text: Light novels On November 22, 2006, Type-Moon announced a new installment in the Fate/stay night franchise, titled Fate/Zero, which is a prequel to Fate/stay night, stressing the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War and how its consequences affected the Fifth Holy Grail War. In contrast to Fate/stay night, Fate/Zero is a series of light novels instead of a visual novel, and is told in a third-person narrative that follows the actions of multiple characters. The series is a collaboration between Type-Moon and a fellow developer, Nitroplus, and was written by Gen Urobuchi. The first volume was released on December 29, 2006. The second volume was released on March 31, 2007. The third volume was released on July 27, 2007. The fourth and final volume was released on December 29, 2007, along with the Fate/Zero Original Image Soundtrack "Return to Zero". A manga adaptation began serializing in February 2011, followed by an anime adaptation by Ufotable, marking their debut with the franchise.
  A light novel titled Fate/Apocrypha was also released. It revolves around a parallel universe in which the events of Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero never occurred due to the removal of the Holy Grail after the Third War, resulting in a different Holy Grail War. The first volume was released on December 29, 2012. The second volume was released on August 16, 2013. The third volume was released on December 29, 2013. The fourth volume was released on May 30, 2014. The fifth and final volume was released on December 30, 2014. An anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures was announced for July 2017.