Bandai Namco Online is “in a state of insolvency” after posting a loss of more than $51 million (8.2 billion yen). This news, along with some vows by the devs to right the course on the Japanese Blue Protocol release (which is marking its one-year anniversary), is bringing up questions about that game’s planned global release through Amazon Games.
It's been quite some time since Amazon has shared anything about Blue Protocol (the notice after last fall's technical test was it) and Bandai Namco hasn’t said much about the planned release either. With big events like PAX East in the spring and this month’s Summer Game Fest, there have been no announcements, hints, or news at all about the planned Blue Protocol global launch.
Bandai Namco Online released their negative net income for fiscal year 2023, something that has never happened in the company's history. According to the company’s report, as translated by Automaton Media, the company was in the red during the previous fiscal year as well, and in FY 2023, Blue Protocol was its only new title.
Blue Protocol’s Japanese release started off strongly, but wth the occasion of the first anniversary, the developers are talking about fixing and expanding the game with a brand new update that the team is referring to as “the new Blue Protocol”. That update, “Beyond” is part of the team’s plans to fix the game and to add more ways to play, including side content, hack and slash gameplay and treasure hunting, and casual options like mini games, including hide and seek and beach volleyball. These are just part of the plan to make the game more user friendly, let more casual players just hang out in the anime inspired world, and to offer more things to do outside of the main story.
The game got lots of attention in Japan when it launched, but the team, made up of hardcore MMO fans, underestimated the number of casual players that would be drawn to the MMO. The hardcore mechanics and grindiness was central, but a lot of people who were drawn to the game didn't stay because the overall environment was apparently player friendly.
How this ties into Amazon's future release is unclear, but it probably explains some of the silence so far. Blue Protocol’s global launch is still officially set for sometime in 2024, but seeing as we are now past the middle of the year with silence, it wouldn't be surprising to see that change.
