Starting in summer 2026, Crunchyroll is putting the Crunchyroll Store behind its higher subscription tiers. Shopping for figures, Blu-rays, apparel, and other merch will require either a Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan membership. If you’re on the $9.99-a-month Fan plan, store access is going away. The new floor is Mega Fan at $13.99 a month, with Ultimate Fan at $17.99 a month above that.
Crunchyroll is selling the change as a “next-level, member-exclusive destination” built around curated drops and exclusive merchandise. Strip away the marketing language and the takeaway is pretty simple: the Crunchyroll Store is moving behind a more expensive subscription.
If you buy anime merch with any regularity, this is one to keep an eye on. A lot of the reaction online has framed it as a paywall for ordinary purchases and a hard push to squeeze more money out of fans, not as a genuine perk. People are also reading it as part of a broader pattern in which being an anime fan keeps getting pricier after Crunchyroll shut down free ad-supported viewing in December 2025, raised prices in early 2026, folded in Funimation, and, under Sony, bought Right Stuf in 2022. Some longtime customers have also said the store feels less competitive than it used to, with thinner inventory and weaker pricing.
Crunchyroll hasn’t said it’s scaling back physical media. Still, some fans expect the company to lean harder into higher-margin collectibles, exclusives, and limited drops.
The new store-access rule takes effect in summer 2026.
Author: Jesús Bosque
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