Fans of One Piece will soon get to trade their controllers for boxing gloves — literally. Bandai Namco has announced One Piece Dawn Strike, a new arcade punching game set to launch in Japanese arcades in 2025, with an early public test later this month.
A Hands-On Pirate Adventure in the Arcades
Unlike traditional video game adaptations of Eiichiro Oda’s hit series, One Piece Dawn Strike will be a physical arcade experience. Players won’t just press buttons — they’ll throw real punches at a padded target built into the machine.
The game is set in The Great Pirate Era, letting players take on some of the series’ most notorious villains by responding to on-screen prompts. The harder and more accurately you hit, the more damage you deal.
Arcade boxing games in Japan often double as both entertainment and exercise, and Dawn Strike looks like it’ll follow that trend, only with a coat of One Piece-themed paint.
Location Test Kicks Off August 22
Players won’t have to wait until 2025 to get their first taste. A location test will be held from August 22 to September 1, 2025 at the Namco Yokohama World Porters Store.
Opening hours for the arcade are 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM, giving fans plenty of time to step up to the machine.
What’s on the test menu? Two boss battles: the flamboyant warlord Donquixote Doflamingo and the mighty Kaidou of the Beasts.
Cabinet Design and Gameplay Peek
While Bandai Namco hasn’t revealed the full feature list, images of the cabinet show a tall, bright red machine with a large display screen and a central punching target.
Here’s what’s been confirmed so far:
Punch-activated combat: Strike the target when prompted to land hits on enemies.
Dynamic boss fights: Large animated sequences for enemies like Doflamingo and Kaidou.
Themed interface: Menus and graphics styled after One Piece.
No word yet on whether players can face off against other human challengers or if it’ll be strictly PvE.
Announcement Came During a Packed ‘One Piece Day’
The reveal took place during the annual One Piece Day livestream, which was packed with news for fans. Alongside Dawn Strike, Bandai Namco and Shueisha also teased the second season of Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation and confirmed that a third season is in the works.
Another surprise? A One Piece Heroines anime project, though details remain scarce for now.
A New Kind of Tie-In for the Franchise
While One Piece has a long history of console and mobile games, arcade entries have been rare. Dawn Strike joins the select few physical arcade machines based on the series, giving fans a more kinetic way to step into Luffy’s world.
It’s unclear whether Bandai Namco plans to export the game to arcades outside Japan. Given that many arcade boxing titles never make it overseas, international fans might have to plan a trip if they want to try it firsthand.
