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Digimon Story: Time Stranger

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Digimon Story: Time Stranger
DeveloperMedia.Vision
PublisherBandai Namco Entertainment
DirectorYusuke Tomono
ProducerRyosuke Hara
ArtistSuzuhito Yasuda
ComposerMasafumi Takada
SeriesDigimon
Platforms
ReleasePS5, Xbox Series
  • JP: October 2, 2025
  • WW: October 3, 2025
Windows
  • WW: October 3, 2025
GenreRole-playing
ModeSingle-player

Digimon Story: Time Stranger[a] is a role-playing video game developed by Media.Vision and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the seventh game in the Story subseries of Digimon games, releasing eight years after Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker's Memory.[1][2] It was released worldwide for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows on October 3, 2025.[3][b]

Development

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Digimon Story: Time Stranger was announced on December 8, 2017, just before the release of Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker's Memory.[2] Producer Kazumasa Habu, who referred to Time Stranger only as "a completely new Digimon Story project", stated that Hacker's Memory was developed in parallel with Time Stranger as not to "dampen the fans' enthusiasm" with a long wait between releases.[2] A year later, on September 12, 2018, Habu reconfirmed the game's development and announced Digimon Survive – scheduled for release in 2019 and made because Time Stranger's development "still [had] some time to go."[5][c]

On February 27, 2022, Habu once again confirmed that the Digimon Story game was being worked on.[7] He revealed that the game would take place in the Digital World and would feature the Olympos XII as the main characters.[7] On February 20, 2024, Habu revealed he had no longer been working on Digimon games since April 2023.[8] He stated Time Stranger, still referring to it as "the new Digimon Story", was still being worked on but that someone else had taken over his role.[8]

On February 12, 2025, Time Stranger's first trailer was shown on the PlayStation 5 in a State of Play stream.[9][10] Earlier that day, the game had been leaked via retailer GameStop when outlet Gematsu found preorder pages on their site for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions.[10] On June 4, 2025, Bandai Namco announced a worldwide launch date of October 3, 2025, and detailed the game's various editions.[3][11] A March 19 trailer at Digimon Con 2025, a July 2 trailer presented by producer Ryosuke Hara, and another released on August 27 provided an overview of the game's story, characters, and setting.[12][13][14] On September 10 and September 11, 2025, the game's demo released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.[15]

Reception

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Pre-release

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Reviewing a three-hour preview session of Time Stranger, Jess Reyes of GameSpot called it "a promising comeback that I didn't want to stop playing" and cited "older fans who watched Digimon Adventure" as a major target audience.[1] Reyes called collecting Digimon the best part of the game, praised the battle system as "possibly the most comprehensive the series has seen yet", and stated that the narrative "took a backseat to the enjoyable battles and creature collecting".[1]

David Lumb of CNET, also reviewing the preview session, called the "expansive possibilities" of Digimon team building "exactly what [hardcore roleplaying game fans] have been waiting for" and called the combat rich and deep with "quality-of-life considerations that remove some tedium from the level-up grind."[16] He recommended it to "Pokémon diehards" due to its complexity.[16]

Ethan Gach of Kotaku, who played a preview for 90 minutes, called the soundtrack "unusually stellar", the cinematics "more polished" than Cyber Sleuth's, and the gameplay systems "a great foundation to work with."[17] He concluded in the review's title: "I don't care about Digimon, and I'm still hyped for Digimon Story: Time Stranger" and said that the game "doesn't deserve to be overshadowed" by Pokémon Legends: Z-A.[17]

Post-release

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The PlayStation 5 and PC versions of Digimon Story: Time Stranger both received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[18][19] In Japan, four critics from Famitsu gave the game a total score of 34 out of 40.[20]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: デジモンストーリー タイムストレンジャー, Hepburn: Dejimon Sutōrī: Taimu Sutorenjā
  2. ^ In Japan, October 2 for consoles and October 3 for Windows via Steam.[4]
  3. ^ Digimon Survive would eventually release in July 2022.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Reyes, Jess (2025-09-08). "Digimon Story: Time Stranger Is A Promising Comeback That I Didn't Want To Stop Playing". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2025-09-10. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  2. ^ a b c Romano, Sal (2017-12-08). "New Digimon Story game in development separate from Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Hacker's Memory". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2025-07-10. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  3. ^ a b Romano, Sal (2025-06-04). "Digimon Story: Time Stranger launches October 3". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2025-06-07. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  4. ^ "Save the Human and Digital Worlds in Digimon Story Time Stranger, Available on 2 October 2025 for Consoles and Next Day for PC" (Press release). Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia. Archived from the original on 2025-09-13. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  5. ^ Romano, Sal (2018-09-12). "Digimon producer reconfirms new Digimon Story game in development". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2025-07-17. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  6. ^ Romano, Sal (2022-04-20). "Digimon Survive launches July 29 in the west". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2025-05-19. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  7. ^ a b Romano, Sal (2022-02-27). "Next Digimon Story game still in development, set in the Digital World and themed around the Olympos XII". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2025-07-10. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  8. ^ a b @habumon (2024-02-20). "【ご報告】社内の人事異動に伴い、デジモンゲームのプロデュース担当から外れることとなりました。実際には昨年の4月の時点で担当からは外れており、引き継ぎを粛々と行っておりました。新作のデジモンストーリーは信頼するディレクターの下、チームが開発を継続していますので、ご安心ください。" [[Announcement] Due to internal personnel changes, I will be stepping down from my role as producer of the Digimon games. I was actually removed from this role in April of last year, and have been quietly handing over my responsibilities. Please rest assured that the team is continuing development of the new Digimon Story game under the direction of my trusted director.] (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2025-09-13 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ PlayStation (2025-02-12). State of Play | February 12, 2025 [English]. Event occurs at 6:10. Retrieved 2025-03-16 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ a b Cripe, Michael (2025-02-12). "Digimon Story Time Stranger Revealed at PlayStation State of Play Showcase Following Leaks". IGN. Archived from the original on 2025-05-04. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  11. ^ "Digimon Story Time Stranger Unites The Destinies of The Digital And The Human World on October 3" (Press release). Bandai Namco Entertainment. 2025-06-04. Archived from the original on 2025-09-13. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  12. ^ Gostick, Elliot (2025-03-20). "Digimon Story: Time Stranger Characters and Story Shared". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2025-09-08. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  13. ^ Digimon Story Time Stranger - Official Developer Overview Trailer | Bandai Namco Summer Showcase (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Entertainment. 2025-07-02 – via IGN.
  14. ^ Lada, Jenni (2025-08-27). "See the New Digimon Story: Time Stranger Story Trailer". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2025-09-10. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  15. ^ Lada, Jenni (September 10, 2025). "Digimon Story: Time Stranger Demo Starts to Roll Out Tonight". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2025-09-11. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  16. ^ a b Lumb, David (2025-09-08). "Digimon Story Time Stranger Preview: Can It Beat Pokemon at Its Own Game?". CNET. Archived from the original on 2025-09-13. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  17. ^ a b Gach, Ethan (2025-09-08). "I Don't Care About Digimon And I'm Still Hyped For Digimon Story: Time Stranger". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2025-09-09. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  18. ^ "Digimon Story Time Stranger PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  19. ^ "Digimon Story Time Stranger PC Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  20. ^ Romano, Sal (October 8, 2025). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1918". Gematsu. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
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