Blue Protocol's Western release delayed to 2024

Bandai Namco and Amazon Games have pushed the Western release of their collaborative MMO back to 2024, but a closed beta test will be held later this year.

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It looks like one of the next of Amazon Games’ MMO aspirations will waiting a while longer to hit players worldwide. Blue Protocol was announced as a collaboration by Amazon Games and Bandai Namco to bring the MMO to Western audiences. It was supposed to come sometime in 2023. However, it was announced today that the Western release of Blue Protocol will now be pushed back to 2024 as the developers work to polish up the game for its worldwide debut.

The delay of Blue Protocol was reported in Japan first, and shared via a Blue Protocol fan Twitter on May 23, 2023. The delay was further confirmed by Amazon Games in a statement sent to PC Gamer:

The BLUE PROTOCOL Database sharing word of the Western release's delay to 2024.
The rumor that Blue Protocol's Western release was delayed was recently confirmed in a statement from Amazon Games.
Source: The BLUE PROTOCOL Database

It seems localization is at the core of Blue Protocol’s delay. The game is set to release in Japan on June 14. However, adapting an MMO’s context and world outside of the original region is quite the endeavor and it seems to be one Bandai Namco and Amazon Games feel will take longer than the rest of 2023. That said, it sounds like a beta test is also coming for the game in 2023 and details on how to get in should be available later this year.

Blue Protocol’s Western release was first announced at The Game Awards 2022. It’s the latest in Amazon Games’ growing collection of published MMOs that now include New World and the highly successful Lost Ark. Amazon Games also recently announced a collaboration with Embracer Group to create a Lord of the Rings MMO.

With Blue Protocol’s Western launch delayed to 2024, it will be worth watching Japan’s response to the game and keeping up with its news and updates as we await its launch worldwide. Stay tuned as we continue to watch for further updates.

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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