Over 100 Employees Depart Bandai Namco Since April with Minimal Publicity

Since April 2024, Bandai Namco has seen a noticeable shift, with over 100 employees leaving the company. This information, sourced from the Japanese Pension service’s online records, indicates a quiet exodus of staff members during what appears to be a challenging period for the famous video game company.

Amber V from Automaton Media was one of the first to highlight this trend. Their report revealed that 117 developers have exited the company, consequently being removed from Bandai Namco’s pension payroll. The exact teams these individuals were part of or the projects they were working on remain unclear.

In that time frame, Bandai Namco faced some hurdles in their gaming division. Their latest MMORPG, Blue Protocol, launched to lukewarm reception and was consequently taken offline. This unexpected outcome led to the cancellation of its Western release under Amazon’s banner. Some developers from the Blue Protocol team chose a different path, leaving Bandai Namco to nurture Blue Protocol: Star Resonance. This spiritual successor is currently under development by BOKURA, a Tencent subsidiary, with a fraction of the original team onboard.

The termination of Blue Protocol’s Western release coincided with the dissolution of Bandai Namco Online, which was absorbed into the main company. It’s plausible that a good portion of the staff who left were from Bandai Namco Online, left in flux between shifting projects. However, without any formal announcements or a detailed list of those who departed since last April, the true reasons remain speculative.

Despite these developments, Bandai Namco’s recent financial reports tell a surprisingly positive story. Their report from February 5 shows significant growth in operating profit compared to the previous year. This success can largely be attributed to major releases like Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, which has surpassed five million copies sold. So, from a broader perspective, the company still seems to be thriving.

What could be the real reason behind these departures? Do you share the view that setbacks like those encountered with Blue Protocol are to blame, or is there another underlying factor at play? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!