Bandai Namco has released a new action game that is supposed to be the start of a large multimedia franchise. However, the beginning does not seem to be going as one might imagine, as the game launches incredibly poorly on Steam.
Which game is it? On October 17, 2024, Bandai Namco released the game Unknown 9: Awakening. The action-adventure game seems to be relatively ambitious. The protagonist is played by Anya Chalotra, who is best known for her role in the Witcher series on Netflix.
In the game, you must explore an unknown dimension as Haroona, which is reminiscent of games like Tomb Raider due to its jungle aesthetic. In combat, you have the option to use magical powers.
Bandai Namco aims to establish not just a new game with Unknown 9: Awakening, but to create a large franchise that exists beyond the game itself. The Bandai Namco website is already promoting podcasts, comics, and books.
However, when you look at how the game is received on Steam, you might doubt that it will become a large franchise.
You can find a trailer for the game here:
A catastrophic launch on Steam
How is Unknown 9: Awakening launching? The launch has not gone well for the new franchise. Looking at the numbers on SteamDB, it peaked at only 285 concurrent players since October 17, 2024.
While these figures do not include player counts from Xbox and PlayStation consoles, such a low player count on Steam means not much more can be expected on consoles either.
Additionally, the reviews on Steam do not shine a favorable light on the game. With currently 171 reviews, the game is rated mostly negative
. Most users complain about a boring combat system or poor graphics and animations.
The few positive voices, like that of user drproof, praise aspects such as the German voiceover, the characters, and the story.
On Metacritic, the game has a slightly better reputation among critics, currently sitting at a median score of 62 from 30 reviews.
Will the franchise continue? So far, Bandai Namco has made no announcements regarding the game or the overall franchise. However, if the numbers remain this low, one can assume that future projects will be canceled, as there doesn’t seem to be any interest.
While Bandai Namco is currently celebrating great success with the new Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, Unknown 9: Awakening is not the only flop from the Japanese publisher in 2024. In August, the company announced the shutdown of their anime MMORPG Blue Protocol. You can read more about it here: Ambitious anime MMORPG dies, global release canceled
