Bandai Namco’s cancelled MMORPG Blue Protocol is coming back as Star Resonance

Bandai Namco’s shuttered MMORPG Blue Protocol project has been extended a new lifeline courtesy of Tencent-funded developer Bokura.

At the end of August, Bandai Namco announced plans to shut down the servers of its anime MMORPG Blue Protocol in Japan and cancelled its release in the West altogether, saying “it will not be possible to provide a service that satisfies all of you”.

Now, however, Blue Protocol has been reincarnated as Star Resonance, with some of its original development team joining the new one at Bokura. Although set in the same world as Blue Protocol, Regnas, the team said Star Resonance players can expect a reworked gameplay and storyline.

And it seems Bokura has hit the ground running, too. A closed beta test is already planned for players on Android devices and PC, although sadly, that’s only open to Chinese players for now.

As yet, there’s no firm release date either in China, Japan, or beyond. Blue Protocol’s servers are due to go dark on 18th January 2025 (thanks, Automaton).

Ed went hands-on with Blue Protocol last year, which was set to follow the likes of Lost Ark and New World as Amazon Games’ next big MMO. However, he had concerns of whether the game could differentiate itself from its key competitors.