Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens update for Duel Links brings Rush Duels to mobile
The first time English-speaking players will be able to use new cards alongside Japanese fans.
Following the phenomenal success of the trading card game’s new format in its home of Japan, Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duels is set to debut outside Japan in the form of an additional mode within the popular Duel Links mobile game, as part of a major update coming to the free-to-play title on September 28th.
Announced on stage following the Duel Links grand final at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships in Tokyo, this update marks the seventh yearly update to the game since its initial launch in 2016. Each previous update introduced new card game mechanics and monsters based on different anime within the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. The Rush Duel update to Duel Links is based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens anime first broadcast in Japan in 2020, and marks the first time that a different duel format has been included to Duel Links since its inception.
Although Rush Duel has previously made its way to English markets once before in the form of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel: Dawn of the Battle Royale!! video game for Nintendo Switch released in December 2021, this will mark the first time that both Japanese and international audiences will receive simultaneous access to the unique game format and duel against each other using specially-designed Rush Duel cards.
Currently, duels within Duel Links follow modified TCG rules under the Speed Duel ruleset, a format later printed as physical sets outside Japan from 2019. According to Yu-Gi-Oh! publisher Konami, this mode will remain playable to all users following the planned September update, with Rush Duel being offered as an additional format and mode within the application.
Although the update will mark the occasion of Rush Duel booster sets and cards being officially translated into English, in many cases for the first time, Konami has yet to comment on the possibility of these cards later being made available in physical sets outside of Japan at this time. Those looking to participate in the format will be able to do so exclusively via the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links mobile game following the Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens update on September 28th.