.hack

.hack (pronounced "Dot Hack") is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses two projects: Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate. They were primarily created and developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series features an alternative history setting in the rise of the new millennium regarding the technological rise of a new version of the internet following a major global computer network disaster in the year 2005, and the mysterious events regarding the wildly popular fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game "The World". The series mainly comprises anime and video game titles which have been subsequently adapted into manga, novels, and other related media.
Project .hack.
Project .hack was the first project of the ".hack" series. It launched in 2002 with the anime series ".hack//Sign" in April 2002 and the PlayStation 2 game ".hack//Infection" in June 2002. Project developers included Koichi Mashimo (Bee Train), Kazunori Itō (Catfish) and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Gainax). Since then, Project .hack has spanned television, video games, manga and novels. It centers mainly on the events and affairs of the prime installment of "The World". The franchise began internationally when Bandai announced .hack//Infection, which was released in 2003 and .hack//Sign got an English dub, which was released on Cartoon Network in the same year.
.hack Conglomerate.
.hack Conglomerate is the current project of .hack by CyberConnect2 and various other companies and successor to Project .hack. The companies include Victor Entertainment, Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Bandai, TV Tokyo, Bee Train, and Kadokawa Shoten. It encompasses a series of three PlayStation 2 games called ".hack//G.U.", an anime series called ".hack//Roots", prose, and manga. .hack Conglomerate focuses on times and installments after the original "The World" MMORPG.
Other appearances.
A few characters from the franchise appear in the Nintendo 3DS games "Project X Zone" and "Project X Zone 2".