Blue Protocol, the Anime-Inspired Bandai Namco Project, Will Be Shut Down.

Today, Bandai Namco announced their Blue Protocol servers in Japan will close for good on the 18th of January 2025. The title was launched on the 14th of June 2023 (PC) and the 13th of December 2023 (PS5, Xbox).

The only good news for players is that Blue Protocol will continue receiving regular updates until its eventual shutdown.

Still, this effectively means potential players in Europe and America will never experience this stunning, anime-themed title.

The announcement was also deflating for the DualShockers team, as we believed Blue Protocol could potentially replicate the success of Genshin Impact.

Blue Protocol Breaks Protocol

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t that shocking. Development was quite sluggish, and it took over six years to introduce Blue Protocol to the general public.

In fact, the game was supposed to be released for Western gamers several years back (which never happened).

Players also intensely complained about the title’s repetitiveness. Blue Protocol forces you to chase your own tail just to finish specific builds and progress the story further.

According to the developers, all of this was by design, as they wanted players to get immersed in the game’s beautiful world.

Then again, many users suggested Blue Protocol should have more content and, specifically, side missions.

From Hopeful Beginnings To A Tragic End

Not only were players shortchanged for a potentially fantastic title, but the development team was probably also devastated by the news. In the end, Blue Protocol has been in development since 2015.

Here’s what Bandai Namco shared in their announcement:

Several poor decisions later, and we’re in the current spot.

The only thing we can hope for is that Bandai Namco’s developers will take these lessons to heart and treat us with a similar, anime-inspired title in the near future.