(Photo : Bandai Namco, DIMITAR DILKOFF, AFP / Screenshot taken from Getty Images)
Bandai Namco's canceled MMORPG Blue Protocol is making somewhat of a comeback with the recent announcement regarding Star Resonance.
Blue Protocol had a positive reception but was not able to get enough support to see if it could compete in the MMORPG market. The company announced that the game will officially be shut down next year and players can only stay on the servers until January 2025.
Blue Protocol's Spiritual Successor
Star Resonance started off as a mobile spin-off for Blue Protocol and is still under development but is relatively close to an official release. Chinese developer Bokura previously announced a collaboration with Bandai Namco.
It said that it was working on another story that was set within Blue Protocol's world of Regnas. That particular project has now developed further in the form of Star Resonance and is said to be set in the same world of the canceled MMORPG, according to Game Rant.
Read Also: Blue Protocol Will Shut Down in Japan, Cancels Worldwide Release
While Star Resonance seems like it follows adventures within Blue Protocol's world, it will have different characters and an original story. This is very promising news for fans of Bandai Namco's canceled MMORPG, especially those who were not able to play at all.
It is currently unclear when the new game will launch but Bokura is currently holding a closed beta test in China that will end in late December 2024. There are also some original team members that worked on Blue Protocol who are part of the Star Resonance team. This suggests it could bring back the former's legacy and universe, The Gamer said.
Star Resonance's World of Regnas
The fact that Bandai Namco announced the inevitable shutdown of Blue Protocol's servers makes players believe that it could never come back as it was. The game's Steam page has also been delisted.
An official statement said that they canceled plans for Blue Protocol's western release, which was supposed to be done in collaboration with Amazon Games. This was as the developers were excited to help the game reach a wider audience and deliver an amazing gaming experience.
They created a world that fans can enjoy and go on adventures as the main characters of their very own anime. However, they later realized that they were not able to provide a service that would satisfy all players.
The main issue that plagued Blue Protocol was when Bandai Namco reported a final loss of roughly $54 million at the end of fiscal year March 2024. This was more than double the amount reported the previous year, according to PCGamesN.
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