Bandai Namco is Working On Its Own Game Engine

Bandai Namco is known for making all kinds of games, and now it's working on a new in-house game engine to bring them to life.


Published: February 3, 2022 3:02 PM /

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Bandai Namco New Game Engine cover

Bandai Namco Entertainment is working on its own in-house game engine, although it will continue to use Unity and Unreal Engine for some of its titles.

A lot of games come out from Bandai Namco Entertainment these days, and they're rarely ordinary; its titles range from the cinematic experience of The Dark Pictures games to the high-flying action of Ace Combat and everything in-between. And lest we forget, this company is known for loads of anime-styled games like Dragon Ball Z: KakarotNi No Kuni 2, and others.

Bandai Namco's been in the biz for a long time and it doesn't shy away from technological innovation, either. Guilty Gear Strive, for example, notably included rollback netcode -- something that other developers will shy away from implementing due to the technical challenges involved. Bandai Namco is continuing its efforts to innovate with the reveal that it's working on a new in-house game engine.

Bandai Namco New Game Engine slice

What We Know About the Bandai Namco Game Engine

First and foremost, the new Bandai Namco game engine will focus on "high-end consumer titles" according to a new interview with Japanese gaming site Automaton (via ResetEra). Simply put, it's developing this new engine using its big, blockbuster titles as a framework.

On a technical level, this new game engine aims to separate the editor, engine runtime, and asset manager into independent modules that would be insulated from any crashes, preventing a loss of data if something goes awry while a developer is tinkering with a game in development. This also has the advantage of shifting away from the C# language the editor is built into if the landscape of game development changes.

Notably, the work on Bandai Namco's new game engine is being headed up by Julien Merceron, the former director of Konami's Fox Engine. Merceron joined Bandai Namco back in 2015.

Despite this new project, the company isn't shying away from using the best tool for the job. This new engine isn't really designed for mobile games just yet, and Bandai Namco will continue to use Unity or Unreal Engine 5 depending on the needs for developing each individual game.

Bandai Namco's game engine has been in development since 2018 and there are more than 50 people currently involved in the project. The one thing we don't yet know, however, is what upcoming game will be the first to leverage this new technology. For now, you can look forward to the company's next title Elden Ring launching in just a few short weeks; you can pre-purchase Elden Ring via its official website starting at $59.99 or your regional equivalent.

What do you think of Bandai Namco developing its own game engine? What's your favorite recent release from the company? Let us know in the comments below!

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One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N