See Blue Protocol's animated opening sequence

Bandai Namco Online wants players in Japan to take a closer look at its upcoming MMORPG heavy, Blue Protocol. To that end, it has uploaded the full animated opening sequence for the game for all to gawp at.

Check it out below. Be warned, though, it foreshadows what look to be some major story moments. Players who want to go in completely fresh when the game launches later this year may wish to pass on viewing the video.

The Blue Protocol animated opening features the song "Mirai" by the band L'Arc~en~Ciel. Though players will be creating their own character to participate in the story, Blue Protocol includes a named cast and a fairly involved main story. The warrior Carvain appears prominently throughout the trailer, as do characters like the adventurer Jake, the rascally Feste (an early player companion), and the aspiring diva Charlotte.

Developed by Bandai Namco Online and published by Amazon Games, Blue Protocol is headed to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in the second half of 2023 in Japan. An international release is planned but has no specified release window as of yet. A series of delays pushed back a planned closed Network Test in Japan, though it went live from March 31 through April 2, 2023. Bandai Namco will report insights from the test at a later date.

Blue Protocol is in development. You can also try downloading a benchmarking program that includes the in-game character creator.