In a shock announcement, upcoming anime MMO Blue Protocol has been cancelled in the west, and will be ending service in Japan early next year. While the exact reasoning remains unclear, Bandai Namco Online writes that it has “come to the conclusion that it will not be possible to provide a service that satisfies all of you.”
Blue Protocol was, in theory, an upcoming anime MMORPG that championed co-operative play and high-octane combat. Currently available in Japan, Amazon Games was set to bring the game to western audiences, but a Tuesday, August 28 communication has confirmed that the game will, instead, be ending service entirely.
“We regret to inform you that the Japanese version of Blue Protocol will be discontinued on Saturday January 18, 2025,” reads the post. “As a result, we have also canceled our plans to release a Western version of the game in collaboration with Amazon Games.
“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.
“We know there has been great anticipation for Blue Protocol since the first announcement of the game,” the post continues. “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. We deeply apologize for the sudden announcement.”
As someone who was really excited to dive into Blue Protocol, I’m genuinely pretty gutted. When I spoke to Amazon’s Blue Protocol franchise lead Mike Zadorojny back in 2022, I was intrigued by the idea of no gacha mechanics and a sprawling open world, but unfortunately we’ll never see what that looks like.
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