Tencent Holdings has reportedly acquired the global rights to develop and publish the mobile version of Bandai Namco's Blue Protocol, aiming to fuel its international growth. Although the plans are not public, insiders say Tencent has already assembled a development team for the much-anticipated project.
Blue Protocol debuted on PCs in Japan last June and quickly became a hit. The game blends anime-style characters with an engaging fantasy world, echoing the design choices of Bandai Namco's popular Tales series. Within its first week, Blue Protocol racked up 600,000 players, setting a new record for the fastest launch of any Bandai Namco domestic PC online game.
Tencent has secured the rights to develop and publish the mobile edition of Bandai Namco’s Blue Protocol as it looks to court Japan’s top anime and manga houses https://t.co/3eDDV0AcUC
— Bloomberg (@business) September 12, 2023
Tencent is no stranger to adapting big franchises for mobile; it has already seen success with titles like Call of Duty and PUBG. With Blue Protocol's free-to-play model and in-game purchases, Tencent aims to emulate the success of its own League of Legends. The mobile version of the game doesn't have a release date yet, but given the complexity, it could be a year or more in development.
This move by Tencent comes amid a challenging time for the company. China's video gaming market, the largest globally, contracted for the first time in 2022. Tencent's growth has stagnated as a result, leading the company to expand its interests in foreign markets like Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Source: Bloomberg