Following The Cancellation Of Several Games Bandai Namco Has Let Go Number Of Employees

In the wake of industry-leaning hardball strategies, Bandai Namco is cutting its workforce and moving or not moving people in the midst of game cancellations owing to falling demand.

As the owner of the major titles such as Pac-Man and Dragon Ball, Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is also engaging in workforce reduction following the cancelling of some games caused by low demand. Starting from April, approximately 200 of the 1,300 employees at Bandai Namco Studios have been moved into ‘expulsion rooms’ (oidashi beya) – the practice controversially adopted by some Japanese companies to circumvent stringent employment policies – this policy is said to be effective and aims at employees without work-related duties. Consequently, the practice has seen almost 100 employees quit with more expected to follow.

As shocking as it sounds, Bandai Namco claims to affirm that such techniques are inappropriate. A representative of the company explicated: "We do a lot of due diligence when a decision to stop producing a game is made. There isn’t some kind of “expulsion room” where people can gradually detox themselves from belief."

 User activity, especially on mobile and online, has been falling post-COVID-19, and recent three-quarter revenue decreases led the company to fight rising costs.

 The mobile game Tales of the Rays has also been shuttered by Bandai Namco, as well as its sci-fi MMO Blue Protocol, which is to shut down in January. Other projects – including a Naruto game and a One Piece game – are being cancelled or scaled back, much like their competitors.