What Bandai’s Previous TCG Launches Tell Us About Naruto Card Game

Following a week of speculation sparked by a simple teaser, Bandai revealed its newest TCG on June 18, 2026: Naruto Card Game. It joins a growing lineup that already includes Digimon, One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Gundam, among others.

Those games have given Bandai plenty of opportunities to improve and refine its launch strategy. Tutorials, early promotional cards, store events and competitive circuits have become parts of a recognizable playbook, giving us some idea of what Naruto’s road to release may look like.

Let’s start with Digimon. The English version of the Digimon Card Game officially released on February 12, 2021, following a Super Pre-Sale held in November 2020.

Its arrival came at an uncomfortable time, though. Pandemic restrictions made regular store tournaments difficult or impossible in many regions, so Bandai launched a Play-at-Home Tournament Kit. The kit supported four participants, allowing small groups to organize games safely from home.

None of us at ShufflePhase have played Digimon, so we cannot speak from personal experience, but we still find the idea quite nice. Imagine finally getting a card game you have been waiting for, only to discover that you cannot gather at a store to play it. Sounds awful. So, Digimon’s first competitive year was unusual, relying heavily on remote and small-scale play, but Bandai still found ways to put promotional support into players’ hands.

A year later came the One Piece Card Game. The first English booster, Romance Dawn, released on December 2, 2022, alongside four Starter Decks.

Before release, Bandai organized eight-player Super Pre-Release tournaments from September 30 to October 6, 2022. Every participant received an exclusive Monkey.D.Luffy card, while each winner received a stamped version.

This was a great way to get people into stores, teach them the game, and create an early collectible before the first booster was even available (and who doesn't like a new, shiny promo?). Regular Store Tournaments and a larger Championship circuit followed afterward.

One Piece also showed what happens when demand moves faster than supply, the part none of us likes to hear. Products became difficult to find in many places during the game’s early years, which may have caused people to simply not care about the game. But that demand eventually helped turn it into Bandai’s biggest card game and one of the most popular overall. As an example, consider its collector growth: PSA reportedly graded around 144,000 One Piece cards in February 2026, compared with approximately 10,000 during all of 2022. That is grading data rather than sales or player numbers, but it still shows how the game’s growth.

Bandai tried something different with Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World. Ahead of its February 23, 2024 release, stores hosted Celebration Events using five prepared demo decks. Locations were expected to offer at least 32 seats, with promotional cards available for participants and alternate versions for winners.

Fusion World launched with four Starter Decks and Awakened Pulse, but its biggest difference was the digital client. The online version arrived on March 1, just one week after the physical game, while booster packs included codes that provided digital rewards.

That gave Fusion World something the other games did not have at launch: an official and quick way to learn, test decks, and play matches without relying on nearby stores or physical product availability. It was a strong accessibility idea, even if managing separate physical and digital collections came with its own considerations. We hoped this wouldn’t be a one-off, but so far, it has been.

Then came Gundam Card Game, which used Bandai’s longest preview period so far. Its limited Edition Beta arrived in December 2024, followed by TCG+ store trials, Friday Beta Battles, appearances at conventions, pre-Regional events, and Weekend Beta Battles throughout the first half of 2025.

The full release happened in stages. Four Starter Decks arrived on July 11, 2025, followed by the first booster, Newtype Rising, on July 25. Stores also hosted launch events where participants could receive promotional Strike Gundam and Kira Yamato cards, Resource sleeves, and additional prizes for winning.

Competitive support followed quickly. Store Tournament Season 1 began in August, First Combat events ran during the same month, and the first Newtype Challenge started in September. By the time the complete game reached stores, Bandai had already spent months introducing its rules and building a player base. We played at several of these Newtype Challenges, and the hype was real. You could feel the excitement and how happy everybody was because Bandai was supporting such events from the very first set.

That brings us back to Naruto Card Game.

The game will receive a global release in 2027, but Bandai is already beginning its worldwide rollout. Its first Tutorial Sessions will take place at Gen Con from July 30 to August 2, 2026, with more sessions promised for events around the world.

These tutorials are free, even though admission to the convention is still required. Participants will receive a Gen Con version of the CP-001 Chakra Card, a voucher allowing them to purchase an exclusive playmat, alongside other goodies. Demo decks will be used during the sessions, but cannot be taken home.

Naruto is also already integrated into Bandai TCG+, where players can register for updates before products, rules, or the competitive circuit are fully revealed.

Its rollout currently looks closest to Gundam’s: announce the game well in advance, introduce it through public tutorials, offer an early promotional card and begin forming a community months before release. At the same time, it carries pieces of Bandai’s other launches, from Digimon’s beginner support and One Piece’s collectible pre-release promos to Fusion World’s structured demo events.

We still don't know what Naruto’s Starter Decks, boosters or competitive circuit will look like. Product availability will also be worth watching, especially if early demand is similar to One Piece's or Gundam's. But since it is Naruto, we're expecting a lot of interest from the series' fans, newcomers, and collectors. The good thing is that Bandai has considerably more launch experience than it did when Digimon arrived in 2021.

Naruto Card Game is entering a much more established system, and that may be a big advantage before anyone has even played a full match.

Sources:

• Naruto Card Game Official Website
• Naruto Card Game at Gen Con 2026
• Digimon Release Special Booster Ver.1.0
• Digimon Play-at-Home Tournament Kit
• One Piece Card Game Super Pre-Release
• One Piece Romance Dawn
• Fusion World Celebration Event
• Fusion World Awakened Pulse
• Fusion World Digital Version
• Gundam Starter Deck Launch Event
• Gundam Booster Pack Launch Event
• Business Insider: One Piece PSA grading data