A year after Bandai Namco killed its anime MMO, Blue Protocol is getting a second, different anime MMO in the same universe

Blue Protocol: Star Resonance | Announcement Trailer - YouTube

In August 2024, Bandai Namco announced that it was shuttering service and cancelling Europe and US launch plans for Blue Protocol, its anime action MMO that had been playable in Japan since 2023. Players grieved. They wept. In January, they danced in their virtual world's final moments as Blue Protocol went offline forever.

After a bit of forensic work, I've pieced together an explanation. Prior to Blue Protocol's shutdown in 2024, Chinese developer Shanghai Bokura Network published a press release announcing that it was developing a new mobile game set in the Blue Protocol universe. Following the closing of Blue Protocol, that mobile game's development was expanded, eventually becoming Blue Protocol: Star Resonance.

In other words, Star Resonance isn't a Blue Protocol relaunch—it's an entirely different game. Like the original, it's a class-based, anime action MMO, and it's actually already been playable in beta playtests in China for months. Its reveal trailer above shows a mix of flashy, fast-paced combat and laidback gathering. It also shows a parade of players riding around on hovering orbs. Videogames!

On the official site, you can see the current character class selection. We got tanky frontline fighters like the Shield Knight and glaive-wielding Heavy guardians, damage dealers like the Frost Mages and lightning-charged Stormblades, and—to complete the trinity—a healer in the Verdanct Oracle.

A party of Blue Protocol: Star Resonance player characters attack a lizard creature. — (Image credit: A Plus)

Judging from reports of playtesters on YouTube, I'm hesitant about Star Resonance's monetization scheme. Progression seems like it's tied to talent tree advancement and gear upgrades, both of which require materials that can be purchased with real money through premium currency. Even if you can grind out those materials, it's easy to imagine a world in which those drop rates and requirements intensify in such a way that paying to save yourself some time becomes more and more appealing.

Blue Protocol: Star Resonance doesn't have a release date, but it's scheduled to launch sometime this year.

Lincoln has been writing about games for 12 years—unless you include the essays about procedural storytelling in Dwarf Fortress he convinced his college professors to accept. Leveraging the brainworms from a youth spent in World of Warcraft to write for sites like Waypoint, Polygon, and Fanbyte, Lincoln spent three years freelancing for PC Gamer before joining on as a full-time News Writer in 2024, bringing an expertise in Caves of Qud bird diplomacy, getting sons killed in Crusader Kings, and hitting dinosaurs with hammers in Monster Hunter.

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