It took longer than most fans would like, but a new Digimon Story game is finally on the way. Digimon Story: Time Stranger will be the next entry in the turn-based Digimon subseries, coming nearly eight years after the initial Japanese launch of Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory. In that gap, the only console Digimon game to release was Digimon Survive, which couldn’t live up to the expectations its series of delays brought. Despite everything it took to get here, however, Digimon Story: Time Stranger looks like a true return to form.
The game was just announced in February 2025, and it already has a couple of trailers and plenty of setting details available thanks to the 2025 Digimon Con. Digimon Story: Time Stranger boasts over 450 Digimon species, and players will get the chance to meet them in never-before-seen 3D fidelity. Taking place in both the past and future as well as the human and Digital worlds, Digimon Story: Time Stranger is the most ambitious game in its series, and likely the entire Digimon franchise. Fans can’t wait for it to launch, but that’s not the only reason it should try to come out soon.
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Digimon Story: Time Stranger Can’t Afford To Fade Into The Background
Given the lack of regular gameplay shown, it’s tough to gauge how far along Digimon Story: Time Stranger is at this point. It is known to have been in development for at least 3 years, with a 2022 statement claiming it would be oriented around the Olympos XII Digimon group still holding true, and was in some sort of planning stage in 2017 or 2018, before Digimon Survive even had its first delay. Although it’s impossible to say for certain, that does mean Digimon Story: Time Stranger could be just around the corner. Looking at its upcoming competition, that would be for the best.
Pokemon Is Putting Serious Time Pressure On Digimon Story: Time Stranger
Monster-collecting games are about to take center stage again, but it’s not just because Digimon has returned. Pokemon itself is approaching the release of its last major Nintendo Switch title, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and the inevitable tenth generation Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s self-evident that Digimon shouldn’t be launching anywhere near Pokemon, as the latter is an industry giant that is essentially uncontested in its space. If it’s anything like the team-based prior Digimon Story titles, then Time Stranger should still have its own audience, but it’s best not to risk an obvious sales hit here.
When It Would Be Best For Digimon Story: Time Stranger To Launch
Digimon Story: Time Stranger Needs To Beat Pokemon To The Punch
At the moment, none of these games have defined release windows, but it’s not too hard to make some educated guesses about when the Pokemon titles are coming out. For over a decade, Game Freak has launched its major Pokemon entries around the middle of November, remakes included. The only exception was Pokemon Legends: Arceus launching in January 2022, and that’s likely because Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl had already claimed the November slot. It may need to cut things close, but Digimon Story: Time Stranger‘s best shot to avoid Pokemon Legends is a summer 2025 release date.
Launching after instead of before is an even riskier prospect. Digimon Story is, again, distinct from the average Pokemon game, but there’s no telling when it will come out in relation to Pokemon’s tenth generation if it doesn’t launch in 2025. A fully mainline Pokemon game is going to outsell a Legends title for sure, and that means it has an even greater command over the spotlight that Digimon Story: Time Stranger needs. Factoring in any unknown Pokemon spin-offs that could be aiming for the Nintendo Switch 2’s first year on shelves, Digimon Story: Time Stranger needs to launch as soon as possible.
- Released
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2025
- Developer(s)
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Media.Vision
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