The Best Order to Watch Steins;Gate (Series, Movie & More)

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Binge Steins;Gate in chronological or release order

Co-authored by Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: February 18, 2026 Fact Checked

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Watching in Release Order

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Chronological Watch Order

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All Anime, Movies & OVAs

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Are the movies important?

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Visual Novels

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Where to Watch

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Video

Do you want to sink your teeth into Steins;Gate—widely acknowledged as one of the best anime series of all time? We’re here to help you get started! Thankfully, even though the Steins;Gate franchise revolves around time travel and is set across multiple timelines, its ideal watch order is pretty straightforward. In this guide, we’ll show you the best order in which to watch Steins;Gate, plus how to watch it chronologically (if you want to mix things up). So, let’s dive right in!

The Best Watch Order for Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate (2011) - Episodes 1 - 24
Steins;Gate: Egoistic Poriomania (2012) - Episode 25/OVA
Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)
Steins;Gate: The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing (2014)
Steins;Gate Episode 23β: Upon the Interface of the Missing Link (2015)
Steins;Gate 0 (2018) - Anime, episodes 1 - 24

Section 1 of 6:

How to Watch Steins;Gate in the “Right” Order

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Release order is generally the recommended way to watch Steins;Gate. Fans of the show tend to agree that watching the show in chronological order isn’t great for first-time viewers, since it’s a show about time travel (so there’s a lot of skipping around, chronologically). If you want to try a chronological watch, you definitely can—but it’s recommended that you try release order for your first Steins;Gate watch. Here’s how to watch in release order:^{[1]
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- Steins;Gate (2011) - Episodes 1 - 24
- Steins;Gate: Egoistic Poriomania (2012) - Episode 25/OVA; non-canon series ending
- Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)
- Steins;Gate: The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing (2014) - Video shorts
- Steins;Gate Episode 23β: Upon the Interface of the Missing Link (2015) - Special episode
- Steins;Gate 0 (2018) - Anime, episodes 1 - 24

Section 2 of 6:

How to Watch Steins;Gate in Chronological Order

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Chronological order can provide an interesting rewatch for repeat viewers. It’s hard to actually place Steins;Gate in true chronological order, especially since the Steins;Gate 0 series is an adaptation of a visual novel series with several different routes. Some of the Steins;Gate content technically can’t even happen in the same timeline as other shows or specials! Nonetheless, if you aren’t bothered by a little jumping around in a story, here’s how to watch Steins;Gate in (approximate) chronological order:
- Steins;Gate Episode 23β: Upon the Interface of the Missing Link (2015) - Special episode
- Steins;Gate 0 (2018) - Episodes 1 - 24
- Steins;Gate (2011) - Episodes 1 - 24
- Steins;Gate: Egoistic Poriomania (2012) - Episode 25/OVA; non-canon series ending
- Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)
- Steins;Gate: The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing (2014) - Video shorts

Section 3 of 6:

All Steins;Gate Anime, Movies & OVAs, Explained

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Steins;Gate (2011)Steins;Gate is the original 24-episode anime series following the adventures of Rintaro Okabe and his friends. In the show, Rintaro and his friends accidentally discover time travel, learning how to send text messages to the past and, in doing so, change the present. The anime is actually an adaptation of a visual novel of the same name, which was released in 2009.^{[2]
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- The Steins;Gate anime series ran from April 2011 through September 2011.
- Critically acclaimed for its story and the portrayal of its characters, many critics and anime fans also consider Steins;Gate one of the best anime series of all time!
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Steins;Gate 0 (2018)Steins;Gate 0 is technically a sequel series to the original Steins:Gate, though it’s set in an alternate universe. In Steins;Gate 0, this version of Rintaro Okabe is a university student traumatized by his experiences with time travel; he failed to save Kurisu Makise, and stopped time traveling altogether as a result.^{[3]
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- Several months later, Rintaro is contacted by Kurisu’s former colleagues, who have created an artificial intelligence based on her memories.
- Steins;Gate 0 aired from April 2018 through September 2018.
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Steins;Gate Episode 23β: Upon the Interface of the Missing Link (2015)Episode 23β is an alternate version of the original episode 23 fromSteins;Gate—as well as a prequel to the Steins;Gate 0 visual novel. In 23β, Rintaro Okabe doesn’t open the Movie Mail from his future self (which he does in the original episode); this results in Okabe failing to save Kurisu and ultimately abandoning time travel, forming the premise of Steins;Gate 0.^{[4]
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Steins;Gate OVA: Egoistic PoriomaniaEgoistic Poriomania is a special episode, or OVA (original video animation), of Steins;Gate that’s set a few months after the end of the original anime. It’s basically a slice-of-life special in which the core group (Okabe and his friends) travels to Los Angeles; at the same time, the episode explores Okabe and Kurisu’s relationship, and their growing feelings for one another.
- Egoistic Poriomania serves as a relaxed and ultimately lighthearted epilogue for the Steins;Gate series.
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Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)Load Region of Déjà Vu is a sequel movie to the Steins;Gate (2011) series, taking place one year after the events of the show. In the movie, Okabe begins to experience side effects from his time traveling, including bouts of déjà vu. At the same time, other people begin to forget Okabe’s existence.^{[5]
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- Unlike Steins;Gate 0, this version of reality is still the one in which Okabe was able to prevent both Mayuri and Kurisu’s deaths, as well as a dark future under the rule of a sinister organization called SERN.
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Steins;Gate: The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing (2014)The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing is a series of four anime shorts created as a collaboration between Steins;Gate and the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Rather than exploring more of the Steins;Gate story, each short is basically designed to promote IBM’s real-world research into cognitive computing.

Section 4 of 6:

Are the Steins;Gate OVAs and movies important?

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Most Steins;Gate OVAs and movies aren’t canon, but expand the series’ story. Not all of them are considered essential (for instance, Egoistic Poriomania is considered non-canon). Still, fans generally consider most side-materials, including Load Region of Déjà Vu, Egoistic Poriomania, and the bonus episodes, worth watching, as the movie and Egoistic Poriomania are sequels to the original series, while the other special episodes explore alternate versions of reality.
- The only Steins;Gate content that isn’t really plot-relevant at all is The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing, since it was created for a promotion.

Section 5 of 6:

How to Play the Steins;Gate Visual Novels in Order

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If you’re a fan of games as much as TV and movies, you might want to explore the Steins;Gate visual novels as well—after all, the anime is based on them! Besides that, there are even more visual novels than there are Steins; Gate anime content, leaving fans plenty to do. Because timelines can be tricky for the visual novel series (just like the anime), it’s probably best to experience them in release order:^{[6]
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- Chaos;Head (2008)
- Chaos;Head Noah (2009)
- Steins;Gate (2009)
- Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace (2011)
- Robotics;Notes (2012)
- Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram (2013)
- Chaos;Child (2014)
- Steins;Gate 0 (2015)
- Occultic;Nine (2017)
- Steins;Gate Elite (2018)
- Robotics;Notes DaSH (2019)
- Anonymous;Code (2022)

Section 6 of 6:

Where to Watch Steins;Gate

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Steins;Gate is available on Crunchyroll’s streaming platform. You can find the originalSteins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 on Crunchyroll, although you’ll need a premium subscription to watch both series. The Load Region of Déjà Vu movie is a little harder to find, as it isn’t available on any streaming platforms. You can still get it on Blu-Ray, however! Here’s where to find the remaining Steins;Gate content:
- You can buy Egoistic Poriomania and the special Episode 23β on Amazon Prime.
- The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing shorts aren’t officially available on any platform, but you can sometimes find them with a YouTube search.