One Piece Odysseywas announced this March 28 on the One Piece News special livestream, but discussion about the game had already started several months ago in 2021 due to leaks, now that the game was officially revealed and we’ve got some actual gameplay, let’s see how correct these leaks were.
One Piece Odyssey was first “leaked” in July 2021
The first timethe nameOne Piece Odysseyappeared before fans was on Aug 01, 2025. However, it wasn’t a leak per se, but how Bandai Namco had trademarked that name in Japan. Trademarks aren’t leaks, it’s public knowledge, and anyone can just look them up and read them ondatabases updated by bots. Trademarks become public a few days after they’re filled, and Bandai Namco registeredOne Piece Odysseyon June 17.
Moreover, a trademark doesn’t guarantee an announcement, as it’s possible a game gets canceled internally and never sees the light of the day. Like some developers often say, every game’s release is a miracle in a way.
The Twitter leak explained
Later on, still in July 2021, a leak with several elements was shared onTwitter and Reddit. This leak most notably claimed this newOne Piecegame would be a fighting game. This all turned out to be false, asOne Piece Odysseyisn’t even a fighting game in the first place but a JRPG.
Another major point that kept coming back in leaks and stillpersistedall up to when the One Piece News stream was announced in mid-March 2022, was how CyberConnect2 would be developingOdyssey. This was definitely alluring forOne Piecefans, seeing CyberConnect2 is arguably the best studio out there when it comes to making game adaptations of battle shonen anime and manga. The studio is known for its JRPGs.Hack(pronounced dot hack) and more recentlyFuga Melodies of Steel, but it’s most notably behind theNaruto Ultimate Ninja Stormgames. One of the best shonen games of all time.
CyberConnect2 is not the developer but ILCA
However, these leaks too turned out to be completely wrong as Bandai Namco officially announced to be working with ILCA to developOne Piece Odyssey. ILCA in the pastworkedon several JRPGs includingPokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl,theNieRseries,Voice of Cards, Code Vein, andDragon Quest XI.
ILCA is also the developer ofThe Idolmaster Starlit Season, released in Japan on Steam and PS4 on August 25, 2025. The game is a great addition to the franchise and shows ILCA is great at making anime-style games, makingOne Piece Odysseyeven more promising.
At the end of the day, none of the leaks about One Piece Odysseywere real, and were either all based on speculation or guesses by fans. What are your thoughts on theOne Piece Odysseyreveal trailer, and are you hyped for the game? Let us know in the comments below!
New JRPGOne Piece Odysseywill be out in 2022 on PC via Steam, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
