In short: Bandai launches the Naruto Card Game in summer 2027, as a simultaneous worldwide release. The first two trailers, posted on 29 July 2026, reveal the rules and the first cards, from Naruto to Boruto. Each player builds a deck around a Leader card, and the game gets its first public demo at Gen Con, from 30 July to 2 August 2026.
What is the Naruto Card Game?
The Naruto Card Game is the new trading card game from Bandai Card Games, announced on 18 June 2026 and due in summer 2027 everywhere at the same time. It spans all three series of the franchise: Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, with a clearly competitive focus.
The announcement came during June's BANDAI CARD GAMES Next Plan Presentation, alongside an illustration drawn for the occasion by Masashi Kishimoto, the manga's creator. His accompanying message sets the tone: "The world of Naruto continues to grow. I hope these cards can make their way into all of your hands and hearts," he wrote on the Naruto Official site.
On 29 July, the day before Gen Con, Bandai posted two videos: a short First Look Trailer, and an Overview Trailer that walks through the mechanics. Every rule below comes from there.
Click the image to watch the Overview Trailer on the game's YouTube channel. The shorter First Look Trailer is on the same channel.
How does the Naruto Card Game play?
Each player builds their game around a Leader card that sets the colour and strategy of their deck: 51 cards, plus 5 Chakra cards and 1 Summon card. You field Characters matching your Leader's colour, attack, and win by bringing the opposing Leader's Life down to zero.
Five card types have been detailed:
| Card type | Role | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Leader | Sets the deck's colour and carries the Life you defend | 1 |
| Character | The fighters who attack and hold the front line | in the 51-card deck |
| EX Character | Powerful characters, playable under conditions | in the 51-card deck |
| Chakra | The resource that pays for activating Jutsu | 5 |
| Summon | Required to send characters into battle | 1 |
The SAMPLE cards let us read a little further: every character shows three values, DMG, POW and HP, and an affiliation, Hidden Leaf Village, Village Hidden in the Sound or Akatsuki Organization. The Leader-and-colours system strongly echoes the One Piece Card Game from the same publisher, and that is surely no accident: the formula has proven itself in competitive play.
Which cards have been shown so far?
Eight characters are confirmed as cards to date: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Jiraiya and Itachi Uchiha on the press visuals, plus Orochimaru, Tsunade and Boruto Uzumaki spotted in the First Look Trailer. The artwork draws from three sources: original commissioned illustrations, anime stills and manga panels.
The Naruto and Sasuke cards set their characters against a collage of manga panels, a choice you rarely see in recent TCGs and one that will speak directly to first-generation readers.
Itachi Uchiha's card carries the "Akatsuki Organization" affiliation, a sign the organisation will have its place in the colour system. On our side of the counter, that is our most requested Naruto shelf: the Itachi ring at 12.99 euros is rated 5 out of 5 across 26 reviews, and the Pain ring follows at 4.7 out of 5. Anyone wearing those rings knows exactly why this card will be hunted.
Jiraiya gets an original illustration full of gold and confetti, and Boruto an electric style unlike anything else in the set. On every copy shown, the values are identical, DMG 3, POW 6, HP 6: exhibition cards, not final balancing.
When does it release, and where can you try it first?
The Naruto Card Game releases in summer 2027, everywhere at once. Until then, Bandai is taking it on tour: the first worldwide demo runs at Gen Con, in Indianapolis, from 30 July to 2 August 2026, with free tutorial sessions. Attendees walk away with a gift set: the CP-001 "Chakra Card, Gen Con 2026 version" promo card, a backpack, a sticker and a ticket to buy an official playmat in 2027.
| Convention | City | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Con | Indianapolis | 30 July to 2 August 2026 |
| New York Comic Con | New York | 8 to 11 October 2026 |
| PAX Australia | Melbourne | 9 to 11 October 2026 |
| Spiel Essen | Essen | 22 to 25 October 2026 |
| Paris Games Week | Paris, Porte de Versailles | 22 to 25 October 2026 |
| Lucca Comics & Games | Lucca | 28 October to 1 November 2026 |
For Europe, the date to circle is late October, with Spiel Essen and Paris Games Week on the same weekend, then Lucca right after. Bandai promises a new wave of information in December 2026, in-store tutorial sessions from January 2027, and the game will also join the BANDAI CARD GAMES Fest 26-27 circuit. To catch every announcement, the Bandai TCG+ app pushes the game's news.
Thirteen years after the last Naruto TCG ended
The comeback matters more than it looks. Bandai had already published a Naruto Collectible Card Game, launched in 2006 and discontinued in May 2013 after 28 sets. The franchise had no dedicated card game since, while the One Piece Card Game, launched by the same publisher in 2022, grew into a worldwide phenomenon whose top cards trade for thousands of euros. We covered that in our piece on the most expensive One Piece card, and the mechanics are the same as for the priciest Pokémon cards: rarity, condition, and characters that cross generations.
My shopkeeper's bet: given the One Piece Card Game's trajectory, the first Naruto print runs will go fast, and Gen Con's CP-001 card is already the game's first collectible. If you plan to get in, the October convention sessions are the right moment to learn the rules before everyone else, for free.
One honest note: we do not sell playing cards in the shop, our lane is cosplay and merch. If the announcement put you back in a Konoha mood, the cosplay kunai and shuriken set at 24.99 euros and the rest of our Naruto selection, Akatsuki rings first, will keep you company until summer 2027.
Frequently asked questions about the Naruto Card Game
Will the Naruto Card Game be available in French or other languages?
Bandai has not detailed print languages yet. The release is announced as worldwide and simultaneous, and the game tours Spiel Essen, Paris Games Week and Lucca in autumn 2026, which shows Europe is part of the launch plan. The next wave of information is promised for December 2026.
What is the CP-001 card from Gen Con 2026?
It is the game's first promo card: a Chakra Card in a special Gen Con 2026 version, handed out in a gift set to players joining the free tutorial sessions at the show, along with a backpack, a sticker and a ticket to buy an official playmat in 2027. The first collectible of the Naruto Card Game.
Has there been a Naruto card game before?
Yes. Bandai published a Naruto Collectible Card Game from 2006 to 2013, discontinued in May 2013 after 28 sets. The franchise had no dedicated card game since, and cards from that era now resell at solid prices, as often happens when a game stops and then returns to the news.
How much will Naruto Card Game boosters cost?
Prices are not announced. Bandai promised product details by December 2026, ahead of in-store tutorial sessions in January 2027. Until then, no figure floating around is reliable: the only item distributed so far is the Gen Con 2026 gift set, which is not sold.
Which characters are confirmed as cards?
Eight so far: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Jiraiya and Itachi Uchiha on the press visuals, plus Orochimaru, Tsunade and Boruto Uzumaki spotted in the First Look Trailer. The artwork mixes original illustrations, anime stills and manga panels.
Do you need to know Boruto to play?
No. The game covers all three series, Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, but each deck is built around a Leader and its colour, not around a series. The first cards shown lean heavily on the classic cast anyway: Naruto, Sasuke, Jiraiya, Itachi, Orochimaru.
Antoine, founder of Bakashop. Dates and rules checked on 30 July 2026 against Bandai's announcements, the game's site and specialist press; prices and reviews read the same day from the shop's product pages. Images: ©Masashi Kishimoto Scott/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Pierrot; Naruto Card Game visuals, Bandai.
