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Bleach Gets New Bleach: Rebirth of Souls 3D Arena Fighting Game

ANN's coverage of Anime Expo 2024 sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!

Bandai Namco Entertainment unveiled a new 3D arena fighting game for the Bleach franchise titled Bleach: Rebirth of Souls at its Anime Expo panel on Friday. Bandai Namco Entertainment described the game as focusing on "the sword fighting inherent to the series." The game will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

The game's story and characters will cover the original manga from the "Substitute Soul Reaper" arc up to the "Arrancar" arc.

Bandai Namco Entertainment America describes the game:

Awaken the blade and reverse your fate in BLEACH REBIRTH OF SOULS. Engage in thrilling action-packed battles with iconic characters from the legendary anime franchise including Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Uryu Ishida, and Yasutora Sado (Chad). In the game, players will be able to unleash unique sword abilities like Bankai and unlock new forms in battle to claim victory against their opponents

Bandai Namco Entertainment did not reveal a release date for the game, but noted that the 20th anniversary of the Bleach anime "inspired" the game's development.

Katsuaki Tsuzuki is the game's producer.

KLab debuted the Bleach: Brave Souls action role-playing game for iOS and Android devices in Japan in July 2015 and worldwide in January 2016. The game launched for PC in August 2020 worldwide except in mainland China. KLab released the game on PlayStation 4 in March 2022. The game launched for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on June 27, and will launch for the Switch at a later date.

Other smartphone games in the Bleach franchise include Bleach: Immortal Soul, Bleach: Paradise Lost, BLEACH Kyo・Kai-Tamashinokakusei: Shinigami (Bleach: Boundary Awakened Souls - Shinigami), and Bleach: Soul Rising, which launched in March 2020, September 2017, November 2018, and September 2020, respectively.

KLab is also developing a completely new hybrid casual game (a game model that combines the simplicity of a casual game with the mechanics of an online game) based on the Bleach anime series.

The Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime's first cours (quarter of a year) premiered in October 2022, and ended in December 2022 with a one-hour special that combined the anime's 12th and 13th episodes. Viz Media is streaming the anime on Hulu in the U.S. The anime is streaming on Disney+ internationally, and Ani-One Asia is streaming the series in many Asian countries. The anime's second cours premiered in the United States on Hulu, Latin America on Star+, and in select other countries internationally on Disney+ in July 2023. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict will air in 2024.

The anime will run for four cours with breaks in between.

The anime covers the rest of the original manga up through its ending. The Thousand Year Blood War arc is the final arc of the manga, and covers volumes 55-74.

Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment AX 2024 panel (Lucas DeRuyter, Alex Mateo)