Amazon Games brings Blue Protocol MMO to Western audiences

Amazon Games announced during The Game Awards that it’s partnering with Bandai Namco on the Western release of its new MMO, Blue Protocol. Bandai Namco plans to launch the MMO on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC sometime in the second half of 2023. According to its new trailer, the game will also be free-to-play. Amazon Games and Bandai Namco will launch the title in North America, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand.

Bandai Namco first announced Blue Protocol several years ago and has released a few trailers since then. The MMO has a cell-shaded art style that Chris Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games, calls “an anime come to life.” The story follows the customizable player character on a journey across the war-torn continent Regnas. Players have five classes available at launch to choose from: Blade Warden, Twin Striker, Keen Strider, Spell Weaver and Foe Breaker.

Blue Protocol joins several other MMOs published by Amazon Games within the last year, including Lost Ark and New World. The latter has seen both initial success and resurgence within the first year of launch. Last month, it reached a new concurrent player count high. Amazon also entered publishing agreements with multiple studios, including Smilegate (New World’s developers) and Disruptive Games on a multiplayer action-adventure title.

Sokichi Shimooka, executive producer of Blue Protocol at Bandai Namco, said of the Amazon partnership in a statement, “The Amazon Games team’s deep expertise in operating multiplayer games, combined with Amazon’s publishing resources and transmedia opportunities, made them the ideal publisher for Blue Protocol in the West. We’re excited to work together to bring players an incredible experience.”