Bandai Namco Online is set to be shut down and absorbed by Bandai Namco Entertainment on 1 April 2025, with all ongoing operations transferring to the larger studio. The news arrives following an array of significant shut downs for Bandai Namco Online games.
Most notably, the studio was set to bring major MMORPG Blue Protocol to the West in 2024, before this version was cancelled entirely, and the game’s end of service was announced for Japan. In the year prior, live service 6v6 shooter Gundam Evolution was also shuttered.
It appears Bandai Namco has now decided to pull the plug on its online studio, 15 years after its establishment. Its remaining games – Idolish7, Gundam Tribe, and SD Gundam Operations – will now be overseen by Bandai Namco Entertainment, likely with the same folks backing development.
Based on wording, it’s unclear whether there will be resulting layoffs from this absorption. Japan has much stricter rules around these practices, with strong employee protections baked into the legal system. It’s highly likely the Bandai Namco Online team will largely remain intact, with responsibilities integrated into Bandai Namco Entertainment.
That said, there have been recent allegations of the company using “oidashi beya” expulsion rooms to encourage staff to leave voluntarily – a claim which Bandai Namco has vehemently denied.
Read: Bandai Namco is allegedly cutting its headcount
As previously reported by GameBiz, Bandai Namco Online has been in a dire state for quite some time now, with change needed to overcome significant net losses and debt.
According to financial data, the studio had a financial loss of 8.201 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2024. This was a sharp downturn from prior years, which were quite profitable.
Per Bandai Namco, absorbing Bandai Namco Online back into the wider studio is a needed response to recent changes in the game business environment, and must be done to “strengthen the overall structure of the digital business sector.”
