Blue Protocol promised a vibrant new entry into the crowded MMORPG space, drawing players in with its distinct anime aesthetic and action-packed combat. Set in the world of Regnus, the game featured a flexible, weapon-based class system and a heavy focus on gear crafting.
What Blue Protocol Offered
At its core, Blue Protocol was an action MMORPG blending open-world exploration with challenging instanced dungeons. Its visual style was a major draw, presenting a beautifully rendered world with high attention to detail, truly bringing an anime-inspired environment to life.
Key features highlighted during its promotion included:
- Stunning Visuals: An immersive world with vibrant, anime-inspired graphics and a high level of detail.
- Summon Monsters: The ability to capture and summon ‘imagines’ to aid in combat or provide useful skills like healing or buffs.
- World Bosses: Epic encounters on open world maps requiring players to team up to take down powerful foes.
- Time Attack Dungeons/Arenas: Competitive PvE modes with leaderboards for parties to test their speed and efficiency.
The game also boasted a voice-acted main story quest and various group content options like arenas and world bosses, suggesting a rich PvE experience.
The Unforeseen Turn
Despite the promising features and distinct visual style, Blue Protocol faced challenges. Early on, there was limited detailed information available, and the game experienced multiple delays. Notably, there was no traditional PvP announced.
However, the biggest blow came recently. In a move that surprised many, Bandai Namco Online and global publisher Amazon Games announced the shutdown of Blue Protocol and the cancellation of its planned global release.
This news, while sudden for some, was perhaps anticipated by others. Reports earlier this year indicated financial difficulties at Bandai Namco, raising questions about the game’s future. The prolonged silence from both publishers regarding the global version only fueled speculation, making the eventual decision seem almost inevitable. Just a year after its initial launch in Japan, Blue Protocol joins the list of potentially promising MMOs that unfortunately won’t make it to a full global audience.
What Happens Now?
While the end of Blue Protocol is disappointing for prospective players outside of Japan, there is a silver lining regarding the development team. Amazon Games has confirmed that the developers working on the global version will not face layoffs. Instead, they will be reassigned to other ongoing and upcoming projects within the company. This is a positive note in an industry that has seen significant job losses recently.
For players in Japan, the game’s servers will remain operational until January 18, 2025.
Blue Protocol remains a fascinating case of an MMORPG with a unique vision that ultimately couldn’t overcome development and business challenges to reach a worldwide audience.
