Recently, Bandai Namco disclosed that it has altered its development structure and scrapped five games that were in production. Five titles that were under production have been canceled as a result of Bandai Namco’s recent announcement in an earnings report that it has revised its internal standards for assessing the quality of its games, according to IGN’s translation. As games have grown more expensive and time-consuming to produce, Bandai said, there are now tougher guidelines governing which titles get to move forward in development.
Publisher’s Digital Sector Faces Sharp Decline in Income and SalesTop of Form
The publisher reported that its digital sector, which mostly sells video games, had a 96.5% decline in income and an 8.9% decline in net sales during its third fiscal quarter, which concluded in December.
The publisher released a statement regarding the numbers, stating that although Armored Core 6 was popular Dragon Ball and One Piece games were still steady in Japan. Abroad, one of the primary causes of the significant decline in profit was Elden Ring’s high sales during the previous fiscal year, which haven’t been matched by another title this year.
It also mentioned that a loss on disposal from an assessment of its development process suggested that certain projects had been canceled. They continued,
“In the digital business, in addition to valuation losses related to new online game titles and other titles introduced this fiscal year, we recorded a loss on disposal due to a review of title organization with a view to the next mid-term plan.”
“In the future, we will build an optimal and well-balanced title portfolio, examine our development system carefully, and strengthen development with an emphasis on quality.”
Bandai Namco’s Strategic Shift: Cancels Projects, Emphasizes Quality, and Focuses on Key Titles
In addition, Bandai Namco stated that it is still developing the Elden Ring DLC and has additional Dragon Ball games in the works. Bandai Namco attributed its poor financial performance to underperforming titles during a call with investors following the company’s report. Blue Protocol, an MMORPG that Bandai co-published with Amazon Games, is probably one of them. Although it was launched in Japan the previous year, other countries have yet to see it.
During a second round of questions and answers, a representative for Bandai Namco revealed that “at least five other titles under development” had also been canceled in addition to the decision to stop supporting “online games and other products subject to this disposal” (VGC).
Stricter standards for proceeding with development have been introduced, according to Bandai Namco, which also stated that it plans to create an optimal and well-balanced title portfolio in the next years with an emphasis on quality. As it looks for methods to optimize releases despite longer production periods, the business stated that this may include strategic worldwide titles and casual titles for light users.
Conversely, Bandai Namco reported that Tekken 8 had sold over two million copies and anticipated continued game sales over the following fiscal year. Other projects that Bandai Namco presently has planned for 2024 include Sand Land and Little Nightmares 3. Dragon Ball: Sparkling and Directive 8020: The Dark Pictures Anthology There are no release dates for Zero.
