- Bandai Namco is reportedly forcing employees to resign as a way to reduce its workforce.
- Multiple projects, including Naruto, One Piece, and a Nintendo project, have been scrapped.
- The company says it isn’t forcing the employees and that the cancelation is a researched move.
As the uncertainty in the industry continues, Bandai Namco seems to be the next big name reducing its workforce. According to a new report, instead of laying off, Bandai is taking the traditional Japanese route and pressurizing the employees to leave on their own.
Why it matters: Despite marking a successful year with launches like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Bandai is reportedly canceling a bunch of projects in development and reducing the head count.
As reported by Bloomberg, Bandai Namco is moving its workers to separate rooms where they don’t have anything to work on, pressurizing them to resign as a consequence. As of now, over 200 workers have been moved to these rooms, leading to 100 resignations.
Our decisions to discontinue games are based on comprehensive assessments of the situation.
In addition, they have also reportedly canceled some of their future projects. Bandai Namco was tipped to be working on games featuring Naturo and One Piece, which now might have been scraped as part of their process. A Nintendo contract project may also fail to see the light of the day.
A Bandai representative talked to Bloomberg about the situation and said that they are not ‘Oidashi beya.’ This is the term used for moving employees to different rooms and stripping them of any work leading to them resigning from their positions.
He further stated that the cancelation of the projects was a well-thought-out move, taking into account the current industry. However, it is really sad that these games won’t come out, especially after the solid work Bandai has done with Sparking Zero.
Do you think Bandai Namco is intentionally forcing the employees out of the company? Let us know your opinions in the comments or join the discussion at the official Tech4Gamers Forum.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.