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Bandai Namco has announced that the MMO Blue Protocol will be ending service in Japan, and that the international release via Amazon Games has been canceled.
Blue Protocol will be shut down on January 18, 2025 in Japan. “As a result, we have also canceled our plans to release a Western version of the game in collaboration with Amazon Games,” Bandai Namco said in a statement. “We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Amazon Games throughout the development of Blue Protocol, and both of our teams are disappointed that we will not be able to deliver the game to players around the world.”
Bandai also added that while it been preparing for the game’s launch, it ultimately concluded that it would be difficult to provide a satisfactory experience. Blue Protocol was supposed to release worldwide simultaneously in 2023, but only the Japanese version launched. The Western version, to be published by Amazon Games, was delayed to 2024. Earlier this year, Bandai reported a 21 billion yen loss due to an underperforming game, which may have been Blue Protocol.
Amazon Games has been synonymous with the MMORPG genre as of late, with games such as Lost Ark and New World. It’s also publishing another MMO, the Korean-developed Throne and Liberty, next month. Amazon Games is also working on a Lord of the Rings MMO, for which its still trying to find a gameplay hook.
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