Bless Unleashed

Bless Unleashed launched on Xbox One in March 2020 (Early Access via paid Founders Packs), PS4 in October 2020, and PC via Steam in August 2021—a free-to-play reboot of the catastrophically bad Bless Online that tried to salvage the IP's reputation. Developed by Round 8 Studios and published by Bandai Namco, it was "standard fare for an Asian MMO brought to Western shores"—pretty, vast, but lacking polish. The PC version hit 76,000 concurrent players and 1 million downloads in its first week, impressive for a F2P MMO. Steam reviews settled at 63% positive (Mixed), with critics calling it "a good backup MMO to play" with "no pay-to-win" in the cash shop. StreamerHouse's 389-viewer peak in 2020 captured initial curiosity, but the game "struggled to maintain a stable player base" despite regular updates. Set in the "enchanting realm of Lumios," Bless Unleashed featured action combat, impressive visuals, and "surprisingly deep customization," but it was "a decent enough free-to-play MMORPG" that never escaped the shadow of Bless Online's 2018 disaster. Bandai Namco shut down NA/EU servers on November 30, 2022 after two years, ending the Bless saga for good. The lesson? You can't reboot a franchise when the original poisoned the well beyond recovery.