Two subsidiaries of Japanese entertainment juggernaut Bandai Namco, namely Bandai Namco Entertainment and Bandai Namco Online, will merge in April 2025, with the former company being the sole survivor of the upcoming consolidation. Born out of a merger between legendary toy manufacturer Bandai and multimedia giant Namco, Bandai Namco owns many popular Japanese franchises, including Dark Souls, Gundam, and The Idolmaster.

Bandai Namco Entertainment is the branch of the Bandai Namco group that primarily handles video games. A separate company dedicated to developing online experiences, the aptly named Bandai Namco Online, was spun off from Bandai Namco Entertainment in 2012 and has released a variety of titles since. However, following some recent high-profile failures, including the complete collapse of the MMORPG Blue Protocol, it has been revealed that Bandai Namco Online will soon be dissolved and re-incorporated into Bandai Namco Entertainment.

Bandai Namco Issues Message to Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Leaker Streaming the Game

Ahead of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero's early access play period, Bandai Namco issues a message to a streamer who is leaking the game.

In a November 20 notice that was released on Bandai Namco Online's official website, it was announced that the company would be absorbed by Bandai Namco Entertainment on April 1, 2025. This move supposedly aims to respond to recent changes in the gaming industry and strengthen the management system for the business's digital side. Active Bandai Namco Online games such as the long-running mobile rhythm gameIdolish7 and the browser-based RPG SD Gundam Operations will continue to be run by Bandai Namco Entertainment, which will also inherit all customer contracts and liabilities from its sister company, according to the merger notice.

Bandai Namco Entertainment to Absorb Bandai Namco Online in April 2025

Bandai Namco Online also developed the free-to-play Gundam Evolution team shooter, which ended its service in November 2023. While the title reached a peak of close to 57,000 concurrent players on Steam, according to data provided by analytics tracker SteamDB, it was unable to maintain a healthy base of gamers in the long run. On OpenCritic, where Gundam Evolution enjoys an average score of 72, many praised the shooter's gameplay mechanics, but also criticized its slow progression system.

The announcement of Bandai Namco Online's impending dissolution comes after Bloomberg reported in October that Bandai Namco had already started to cut its workforce and cancel titles amid plateauing consumer demand. More than 14,000 people in the video game industry have been laid off in 2024, according to a publicly available tally maintained by journalist Mike Straw.

Among this year's launches under the Bandai Namco umbrella were Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, Gundam Breaker 4, and Tekken 8. Bandai Namco Entertainment is set to release Fate/EXTRA Record, Little Nightmares 3, and Synduality: Echo of Ada in 2025.