“Several” Bandai Namco Entertainment games have been canceled and the company’s staff is being reduced, according to a new report. Bloomberg claims that Bandai Namco is encouraging staff to resign voluntarily as it struggles with lackluster sales.
Which Bandai Namco games have been canceled?
Bloomberg claims to have spoken to sources familiar with Bandai Namco’s plans, who told the publication that development on several console and mobile games has either been paused or canceled entirely. One of the affected projects was a Nintendo game, and two of them are reportedly projects based on the Naruto and One Piece franchises.
While Bandai Namco hasn’t denied that it’s cutting its workforce or canceling games, the company has denied that it’s pressuring staff to resign. “Our decisions to discontinue games are based on comprehensive assessments of the situation,” reads a statement provided to Bloomberg. “Some employees may need to wait a certain amount of time before they are assigned their next project, but we do move forward with assignments as new projects emerge.”
The report doesn’t state which games have underperformed, but recently, Bandai Namco shut down MMO Blue Protocol, canceling its Western release in the process. It also shut down mobile game Tales of the Rays.