Bandai Namco and Amazon MMORPG Shutting Down in January

Summary

Blue Protocol, a short-lived MMORPG from Bandai Namco, is shutting down permanently in January 2025, with financial reasons cited for its closure.
Players will no longer be able to access the action-based MMORPG, which offered various classes and a custom avatar creation system.
Despite positive reviews, Bandai Namco's decision to discontinue Blue Protocol has led to disappointment among fans, as plans for an international release are canceled.

A short-lived MMORPG from Bandai Namco, Blue Protocol, is set to shut down permanently in January 2025, taking the game offline and making it unavailable to play or download after the inevitable closure. Reasons for the closure are seemingly purely financial, and Blue Protocol will also no longer see an international release via Amazon Games, as Bandai Namco initially planned.

Blue Protocol is an action-based MMORPG from developer Bandai Namco with a distinct anime aesthetic very in line with the company's beloved Tales series of action JRPGs. The game offers a variety of classes to choose from, all of which have distinct playstyles and weapon types, and lets players create a custom avatar to explore the open world with and team up with others to complete quests and take on bosses.

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Now, however, the official website for Blue Protocol contains an announcement confirming the game's looming shutdown as Bandai Namco prepares to discontinue service and close its servers indefinitely. Effective January 2025, players will no longer be able to access the game at all, and plans for a release outside of Japan in partnership with Amazon Games are out the window now, too, as a result.

The shutdown may come as a surprise to fans of the MMORPG, as Blue Protocol enjoyed mostly positive reviews and feedback from players in its early days, with many comparing it to the massively popular HoYoverse games like Genshin Impact. Despite its positive reception, however, the reason for its closure appears to be financial, as Bandai Namco reported that it failed to meet profit expectations.

Amazon has produced MMORPGs in the past, like its own original title New World, which got off to a rough start but quickly became more popular as the game underwent several massive updates and received new content. The company also assisted with the Korean action MMO Lost Ark, giving the game a worldwide release via its Amazon Games brand.

As for Bandai Namco, the hit developer still has plenty of projects in the works, with the JRPG Tales of Graces f Remastered coming soon, giving Tales fans something to hold them over while they wait for a new entry. The company is currently gearing up to publish the highly-anticipated fighting game Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero later this year as well, along with a slate of other upcoming projects, so Bandai Namco fans still have plenty to look forward to in the near future.

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