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Naruto Card Game: Bandai's TCG arrives in 2027, can it match One Piece?

27 October 2026 •

8 minutes of reading

After One Piece, Dragon Ball, Digimon and Gundam, Bandai is taking on another manga giant: Naruto. The NARUTO CARD GAME will launch in June 2027, at the same time worldwide. Here is everything we know so far, how it compares to the One Piece Card Game, which has been a hit since 2022, and whether Bandai is really a good card game publisher.

Announced in June 2026, shown to the public for the first time at Gen Con in August, then given a release date at New York Comic Con in October, the Naruto Card Game is one of the most anticipated TCG releases of 2027. It brings together the worlds of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto, and it is developed by the same team, BANDAI CARD GAMES, as the One Piece Card Game. For fans and collectors alike, the obvious question is: can this new game be just as successful?

Key visual of Bandai's Naruto Card Game, worldwide release in June 2027

In short: the key points

Release: June 2027, simultaneously worldwide.
Launch products: three starter decks (Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara) and a first booster pack, "Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!".
Before launch: in-store demo events from February 2027 and 1 million demo decks handed out worldwide from spring 2027.
Worlds covered: Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
Publisher: Bandai, through its BANDAI CARD GAMES brand, already behind the One Piece Card Game.

What we already know about the Naruto Card Game

Bandai made the game official on June 18, 2026, with a first key visual and a message from Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the series, who said he was "glad to see the world of NARUTO grow larger once again". The game then made its world debut at Gen Con in Indianapolis, from July 30 to August 2, 2026, with free tutorial sessions and a "CP-001 Chakra Card (Gen Con 2026 Ver.)" promo card. On October 10, at New York Comic Con, Bandai finally revealed the release date: June 2027.

The rules will feel familiar to One Piece Card Game players. Each player builds a deck around a Leader card, whose color decides which cards can be used. The goal is to reduce the opposing Leader's Life to zero. A deck is made of 51 cards, plus 5 Chakra cards and 1 Summon card.

Bandai has presented five card types:

Leader: the central card of the deck, which sets its color and strategy.
Character: the ninjas who attack and can use techniques (Jutsu) by spending Chakra.
EX Character: extra-powerful versions that can only be played once certain conditions are met.
Chakra: the resource used to activate Jutsu and support effects.
Summon: the card needed to bring Characters into battle.

First revealed Naruto Card Game cards: Leader, Characters and Chakra cards

The first cards revealed mix original illustrations, anime stills and manga art, including iconic scenes from the series. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Jiraiya, Itachi, Orochimaru and Tsunade are among the first characters shown. The teaser shown in New York even used original artwork by Studio Pierrot, the anime studio.

The schedule until launch

June 18, 2026: official announcement of the game.
July 30 - August 2, 2026: first public showing at Gen Con, followed by demos at several shows, including Paris Games Week and Lucca Comics & Games in October.
December 2026: next big announcement planned at Jump Festa 2027 in Japan.
February 2027: Premier Demo Events start in stores, with two exclusive products: a "Naruto vs. Sasuke" playmat and the Premium Card Collection Vol.00 "CHAKRA Set".
Spring 2027: 1 million demo decks handed out worldwide.
June 2027: worldwide release of the three starter decks and the first booster pack.

One question remains open: languages. Bandai talks about a "simultaneous worldwide" launch, but has not yet confirmed which languages will be available on day one. It is worth keeping an eye on, because for the One Piece Card Game, the French version only arrived in February 2025, two and a half years after the Japanese one.

One Piece Card Game: a reassuring precedent

To picture the future of the Naruto Card Game, the best reference is the One Piece Card Game. Launched in Japan in July 2022, then in English in December 2022, it reached French players on February 7, 2025 with the OP-09 "Emperors in the New World" booster. In just a few years, it has become one of the biggest card games on the market: according to TCGplayer sales data, it ranks third, behind Magic and Pokémon but ahead of Yu-Gi-Oh!. Bandai says it has already released around 1,800 different cards and wants to grow the game further in Europe and North America.

