Upcoming MMORPG Blue Protocol now has a Japanese release date, but there's bad news in store if you're in the West and you're excited for it. The game is launching in Japan on June 14th on PC, but in the West, where it's also slated to arrive on consoles, it's now not coming until 2024.
This news comes via a recent Blue Protocol live stream, which was held earlier today. During the stream, the game's producers discuss Blue Protocol at length, delving into details around gameplay, story, and more. They also reveal the Japanese release date for the game and the Western delay. The stream is in Japanese, but you can check it out here if you like.
Blue Protocol was originally slated to arrive in the West in the latter half of 2023, but it's now set for sometime in 2024. Unfortunately, we don't have any more specific release date for the game on Western shores than that, so it looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer to get your hands on this gorgeous-looking anime MMO.
It's not all bad news, though. Following the Japanese Blue Protocol network test earlier this year, Bandai Namco says a closed beta test for PC will be held in the West sometime this year. We don't have dates for that beta just yet, either, but it's nice that you'll potentially get the chance to try Blue Protocol out in 2023, even if you won't get the full game.
Blue Protocol lands in Japan on June 14th and in the West sometime in 2024. When it arrives, it'll let you play through the main story up to chapter 3 and cap your level at 50. It'll also offer five different playable classes: the melee-focused Blade Warden, the dual-wielding Twin Striker, the ranger-like Keen Strider, the sorcerous Spell Weaver, and the heavy-duty Foe Breaker.
We've already gotten fairly in-depth glimpses of the game's impressive character creation process, action-RPG gameplay, and beautifully-rendered anime opening cutscene (complete with a song by none other than legendary Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel). Hopefully, those things should tide you over until the eventual Blue Protocol Western release.
