Blue Protocol is a vibrant, anime MMORPG featuring a colorful cast of characters and flashy, dynamic combat. Having released in Japan to roaring success, Amazon Games is bringing Blue Protocol to the West in 2024 – unfortunately the Blue Protocol release date has been pushed back a little, but the hype is still there.
As with a lot of live service games, though, the West is often left lagging behind its Eastern counterpart in terms of content. We’ve seen it with Amazon Games’ other RPG game, Lost Ark, which has been slow to port classes from the Korean version into the Western one.
In an exclusive interview with PCGamesN, I asked Mike Zadorojny, franchise lead at Amazon Games, whether or not things will be similar with Blue Protocol. “The western version is based on the Japanese version, so we can’t start localization until it’s complete,” he tells me, confirming that this “means there will always be some lag.”
He goes on to clarify that Amazon will be “working with BNO [Bandai Namco] to minimize the gap,” so hopefully we’ll see different events and potential new classes ported across relatively quickly.
While for some this may disappoint, when it comes to live service games it’s an unfortunate reality that one region may pull ahead of another. “Localization is so much more than just translation,” he tells me. “There are technical, legal, and financial differences to account for.”
All of these factors combined means that Blue Protocol will launch with a little less content than the Japanese version, but I’m excited nevertheless. While I love Honkai Star Rail’s Trailblazer (and trash cans), it’s the customization element of Blue Protocol that really stands out. I’ve always wanted to create my own cute little anime character, and now I have the chance to – no lag is going to stop me from doing that.
If you’re excited by what Blue Protocol has in store we have a rundown of all of the Blue Protocol classes and what to expect from them. If you can’t wait until 2024, though, we have a list of all the best anime games to keep you busy.