Why did Naruto Blazing shut down? Bandai Namco's decision explained

Naruto Blazing was a popular turn-based role-playing game that was available on mobile phones. Unfortunately, the servers for the mobile game were shut down in 2021; therefore, it is no longer available for download. This online game garnered a huge fanbase that actively played the game when it was online.

It is important to mention that the studio responsible for this game, Bandai Namco, didn’t really provide an explanation for the game's termination. However, the player base seems to have an idea or two about the possible reasons. Let’s take a look at what the fans had to say about this.

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Possible reasons for the shutdown of Naruto Blazing

One common trend that we have seen with video games is that the mobile platform is quite restrictive. What we mean by this is that pre-existing games of the same title on a different platform are more successful in comparison to their mobile phone counterparts.

For example, Apex Legends is being played on both consoles and PC, while the mobile phone version had a brief run after being shut down. NarutoBlazing is a similar case. This game was popular at first, but its popularity seems to have declined.

Image of the post made by an employee who worked in the customer support (Screengrabvia Reddit thread r/NarutoBlazing)

Many fans believe that the developers gave up on the game after a while. This decision obviously depended on other variables. It could be possible that the game was not generating enough revenue to justify the costs of running it. Forums like Reddit are known for having active discussions related to video games.

A majority of the Naruto Blazing fanbase seemed to have had the same answer. That being said, there was an interesting post on the subreddit in which a former Bandai Namco customer support employee gave fans information regarding the reasons for the shutdown since the NDA period had come to an end.

The employee explaining the reason for the game's termination (Screengrab via Reddit thread r/NarutoBlazing)

According to this employee, Naruto Blazing was terminated for two primary reasons: a lack of revenue generated and redirected resources. According to the person's claim, the company had decided to end the project sometime in 2020, or one year before the servers were actually shut down. As per Japanese law, a year was decided.

The person also had their opinion on this situation. The original poster believed that people at Bandai Namco decided to spend their resources and efforts on a new project that involved content from the Boruto series.

The person in the subreddit also explained how Bandai Namco wanted to focus their efforts on a new project (Screengrab via Reddit thread r/NarutoBlazing)

Pearls, the in-game currency, were hard to get in Naruto Blazing. Naturally, a player brought this topic to the employee’s attention and asked the reason for this phenomenon. He stated that it was a way for Bandai Namco to make more money off the game. Most games that this studio releases in Japan end up becoming cash cows.

In conclusion, Naruto Blazing was indeed a great game, but it had an expiration date. The content was getting recycled, and there came a point where the game stopped generating the revenue it set out to achieve. The studio also decided to focus its efforts and start a new project, which is now called Naruto X Boruto Ninja Voltage.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.