Blue Protocol Is Being Shut Down in Japan, and the Western Launch Is Canceled

The Blue Protocol development team announced today that the free-to-play MMORPG will soon shut down in Japan. Originally unveiled in 2019, the game launched in Japan in Spring 2023. However, it didn't gather a large enough fanbase to keep going, and the live service is now scheduled to end on Saturday, January 18, 2025. The developers said they'll keep updating Blue Protocol with new stories until near the end, though.

We reported on developer Bandai Namco Online Studios going insolvent a couple of months ago, which cast a long shadow on the scheduled global launch. Indeed, publisher Amazon Games stopped referring to Blue Protocol's Western debut a while ago, and they have confirmed today that the launch outside Japan is not happening.

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In their statement announcing the end of service, Bandai Namco Online said, “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 this is disappointing news, and we share your disappointment. We love the world and characters of BLUE PROTOCOL, and we were excited to welcome players around the world into Regnas. We join Bandai Namco Online in expressing deep gratitude to the passionate fans who followed BLUE PROTOCOL development and participated in the Closed Technical Test.

Blue Protocol offered action-packed combat with five classes and lots of dungeons and raids to go through. The news is certainly disappointing for MMORPG fans, although Amazon remains highly committed to the genre, as evidenced by the imminent releases of Throne and Liberty (October 1, following a small delay) and New World Aeternum (October 15), not to mention the ongoing work on The Lord of the Rings MMO, which however is still at an early stage of development.