It is not clear when Tencent will debut Blue Protocol’s mobile game, which could take a year or more for development. The PC edition of the game launched in Japan in June. A Bandai Namco spokesman declined to comment, while representatives for Tencent did not respond to requests for comment.
In its first week, the game attracted 600,000 players – including 200,000 simultaneous connections at its peak – marking the fastest launch for any Bandai Namco domestic PC online game, the Japanese firm said. Amazon.com’s games division is set to launch the game in Western markets next year across PC, PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
Tencent over recent years has made inroads in Japan’s guarded entertainment industry, scooping up slices of prominent local studios behind smash hits including Elden Ring and Nier: Automata. The Shenzhen-based company also launched mobile games based on established brands like Pokémon and Naruto for the Chinese and global markets.
China’s US$40 billion gaming market – the world’s largest – shrank for the first time in 2022 during regulatory and economic turmoil. At the same time, Tencent barely grew its revenue, fighting a tough battle against fiercely competitive domestic rivals.
