Due to high losses, Bandai Namco Online is facing bankruptcy. The subsidiary of the Bandai Namco Group is responsible for offering the corporation’s online games worldwide. Current projects include the MMORPG Blue Protocol.
What is known? The Japanese website gamebiz.jp reports that Bandai Namco Online allegedly incurred a loss of 8.2 billion yen (more than 51 million USD) in the last fiscal year.
Due to the continuing growing deficit, the Bandai Namco Group’s subsidiary is believed to have become insolvent. There has been no official statement from the parent company so far. However, on June 24, 2024, a notice about the sale of shares was released (via bandainamco.co). Whether these two announcements are related is currently unclear.
The Bandai Namco Group itself is likely to still be doing well. Elden Ring has sold incredibly well over the past two years (25 million units), and the newly released DLC Shadow of the Erdtree is bringing in more revenue. Tekken 8 also saw strong sales in February 2024.
Here is the story trailer for Elden Ring – Shadow of the Erdtree:
What does Bandai Namco Online do? Bandai Namco Online operates under the slogan: “Online games from Japan to the whole world.” Specifically, it is about developing service games for Bandai Namco and distributing and supporting them worldwide.
The currently most important games from Bandai Namco Online include:
- IDOLiSH7 (Rhythm action game for mobile devices)
- SD Gundam Operations (Role-playing game for web browsers)
- Gundam Tribe (Tower defense game for web browsers)
- Blue Protocol (Anime MMORPG)
Another project, Gundam Evolution, was apparently such a flop that the service had to be discontinued in November 2023 (via reddit).
Blue Protocol fights for survival
What is happening with Blue Protocol? The anime MMORPG was released in Japan in the summer of 2023, but the game did not meet expectations there. In May 2024, publisher Smilegate announced that they would put the planned 2024 launch in Korea on hold for now. The German website has been silent since November 2023.
In mid-June, the developers of Blue Protocol addressed the community in a more than three-hour stream to detail how they plan to turn things around positively. However, there was again no update on the launch in the West, which was also planned for 2023.
If the reports about the disastrous finances of Bandai Namco Online are confirmed, the plans for the Western release of Blue Protocol could end up in the trash. On reddit, some players are already saying goodbye to the thought of ever being able to play the MMORPG.
- Slylok writes: ‘I had been looking forward to this game for years and then forgot about it somehow, and now it might never come.’
- Aceeed also seems pessimistic: ‘The game has so much potential. It’s a shame it will likely perish before its release in the West.’
- jonizerr0rr shows schadenfreude: ‘I think banning all Western players from the Japanese server wasn’t such a good idea after all.’
What do I need to know about Blue Protocol? At first glance, Blue Protocol may seem like a typical MMORPG from Asia with a free-to-play model. However, the online action RPG places an unusually strong focus on story presentation and PvE challenges for solo players, small groups, and 30-player raids.
Additionally, the colorful cel-shading style makes Blue Protocol appear like an interactive anime. And according to Alexander Leitsch, who watched the Japanese version for several hours last year, there is also a lot of gameplay potential – I played Blue Protocol and say: This will be the best MMORPG of the last 9 years
