Why Was Blue Protocol Canceled Development Timeline

Blue Protocol development timeline

The news of Blue Protocol’s cancelation comes ahead of its projected late-2024 launch into the Western market. While it’s disappointing for many who have been eagerly anticipating the new MMO, it perhaps shouldn’t come as a huge surprise considering Blue Protocol’s troubled development – something Bandai Namco Online alludes to in its statement.
“We know there has been great anticipation for Blue Protocol since the first announcement of the game,” the statement reads. “We wanted 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 conclusion that it will not be possible to provide a service that satisfies all of you.”
The biggest warning sign that Blue Protocol was in trouble came when Bandai Namco Online reported a final loss of 8.2 billion yen at the end of fiscal year March 2024, rendering it insolvent. This is a big leap from its final loss of 3.9 billion the previous year, and may have been due to the troubled development of projects like Blue Protocol, which significantly underperformed following the Japanese version’s launch.
Executive producer Sokichi Shimooka agreed with the sentiment that Blue Protocol’s Japanese version was struggling to retain players in an interview with Famitsu. Director Keisuke Fukuzaki confirmed that the development team was looking closely at player trends to identify the “drop-out points” in the live content. The cost and time spent to implement changes to keep current players engaged may have been deemed too great to vindicate continued development of the game – though it’s only a single factor in a string of factors.
Prior to this year, Blue Protocol had experienced more than its fair share of delays. Its worldwide release was first announced at The Game Awards 2022, with an initial launch window slated for the second half of 2023. However, Bandai Namco announced a subsequent delay in May 2023 amid its “continued efforts to localize the deeply immersive stories and build the infrastructure needed to engage in multiplayer adventures and massive online raids against towering monsters.”
The anime game released exclusively in Japan on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. PCGamesN spoke to franchise lead Mike Zadorojny concerning the Western version, who explained at the time that “localization is so much more than just translation.” The factors behind the regional delay ranged from technical to financial differences, indicating another major speedbump for the Western release.
Blue Protocol was set to be available on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
While Blue Protocol is canceled, there are plenty of other fantastic free PC games to keep you busy, and many more upcoming PC games are on the horizon.