slated for an April 2018 premiere. The upcoming anime adaptation of Keiichi Sigsawa's light novel spinoff of the Sword Art Online franchise introduces viewers to an alternative story for the Gun Gale Online series arc. Included in the announcement was a new key visual, as shared below:

Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online is without a doubt one of the more ambitious anime projects to surface as of late, and that almost entirely stems from the names associated with it. On one hand, we're talking about a side-story stemmed almost entirely from the world of Sword Art Online, something which in itself is already a massive deal. Throw in the fact that the story was written by Keiichi Sigsawa, the very same author who wrote Kino's Journey, and that's where things get interesting.

With the ever-present popularity of the Sword Art Online series, it'll be interesting to see how the spinoff is received both domestically and internationally.

With just a few short months until the anime finally hits the airways, there's definitely a level of excitement from all of us. If there was ever a studio that could be deemed perfect for the project, it would definitely have to be Studio 3Hz, leaving us on the edge of our seats to see what they do with the series. Until then, we'll be waiting patiently taking in some of this season's incredible animated offerings. We'll be sure to keep you updated as further information is revealed.