Steins;Gate anime rights and licensing: who owns and distributes it
Steins;Gate's English-language history shows how a visual-novel adaptation passes from a Japanese rights holder to a U.S. distributor and then across streaming platforms.
Published: 2026-08-19. Updated: 2026-08-19.
Short answer: FUNimation Entertainment acquired the rights to Steins;Gate in the United States in 2011, shortly after the series finished airing in Japan. The title later became available on Crunchyroll through the Funimation-Crunchyroll cross-licensing partnership. The underlying rights rest with MAGES, 5pb., and Nitroplus, the companies behind the original visual novel, with the anime production committee managing adaptation licensing.
Who owns the anime rights to Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate began as a visual novel developed by 5pb. and Nitroplus. MAGES. now manages the Steins;Gate brand, including game, anime, and merchandise rights. The anime adaptation, produced by White Fox and directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki and Takuya Sato, is controlled by the production committee on behalf of the underlying rights holders.
This means no single studio owns Steins;Gate. White Fox animated it, but the exploitation rights, including international licensing, belong to the committee representing MAGES., the publisher, and other investors.
North American acquisition and distribution
In July 2011, FUNimation announced that it had picked up the rights to Steins;Gate in the United States, giving it the right to distribute and localize the series. The company streamed and released the series on home video.
In February 2018, The Fandom Post reported that Steins;Gate had come to Crunchyroll through the Funimation partnership, with the subtitled version on Crunchyroll and the English dub remaining on Funimation's service. The arrangement was limited to the United States and Canada because Funimation's original 2011 pickup covered those territories.
Steins;Gate North American distribution path based on company announcements and trade reports.| Territory | Platform / distributor | Rights type | Period |
|---|
| United States | FUNimation Entertainment | Distribution and localization | From 2011 |
| United States / Canada | Crunchyroll (via Funimation) | Subtitled streaming | From 2018 |
| United States / Canada | Funimation | Dubbed streaming | From 2018 |
The Funimation-Crunchyroll cross-license effect
The 2016 cross-licensing deal between Crunchyroll and Funimation allowed each service to carry titles from the other's catalog. For Steins;Gate, this meant Crunchyroll gained the subtitled stream while Funimation kept the dub.
After Sony acquired Crunchyroll and folded Funimation's catalog into Crunchyroll, the series remained available on Crunchyroll. The current legal rights holder for English-language distribution is effectively Sony's anime division.
Streaming and home video rights are not the same
Steins;Gate's U.S. history makes a useful distinction. FUNimation's 2011 acquisition covered distribution rights broadly, which included streaming, home video, and localization. The 2018 Crunchyroll arrangement was a sublicense or cross-license for streaming only, not a transfer of ownership.
This matters because a title can leave one streaming service while remaining available for purchase on Blu-ray or digital download. The rights holder and the streaming platform are separate entities.
Ownership uncertainty note: FUNimation's 2011 U.S. acquisition and the 2018 Crunchyroll streaming arrangement are documented, but the current sublicensing map for every territory and format is not public. Availability on Crunchyroll does not mean Crunchyroll owns the underlying rights.
What this means for researchers
If you are trying to identify the English-language rights holder, look to Sony's anime division, which inherited Funimation's licenses. If you are researching the Japanese rights holder, MAGES. is the brand manager for the Steins;Gate franchise.
For streaming availability, check Crunchyroll in the United States and Canada, but verify local catalogs elsewhere because territory-specific sublicenses apply.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the anime rights to Steins;Gate?
The Steins;Gate production committee controls the anime adaptation rights on behalf of MAGES., 5pb., and Nitroplus, the companies behind the original visual novel. White Fox produced the animation.
Who licenses Steins;Gate in the United States?
FUNimation Entertainment acquired U.S. rights in 2011. Those rights are now part of Sony's anime division following the Crunchyroll-Funimation consolidation.
Is Steins;Gate on Crunchyroll or Funimation?
Steins;Gate is on Crunchyroll. It originally reached Crunchyroll in 2018 through the Funimation partnership, with the dub remaining on Funimation at the time.
Can Steins;Gate leave Crunchyroll?
Yes. Streaming licenses expire. The title could leave Crunchyroll if Sony does not renew the underlying license with the Japanese rights holders.