Bandai's canceled anime MMO Blue Protocol gets launch date; it's officially back

Blue Protocol: Star Resonance has quite the history. Bandai Namco Online shuttered the Japanese version of the anime MMO in early 2025, with Amazon Games' western port biting the dust in August of 2024. It seemed like it was dead and buried, but nine months ago a report confirmed that Shanghai Bokura Network Technology was resurrecting the troubled title, creating a spinoff set in Regnus with similar elements to the original game. Since then there's been a beta test, and now the developer has given it an official launch date - and it's pretty soon.

If you're unfamiliar with Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, let me break it down for you. Part MMO, part anime game, in many ways it's similar to HoYoverse's iconic Genshin Impact, thrusting you into a vibrant fantasy world and tasking you with carving out your own adventures. There's raids and dungeons, loads of loot to collect, and myriad classes to choose from - Beat Performer and Stormblade look absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to try them out.

But the core focus of Blue Protocol is playing with your friends. While Genshin Impact and other HoYoverse titans rely on pulling the right characters and building up synergies, you'll have to enlist your pals and venture out into the world, taking on bosses and diving deep into various dungeons. It feels, to me, like Bokura is trying to emulate the success of Final Fantasy 14, which is well renowned for having a great community, with player-centric riverside firework shows and dance events being all the rage.

Unlike HoYo's games, however, you can fully customize your character, allowing you to "be whoever you wanna be." As someone who spends far too many hours in the character creator, this is music to my ears.

Over 29,000 players checked out the game's beta earlier this year, and the pre-registration rewards claim that over two million people have signed up ahead of launch. There are two milestones left at three million and five million, with the adorable pick up pup reward calling my name. Thankfully, I expect an influx of pre-regs, as Bokura has finally confirmed the Blue Protocol: Star Resonance release date.

After surviving cancellation and being reborn from the ashes, Blue Protocol: Star Resonance will be released on Thursday October 9 in North America, Europe, and South America. It's available on both Steam and the Epic Games Store, and you can wishlist it here.

In the meantime, however, we have a list of all the best free MMOs if you're looking for something new but don't want to splash the cash, as well as well as a rundown of all the best fantasy games if you're looking for something with a similar aesthetic.

Are you excited for Blue Protocol? Let us know on our Discord server, and tell us which class you're planning to play.