Get ready for the arrival of a new game for esports.
Gundam is a franchise that has survived for so long and has also been successfully adapted to various media, including video games. Even so, Bandai Namco seems to still see an opportunity to expand Gundam to enter into esports.
This was announced at the First Gundam Conference in Tokyo. Bandai Namco's Chief Gundam Officer, Koji Fujiwara discussed the future of the franchise and how to strengthen it.
From several plans including expanding sales of gunpla toys and also releasing a live-action film, Bandai Namco mentioned about an esports competition that will be named GGGP (Gundam Game Grand Prix).
This competition is actually still under development by Bandai Namco. Initially, this competition will use the Gundam EXTREME VS game. The actual Maxi Boost On has been in arcades since 2010 and has entered the realm of esports. The PlayStation 4 version released in 2016 (Japan)/2020 (Worldwide) will even enter the secondary Evo 2021 tournament.
Going forward, Bandai is also targeting the development of this competition into a global esports event that will focus its focus on North America. The variant of the Gundam game that will be contested will also be expanded to Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2 (PlayStation 5/PlayStation 4) and also Gundam Breaker Mobile (iOS/Android).
In addition to the titles that have been released, Bandai Namco also said that they will develop a new Gundam title specifically for esports competitions. Fujiawara also asked fans to wait for further information.
The Gundam game with the PvP (Player-versus-player) concept has actually been tried several times by Bandai Namco before. One of them is New Gundam Breaker which was released in 2018. But unfortunately this game received a less positive response from the fans.
This time is not Bandai Namco's first attempt to work on a game that was prepared for esports. Although previously the majority of esports games they made were fighting games (Tekken, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Soul Calibur 6).
The presence of the next-gen console actually also provides an opportunity for Bandai Namco to develop a completely new Gundam game with graphics, gameplay, and even mechanics that are really prepared as a competitive game.
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