Bandai Namco Reportedly Axed One Piece & Naruto Involved Projects And Also Cutting Down Their Workforce

Bandai Namco is being the subject of reports that the Japanese publisher is cancelling a number of projects from key franchises such as Naruto & One Piece as well as cutting down their workforce. According to a report by Bloomberg, Bandai Namco is cutting its workforce after canceling “several” games “due to lackluster demand.”

The report also claims that Bandai Namco has been sending employees to “oidashi beya,” or “expulsion rooms,” where they are given no tasks, effectively pressuring them to resign voluntarily. Around 200 of the company’s 1,300 employees have reportedly been moved to these rooms, and nearly 100 have already resigned, with more voluntary departures expected in the coming months.

Oidashi Beya is a practice used by Japanese corporations to isolate employees by giving them no tasks, in an effort to get them to leave of their own volition, rather than be let go and receive severance.

In a statement to Bloomberg, the publisher have denied allegations of pressuring staff to leave voluntarily but confirmed the cancellation of games in development.

A Bandai Namco representative told Bloomberg, “Our decisions to discontinue games are based on comprehensive assessments of the situation.” The representative also added, “Some employees may need to wait a certain amount of time before they are assigned to their next project, but we do move forward with assignments as new projects emerge.” “There is no organization like an ‘oidashi beya’ at Bandai Namco Studios designed to pressure people to leave voluntarily.”

Bloomberg also reports that the publisher has faced financial challenges post-pandemic, with losses tied to canceled games. The company reportedly stopped development on projects featuring Naruto and One Piece characters, as well as an unnamed Nintendo-commissioned game. But they’re no stranger to helping out Nintendo as for several years, they have developed games for Nintendo, with exclusives like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokkén Tournament.

On a side note, Bandai Namco’s latest release, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, developed by Spike Chunsoft, saw impressive initial sales, surpassing 3 million units sold worldwide within 24 hours of its launch, according to the publisher.

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