One Piece Odyssey charts a course for January 2023

destructoid.com:

Bandai Namco Entertainment has locked in a release date for One Piece Odyssey. The RPG based on the massive manga series will set sail on January 13, 2023.

Previously, One Piece Odyssey was going to set sail sometime this year. Today at the Tokyo Game Show 2022, Bandai Namco moved that target just a hair into the new year.

One Piece Odyssey producer Katsuaki Tsuzuki explains in a new video message that while the team originally targeted this year, launching in January gives them more time in production and brushing up the quality of the RPG.

Today’s release date announcement trailer lays out the story of the new adventure. The Straw Hat crew heads to new shores, where they encounter a mysterious new character and get tangled up in a little more than they might have bargained for. This new adventure will touch on “classic memories” of the Straw Hat Pirates as well.

While the look of One Piece Odyssey definitely seems like it’s locked in, the other appealing factor is that this is an RPG. Rather than more action-oriented games that have rolled out for other manga adaptations, One Piece Odyssey is a role-playing game.

Hopefully we’ll get to see more of the battle system ahead of launch, as we’ve only seen a few snippets up to this point. But the UI style, as well as the general look of the game, all seem really great.

Plus, for the heavy One Piece fans out there, Odyssey is getting a tie-in statue that looks rad.

One Piece Odyssey sets off for PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on January 13, 2023.