Cards from Bandai's One Piece Card Game, the publisher's previous success

Its success comes from several things: a clear game system built around the Leader, great faithfulness to the manga, and above all cards that collectors love, such as alternate arts, parallels and the famous Manga Rares. Special releases like the Extra Boosters (EB-05 Heroines Edition) often sell out on day one, to the point where stock shortages have become a real issue.

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Naruto vs One Piece: similarities and differences

The same recipe: same publisher, same team, and rules built on the same model (Leader, colors, Life). One Piece players will feel right at home.
A finished series vs an ongoing one: the Naruto manga ended in 2014 after 700 chapters and over 250 million copies sold, while One Piece is still running. Naruto relies more on the nostalgia of a generation that grew up with the series in the 2000s.
A worldwide launch from day one: One Piece came out in Japan first and then gradually elsewhere, while Naruto will launch everywhere at once.
A huge pool of characters: between Naruto, Shippuden and Boruto, Bandai has hundreds of ninjas, clans and legendary fights to fuel expansions for years.
Real competitive ambitions: as with One Piece, Bandai plans a full circuit, from store tournaments up to a World Championship.

Some caution is still needed. One Piece benefits from constant news around the manga, the anime and the Netflix series, which keeps people buying cards. Naruto will have to rely on its long-time fans and on Boruto. The market is also much more crowded than in 2022: Riftbound, Lorcana, Gundam and Union Arena are already competing for players' time and money.

Is Bandai a good TCG publisher?

Bandai is no newcomer. The company has been selling cards since the late 1980s with Carddass (including the famous Dragon Ball cards), then launched Battle Spirits in 2008, the Dragon Ball Super Card Game in 2017, the Digimon Card Game in 2020, the One Piece Card Game in 2022, Union Arena, Dragon Ball Super Fusion World in 2024 and the Gundam Card Game in 2025. According to Bandai, the company ranked third in the global trading card game market in March 2025.

Bandai's card games: One Piece, Dragon Ball, Digimon, Gundam and Naruto

Its strengths:

A unique catalog of licenses: thanks to its ties with major Japanese publishers and studios, Bandai has access to the biggest anime series.
Strong organized play: the BANDAI TCG+ app, Card Games Fest, store tournaments and world championships.
Well-crafted cards: parallels, alternate arts and Manga Rares have made One Piece a favorite among collectors.
Ambitious launches: 1 million demo decks for Naruto is a rare investment to introduce a game.

Its weaknesses:

Stock shortages: stores often receive limited quantities, and popular products disappear within hours.
Speculation: product scarcity sends prices soaring on the secondary market, at the expense of players.
Too many games at once: not all of Bandai's lines have lasted outside Japan, such as Battle Spirits Saga, which never found its audience internationally.
Sometimes divided communities: with Dragon Ball, the arrival of Fusion World alongside the older game split players between two formats.

Our take: today, Bandai is probably the best-placed publisher to turn a major anime license into a card game. The success of One Piece shows it knows how to build a solid game and cards people want. But not all of its games succeed, and stock management remains its biggest weakness.

Should you look at Naruto cards from day one?

For collectors, the first months of a TCG are often the most interesting. Promo cards from shows (like the Gen Con CP-001), exclusive products from Premier Demo Events and the first rare cards from the "Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!" booster will only be produced in limited quantities. With One Piece, several cards from the early sets saw their prices rise sharply later on. There is no guarantee Naruto will follow the same path, but protecting your best cards as soon as you open the pack is always a good idea.

For a valuable card, condition makes all the difference. A card taken out of the pack and put straight into a sleeve keeps its chances of getting a very high grade. If you want to understand why certification matters, our article why you should grade your collectible cards covers it all. At PCC, we will be following the Naruto Card Game launch closely.

In summary

The Naruto Card Game has everything it needs to succeed: a cult license, the publisher of the One Piece Card Game at the helm, a worldwide launch and serious resources to introduce the game. It remains to be seen whether nostalgia will be enough in an already crowded market. See you in February 2027 for the first in-store demos, then in June 2027 for the official release.