It has been a year of remarkable collaborations in the gaming industry, with Konami and FIFA most notably joining hands to host this year’s edition of the FIFAe World Cup. Recently, another announcement was made byBandai Namco Holdings, one of the gaming industry’s biggest giants, about their future. It announced on November 20 that its two main subsidiaries in the gaming space,Bandai Namco Entertainmentand Bandai Namco Online, will be merging on Jul 05, 2025.
While the former is generally in charge of publishing video games, the latter was created in 2012, tasked with creating online games, and is responsible for popular franchises likeGundam. This decision comes in response to the various challenges the subsidiaries faced this year as the company aims to streamline its operations.
Bandai Namco’s Tough Year Birthed the Need for a Change of Operations
The 2024 calendar year has been anything but smooth sailing for Bandai Namco Entertainment, with the company getting caught in several controversies. Earlier in the year,Bandai Namco cancelled a slew of upcoming games, including high-profile projects with Nintendo, as well as letting go of a significant portion of its staff. This was followed by a report from Bloomberg that claimed Bandai Namco Entertainment was utilizing “oidashi beya” tactics to get its staff to resign instead of laying them off in a bid to avoid paying severance packages.
These tactics involve deploying targeted staff to unimportant work and excluding them from bigger activities, leaving them unproductive until they decide to leave the company. About 100 Bandai Namco staff are said to have resigned in this manner since April. Despite the controversy from Bloomberg’s brief, the success ofDragon Ball: Sparking ZeroandTekken 8meant Bandai Namco Entertainment pulled through in a far more advantageous position than its sister subsidiary, Bandai Namco Online.
While Bandai Namco Entertainment is coming off the back ofDragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s remarkable sales numbersof three million copies on its first day, Bandai Namco Online was recently forced to cancel the global release of its next big anime MMORPGBlue Protocoldue to disappointing reception metrics in the Japanese market. The subsidiary had invested more than 8.2 billion yen (about $51 million) into the discarded IP, constituting a heavy loss on its books. The failed project is merely the latest in a worrying string of events, as something similar occurred in 2023 withGundam Evolution.
Although the team shooter initially enjoyed a successful launch, it could not hold a consistent player base despite peaking at 57,000 concurrent players on Steam, leaving the publisher with few options but to shut down its servers. WithBlue Protocolset to suffer the same fate in January 2025and in the face of ending another fiscal year with losses, concerns have been raised about Bandai Namco Online’s viability to stand alone as an independent entity.
The Details Behind The Bandai Namco Merger
Bandai Namco Holdings, the parent company of the two giants, decided it would be best to employ an absorption-type merger. This means thatBandai Namco Online will be dissolved, and its liabilities, customer contracts, and assets, including existing intellectual properties, will be transferred to Bandai Namco Entertainment. According to the announcement by Bandai Namco Holdings on their official website, the purpose of the merger is to “respond to the recent changes in the game business environment and to strengthen the overall structure of the digital business sector".
The parent company has also expressed confidence that this consolidation will allow it to continue delivering high-quality games that meet fan expectations and that Bandai Namco Entertainment will do a great job managingtitles likeGundam Tribe,SD Gundam Operations, andIdolish7once the merger takes place in 2025. Hopefully it can meet these expectations.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
WHERE TO PLAY
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO takes the legendary gameplay of the Budokai Tenkaichi series and raises it to whole new levels. Become a super warrior and experience the earth-shaking, limit-breaking power of DRAGON BALL battles!Unleash the strength of over 180 fighters from DRAGON BALL Z, DRAGON BALL Super, DRAGON BALL GT, and selected DRAGON BALL movies, all in the base game! Each character comes with their own signature abilities, transformations, and techniques.Make the destructive power of the strongest fighters ever to appear in DRAGON BALL yours!Engage in heart-pounding, high-speed 3D battles that stay true to the anime and video game series, with breathtaking visuals and authentic combat moves like beam clashes, rush attacks, movements too quick for the eyes to see, and planet-razing ultimate attacks.Challenge other players online to test your skills, or sit down with friends offline to hone your skills exclusively in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Fight your way to become a champion across various tournament modes and victory conditions.Conquer the action-packed battles from the beloved original story, or discover and unlock new encounters for your favorite Z-Fighters and more. Relive your favorite moments from the series through cutscenes you can experience from the perspectives of eight characters!Recreate your favorite battles from throughout the DRAGON BALL story, or set up your dream story battle with your favorite characters! Share your creations with other fans and experience the battles brought to life by imaginations around the world.
