GUNDAM ASSEMBLE brings 5cm Gunpla battles to the tabletop

Bandai Spirits will release GUNDAM ASSEMBLE, a miniature game fought with roughly 5cm Gunpla models, worldwide on Saturday 31 October 2026. The company's Hobby Division says the launch covers most regions at once, with exceptions where time zones and distribution make a single date impractical.

Gunpla on the tabletop

The game pairs miniature units with unit cards and tactical cards, so players build their own tactics and scenarios rather than following a fixed board. Alongside the base release, Bandai Spirits is rolling out a Deluxe Set 01 and four Expansion Packs numbered 01 to 04, and has published a new promotional video for the game.

A launch tour that starts in Shibuya

The first stop on a global launch tour is SHIBUYA TSUTAYA on the first floor of the store, running from 15 to 18 October 2026. Entry is free. The venue will show products and dioramas, screen video, and set up a photo spot, with demo play, advance play sessions decided by lottery and miniature painting handled by same-day numbered tickets.

What visitors can take home

Visitors can pick up a Promotion Kit in its Yellow version, which includes limited-colour versions of the RX-78-2 Gundam, Guncannon and Guntank, with one of the three handed out at random. Bandai Spirits is also giving away a colour set of white and blue paint from Mr. Hobby, a PA01 promotional unit card set drawn from the Gundam Card Game starter deck Heroic Beginnings, a Wing Gundam Zero [EW] card in a limited design, and a sticker. All giveaways are while stocks last.

The company cautions that not every product released after launch will arrive worldwide on the same day, since shipping and regional factors still apply.

Our opinion

Gundam has spent decades selling models and, separately, games, and GUNDAM ASSEMBLE is the first serious attempt to make the model the game piece. The 5cm scale is the whole argument: small enough to fit a squad on a café table, detailed enough that building them stays the point. Bandai's decision to lead with a four-day Shibuya event rather than a wide retail push is telling, because tabletop miniature play lives or dies on somebody demonstrating it in person, and a diorama does that better than a trailer. The unresolved question is support. A base set and four expansion packs are a commitment, and miniature games are abandoned in the gap between the first and second wave, so the real announcement will be whatever follows pack 04.