Blue Protocol global release gets scrubbed, Japanese servers go offline in January 2025

Bandai Namco delivered some shocking news to anime MMO enthusiasts today: Blue Protocol is never getting a global release. Furthermore, the region-locked version that's playable in Japan will also sunset its services on January 18, 2025. In a blog post that went out earlier today, the developers admitted that their vision of the game will never come to fruition.

With this highly anticipated western release shuttered, there is now a big void in the anime MMO subgenre that will likely persist for a while.

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Dead endgame and lukewarm Japanese reception were the warning signs of Blue Protocol's death

Blue Protcol's western release is no more (Image via Bandai Namco)

Blue Protocol's development originally began in 2016 according to Executive Producer Sokichi Shimooka's developer letter last year. With eight years in the oven, its original conception was underway before Genshin Impact, the seminal title of the anime live-service niche.

Genshin's massive success paved the way for high hopes for Bandai Namco's anime MMO dark-horse during its Japanese release in June 2024. Unfortunately, it was not a smooth landing—nor a clean follow-up.

Despite a slew of updates in the last two months, Bandai Namco has seemingly failed to resuscitate Blue Protocol's appeal to the Japanese audience. In hindsight, there are two main issues according to player consensus: a vacant endgame, and an arguably overpriced gacha system.

Many MMOs manage to hit their stride gradually after going through rough beginnings like these. Phantasy Start Online 2 New Genesis, another anime MMO that treads the same path with the same pitfalls, is still alive and well.

The ultimate nail on Blue Protocol's was not an intrinsic issue with the game. The odds were never in its favor, as Bandai Namco Online went insolvent a few months before the Japanese release. The company was 8.2 Billion Yen in the red (or over 51 Million USD), according to a Gamebiz report in March 2024.

The announcement from Bandai Namco regarding Blue Protocol's closure of services does not mention its financial woes, but it adds that the Western release in collaboration with Amazon Games Studio is not going to happen.

The announcement on Blue Protocol's Japanese website instead cites a failure to deliver the experience it wanted to create. The post reads:

"We know there has been great anticipation for Blue Protocol since the first announcement of the game. We want to deliver an experience that is like stepping into the world of anime, and we have been challenging ourselves to create a world where each and every player can enjoy adventures as the main character of the anime. We have worked hard to prepare for the release; however, we have come to the conversion that it will not be possible to provide a service that satisfies all of you."

Amazon Games Studio's US outlet for the game repeated the same news, confirming that the Western release is indeed canceled. "We have great respect and appreciation for the talented team at Bandai Namco... and wish them success in their next endeavors," they mention in closing,

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