One Piece's in-progress game cancelled by Bandai Namco

Modified Oct 15, 2024 23:37 GMT

Tuesday, October 15, 2024, saw video game publisher Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. announce several title cancellations, which included an upcoming One Piece game. While it’s unclear as of this article’s writing whether or not the upcoming title was in active development, the project was mentioned amongst other titles which will either be canceled or paused.

It’s unclear which category the One Piece title falls into, but cancellation is a safe assumption considering how the franchise’s Odyssey game performed critically. This is also further supported by Bandai Namco taking part in traditional Japanese staff reduction tactics where workers are given nothing to do.

In-progress One Piece game abandoned by Bandai Namco as staff is reduced via “oidashi beya”

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The aforementioned staff reduction tactics which also signal the One Piece game’s total cancellation are known as “oidashi beya,” best translated as “expulsion rooms.” These rooms are often used by Japanese corporations in order to circumvent the government’s strict labor-protection laws. In fact, Japan is arguably the most sctrict in the world.

Likewise, employees are typically kept on staff but given no work-related tasks. However, this also gives management a means of justifying cutting that employee’s severance when they do eventually leave. Resultantly, most people put in these expulsion rooms spend their time looking for new jobs, since it’s clear that they no longer have work to do at the current company.

A Bandai Namco representative is quoted as saying that “there is no organization like an ‘oidashi beya’ at Bandai Namco Studios designed to pressure people to leave voluntarily.” However, employees sharing their stories claim that 200 of the studio’s roughly 1,300 employees have been relegated to expulsion rooms, with nearly 100 having resigned.

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Additionally canceled or paused titles include the smartphone game Tales of the Rays and Blue Protocol. The company also has a project commissioned by Nintendo which it is planning to either cancel altogether or pause. Several other publishers have done the same recently, such as Sony Group Corp. shutting down its Concord online game just two weeks after launch.

Bandai Namco was born in 2005 as a merger between storied companies Namco and Bandai, the latter purchasing the former for US$1.7 billion. Namco was founded in June 1955 and is known as the producer of hit game franchises like Pac-Man, Tekken, Tales, Ace Combat, and more. Bandai was founded in July 1950, known primarily as a toy company but also having produced several notable video games.

Author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s original manga series began serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine in July 1997. The manga is still ongoing today and is regularly serialized, but is progressing through its final saga. Toei Animation produces a television anime adaptation of the series.