This announcement was recently made by the game’s publisher, Bandai Namco Entertainment. One Piece: Thousand Storm has been available exclusively in Japan for iOS and Android devices.

However, come the aforementioned date and time, the game’s servers will be shut down, meaning Japanese players will lose access as well.

This unfortunately follows a previous closure of the worldwide servers on December 13, 2018, which had enabled global audiences outside of Japan to enjoy One Piece: Thousand Storm too.

It seems the game’s lifespan is now coming to an end. It should be noted though that Bandai Namco has said this end-of-service date could still change without warning.

So there remains a slight possibility that Japanese fans may get to play for longer if an extension is granted. But the game’s closure currently seems inevitable based on the present announcement details.

One Piece Thousand Storm Mobile Game to Shut Down in January 2024

The mobile role-playing game One Piece: Thousand Storm was first released in Japan in April 2016 by publisher Bandai Namco. It utilized a free-to-play model with optional in-app purchases.

The game featured cooperative multiplayer functionality allowing players to team up. Following its initial Japan debut, One Piece: Thousand Storm then launched globally in January 2017, opening up the experience to fans worldwide.

One Piece Thousand Storm Mobile Game (Credits: Bandai Namco)

However, over six years after its original emergence, the game’s lifespan is now nearing its end stages. Specifically, Bandai Namco has announced plans to terminate the Japanese game servers in the near future.

So loyal domestic players will soon lose access, unable to play anymore within their country.

The developer has expressed appreciation multiple times to the player community for supporting One Piece: Thousand Storm from the very beginning.

However, distribution and sales of Rainbow Coins, the in-game currency, already ceased activity on November 21, 2023. This signals the gradual sunsetting process underway before the servers shut down completely.

More About One Piece Thousand Storm Mobile Game

When you first begin playing One Piece: Thousand Storm, you start out in one of the four main ocean regions of the One Piece world – either North Blue, South Blue, East Blue, or West Blue.

Your initial playable character is Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of the One Piece series and captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.

One Piece Thousand Storm Mobile Game (Credits: Bandai Namco)

Accompanying Luffy is one of four other potential crewmates: Roronoa Zoro, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nami, or Usopp. Who you get depends on which starting sea you pick.

After completing the opening tutorial island, you then proceed into the main storyline arcs from the anime series. However, it does not cover events from the very beginning of Luffy’s journey.

Instead, the game starts specifically at the Sabaody Archipelago arc, which occurs right after the canonical two-year time skip in the story.

This is why you will see variant versions of characters such as “Two Years Ago Luffy” versus “New World Luffy” – to represent their different appearances and upgraded abilities gained after that extensive time training.

To explain briefly for any non-fans, the anime’s time skip resulted in visual redesigns and power boosts for many characters. So the game distinguishes between their pre and post-time skip statuses.

One Piece Thousand Storm Mobile Game (Credits: Bandai Namco)

The in-game story itself currently concludes at the end of the Dressrosa arc, for those familiar with the anime’s progression.

So while One Piece as a whole is now up to over 777 episodes, plus films and specials, One Piece: Thousand Storm allows players to relive the journey up through Dressrosa with their favorite straw-hatted pirates!

The missions in One Piece: Thousand Storm are structured into 2-3 short stages, with a boss battle occurring at the end of the final stage. Sometimes the bosses are generic powerful enemies, and other times they are iconic villains from the anime series.

One Piece (Credits: Toei Animation)

As with many mobile RPGs, stamina mechanics limit how much you can play per session unless you utilize refills. There are also three forms of in-game currency:

1. Bellies – The standard currency used for general purchases and progression. Bellies are the canonical money used in the One Piece world.
2. Rainbow Coins – Premium currency that can be spent on stamina refills, extra attempts at difficult levels when underpowered, and other bonuses.
3. Friend Points – Acquired by completing missions while playing co-op with others. Friend points are mainly used to obtain additional scene cards.

Scene cards are essential for powering up your characters by granting stat boosts and new abilities. They are equipped to increase combat performance.