Digimon Story: Time Stranger becomes Bandai Namco’s biggest PC JRPG launch

GAMING NEWS Rine Ikarus - Oct 6, 2025, 3:52 AM - 45 comments

Bandai Namco’s long-awaited Digimon Story: Time Stranger is breaking records and redefining expectations for the monster-collecting genre. Following its October 3 release, the game quickly surged past 80,000 concurrent players on Steam—surpassing every Persona and single-player Final Fantasy title in PC history. It’s a monumental milestone for both the franchise and JRPG fans alike.

Developed by Media.Vision, Digimon Story: Time Stranger delivers an ambitious evolution of the Digimon Story formula. It intertwines a modern-day narrative set in Shinjuku and Akihabara with the Digital World of Iliad, exploring the collapse of both realms through the eyes of ADAMAS agents Dan and Kanan Yuki. With over 450 Digimon to collect, train, and battle—and a refined symbol encounter system replacing random fights—the experience strikes a perfect balance between nostalgia and innovation for both returning fans and newcomers.

A Record-Breaking Start for the Digital World

On Steam, Digimon Story: Time Stranger’s explosive debut has positioned it among the top JRPG launches of all time—joining the ranks of Metaphor: ReFantazio and Granblue Fantasy: Relink. User reviews echo the enthusiasm, praising its quality-of-life improvements, cinematic presentation, and dynamic combat system. Many players have even compared it favorably to Persona 3 Reload, highlighting its vibrant personality system and turn-based mechanics that feel both strategic and emotionally resonant.

Adding to the excitement, Bandai Namco recently released a striking live-action trailer depicting Digimon appearing in the real world before transitioning into an apocalyptic scene—a creative touch that captures the essence of the game’s central theme: the fragile boundary between the digital and human worlds.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger marks not only a triumphant return for the Digimon Story series but also a clear signal that JRPGs centered on creature collecting still have strong global appeal. You can use our price comparison tool to find the best deal on Digimon Story: Time Stranger and experience one of the most successful JRPG releases of 2025 for yourself.

SlDiorite5

Oct 10, 2025, 7:34 PM

Those numbers are crazy! I thought it was going to be successful because the demo was great, but it really surpassed my expectations! Keep it up! Digimon deserves a resurgence!

gennyshark

Oct 9, 2025, 5:09 PM

Bandai Namco's Digimon Story: Time Stranger recently made a splash on Steam, attracting more than 70,000 players in its first 24 hours. The RPG hit 70,964 concurrent users shortly after release, making it one of the most successful launches for a Japanese RPG on the platform. The only recent title to surpass this performance was Atlus' Rebirth of Metaphor, which opened to over 85,000 players last year.

Baris4hin

Oct 7, 2025, 12:35 PM

Wow, this is huge — Digimon Story: Time Stranger isn’t just a win for fans, it’s a statement. Becoming Bandai Namco’s biggest PC JRPG launch shows there’s still a big appetite for classic monster-raising RPGs. If the game matches the hype, it could become a new JRPG favorite.

KittenChucklenugget

Oct 7, 2025, 8:21 AM

80k+ Steam players wow. didn't expect anyone loving digimons, maybe just renamon

Amika

Oct 6, 2025, 8:14 PM

Digimon Story Time Stranger is a real success for the franchise. It quickly became a top seller, gathered thousands of players, and received very positive reviews. This game shows that Digimon is back in the spotlight and can compete with the best monster RPGs on the market.

gif123

Oct 6, 2025, 7:30 PM

Digimon Story: Time Stranger, sadece Digimon hayranları için değil, tüm JRPG meraklıları için etkileyici bir çıkış yapıyor. Steam’deki rekor kıran lansmanı ve 80.000’in üzerindeki eşzamanlı oyuncu sayısıyla oyunun popülaritesi açıkça görülüyor. Shinjuku ve Akihabara’yı modern bir hikâyeyle, Dijital Dünya’yla birleştiren anlatımı, oyuncuları ADAMAS ajanları Dan ve Kanan Yuki’nin gözünden iki dünyanın çöküşünü deneyimlemeye davet ediyor. 450’den fazla Digimon toplama, eğitme ve savaşma imkânı sunarken, rastgele karşılaşmaları sembol tabanlı bir sisteme dönüştürmesi nostalji ile yeniliği dengeliyor. Canlı ve stratejik turn-based savaş sistemi, kullanıcıların beğenisini toplarken, canlı aksiyon fragmanı dijital ve gerçek dünyalar arasındaki kırılgan sınırı etkileyici bir şekilde yansıtıyor. Time Stranger, serinin güçlü geri dönüşünü simgelerken, yaratık toplama odaklı JRPG’lerin hâlâ küresel ölçekte çekiciliğini koruduğunu gösteriyor.

Reign

Oct 10, 2025, 2:49 PM on dlcompare.fr

It's great to see that Digimon may have found its formula for brilliance. We've seen them try their hand at several different genres without much success. In any case, this one seems to me to be promising, not perfect, but really nice, whether in terms of gameplay, graphics, the well-stocked dex, the UI, and so on.

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Nachos

Oct 8, 2025, 9:08 PM on dlcompare.fr

Frankly, it's great to see Digimon Story: Time Stranger off to such a strong start! Clearly, there was a real buzz around the license, with over 80,000 simultaneous players on Steam. It's quite rare for a niche JRPG to get such an enthusiastic response on release, especially on PC. The combat system, the number of Digimon, and the mix of nostalgia and novelty all hit the mark. I just hope Bandai Namco follows up with post-launch content and a few technical fixes, because this could be the best Digimon since Cyber Sleuth!

M0ЯĐRΕĐ

Oct 7, 2025, 12:14 PM on dlcompare.fr

all the better for the game if it launches well, but it will have fps stability issues. i hope they fix that soon.

didi90

Oct 6, 2025, 10:19 PM on dlcompare.es

I was looking forward to a new Digimon since the last one (Digimon Survive) didn't convince me and I like almost everything about this one: gameplay, mechanics, story, graphics,... At the moment I like almost everything. What I don't like so much is the theme of so much DLC to put somewhat absurd missions, but well... Personally I'm glad that this Digimon Story Time Stranger is pleasing other players as much as I like it myself.