Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Officially Returns November 2026

Published Oct 6, 2026, 12:30 AM EDT

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is reaching its climatic conclusion very soon, and fans are, understandably, filled with all manner of emotions. On the one hand, the epic follow-up to Tite Kubo's legendary original run has proven a smash hit and featured some of the best moments in the series' history, many of which paved the way for what is sure to be a monumental finale. On the other hand, the final episode marks the end of what has been a historic run and thus the conclusion of Bleach-related media for quite some time.

This inevitable battle of emotions has been postponed somewhat, in part by the recent announcement that the final two episodes have been delayed, but also by the release of a brand-new Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War project that is sure to get fans excited all over again. This new release is set to launch almost immediately after the final episode airs, giving fans little time to grieve the end of the season, something that is sure to appeal to those eager for more ways to engage with Bleach and its iconic characters.

Alongside the announcement of the next official Bleach video game that follows directly from the events of Thousand-Year Blood War, Bandai Namco has also confirmed that a brand-new project that ties directly into the series will be released in November. This is tied to the Union Arena TCG, a crossover trading card game that sees characters from the likes of My Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter, and, of course, Bleach battle each other in typical tabletop fashion.

Union Arena has proven to be an immensely popular TCG for quite some time, even managing to rival its direct counterpart, the incredibly varied and massive UniVersus, in large part thanks to the IPs it is able to draw from. There have been numerous Bleach sets released in the West, including for Thousand-Year Blood War, and this new release is set to expand upon them, offering fans and newcomers alike an excellent way of getting access to even more cards.

The product is a brand-new starter deck that is being officially dubbed an Advanced Deck. Unlike previously released starter decks for the Bleach set and other Union Arena sets, this Advanced Deck is made up entirely of foiled cards, meaning it's more of a premium product that's a tad flashier. That's reflected in its price point, which is $24.99 for just a single deck of 50 cards, a significant increase in cost from the $11.99 price tag of the original Bleach Union Arena starter deck released in 2024.

This Advanced Deck, which is designed for "players who missed Vol.1 or Vol.2 or are just getting started," according to the product's official store page, is set to be released on November 6, 2026. This is just 11 days after the revised release date of the final episode of the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime, meaning fans will have to wait less than two weeks. It's an exciting new product, one that will hopefully appeal to Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War enthusiasts reeling from the conclusion of the show, or those just starting to get into it.

Cast

• 

  Masakazu Morita

  Ichigo Kurosaki (voice)

• Noriaki Sugiyama

  Uryu Ishida (voice)

• Yuki Matsuoka

  Orihime Inoue (voice)

• Hiroki Yasumoto

  Yasutora Sado (voice)