Amazon Japan shows SWORD ART ONLINE: Fractured Daydream as launching Oct. 3rd, 2024 (UPDATES)

Back in February of this year, it was announced that SWORD ART ONLINE: Fractured Daydream would be heading to Switch sometime this year. While we are still waiting on the official launch date announcement, we’ve got the inside scoop thanks to an early retailer listing.

Amazon Japan has just opened pre-orders for SWORD ART ONLINE: Fractured Daydream, and their listing shows a date of October 3rd, 2024. We’ll definitely have the official confirmation of this date come July 2nd, 2024, as a release date/story trailer is set to drop at that time.

SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream has been confirmed to be a cross-platform compatible game with no loot boxes, and it supports up-to-20-player co-op. The dev team specifically set out to test cross-platform and online co-op functionality to make sure they could get everything working perfectly on all platforms, and obviously those tests were a success.

Following the recent beta test, the devs also noted some changes that will be implemented in the final game. In the final release, you’ll be able to turn automatic lock-on off, Goddess Statues will appear, difficulty will be based on how many players you’re with, and offline Story Mode and online Free Mode will be available. Last but not least, another beta test could happen at some point.

In SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream, a new system is applied to the world of Alfheim Online, but a malfunction causes all worlds and timelines to collide, creating a unique setting and challenging environment for Kirito and other players. All lost in uncharted territory, enemies become allies, departed characters are back and unlikely alliances will be formed to survive the dangers in this unsettled world.

SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream offers an original story in an All-Star game, focused on a large-scale co-op experience. Players will enjoy playing their favourite characters from the first three seasons of the animated series and Sword Art Online movies, in a cross-play battle action game featuring thrilling boss raids and co-op quests.

UPDATE: The above-mentioned October 3rd, 2024 release date for Japan has since been confirmed, thanks to the launch date/story trailer you can see below. Details on the various packages and DLC available in Japan has also been shared, and you can find that breakdown below the trailer.

Standard Edition (8,470 yen)

• A copy of the game

Digital Deluxe Edition (12,100 yen)

• A copy of the game

Character Pass 1

• Downloadable content “Visitors from Another World I”
• Downloadable content “Visitors from Another World II”
• Purchase bonus: Bonus Stamp Set
• Additional Costume: Prism Heart Set (Prism Heart Dress, Prism Heart Cap)

Digital Premium Edition (14,300 yen)

• A copy of the game
• Character Pass 1
• Downloadable content “Visitors from Another World I”
• Downloadable content “Visitors from Another World II”
• Purchase bonus: Bonus Stamp Set
• Additional Costume: Prism Heart Set (Prism Heart Dress, Prism Heart Cap)
• Additional Costume: Wild Joker Dress
• Digital art book and soundtrack with mini-game
• Pre-order bonus: Three days of early access

UPDATE 2: Following the Japanese release date information, publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed that SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream will see worldwide release on Switch come Oct. 4th, 2024. You can also see the English version of the above trailer below.