Good morning, all!
We’re sure you’re all wondering about the surprise announcement of Bless Unleashed for Xbox One coming in 2019. We know you’ll have a lot of questions surrounding the coexistence of Bless Online and Bless Unleashed. The fact is - they’re two separate games in the same universe. Bless Unleashed is not a port of Bless Online to console.
Rest assured that more information will be available about Bless Unleashed in the near future, and that we’ll have news for you on the launch of Bless Online on Steam in the coming weeks as well.
In the interim, we’d like to answer some common questions about this development.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will development be focused on the console version now?
A: No, the console version will not take any focus away from the Steam version. Our focus is still committed to bringing Steam players the best experience possible for the foreseeable future. There are two completely different dev teams making these games. One is handling Bless Online, the other is handling Bless Unleashed.
Q: Why would this game be made if Bless Online on Steam is still a priority? Does this mean the PC version is now less important?
A: Bless Unleashed is being developed by a completely different team, Round 8 Studio. They are a studio formed for the creation of Bless Unleashed. We also have separate publishing units that focus on each Bless Unleashed (console) and Bless Online (PC). Specifically, Bandai Namco Entertainment America is the publishing partner for Bless Unleashed, while Neowiz Bless Studio self-publishes Bless Online through multiple teams across the world. Bless Online on Steam will be still a priority for their own dedicated team.
Q: How does the team plan to manage the two games at once?
A: We have multiple teams that can focus their attention towards each game, with the console release seeing additional support from our publishing partner. Neowiz Bless Studio and our North American team is managing Bless Online, and Bandai Namco Entertainment America is handling the publishing efforts of Bless Unleashed on Xbox One.
Q: How will the console title be handled differently than Bless Online in Early Access?
A: Again, Bless Online and Bless Unleashed are two unique games, sharing the same IP. Early Access for Bless Online has been an opportunity to learn from the player base and make improvements and adjustments leading up to the full release on Steam. The goal of Early Access on Steam was to help us make the necessary changes to Bless Online to make it ready for the Western full release - which is still planned for this year.
In regards to Bless Unleashed, we look forward to applying much of what was learned and sharing that knowledge with the folks at Round 8 Studio in their quest to make Bless Unleashed as polished and ready for launch as possible in 2019.
Q: The release date of the Bless Online Steam (full launch) hasn’t been announced yet, will Bless Unleashed and Bless Online be released at the same time?
A: While the exact release dates for either game haven’t been announced, we can say that Bless Online will fully launch on Steam later this year, while Bless Unleashed on Xbox One will be launched in 2019.
Q: Why is Bless Unleashed being released so closely after Bless Online?
A: Our decision to make a new game for consoles was made independently of Bless Online’s launch on Steam. Ultimately, we want the Bless IP to thrive in as many places for as many players as possible. Hence, we decided to make a new game for Xbox One owners. It retains the world and style of Bless Online, but is a completely new experience with console players in mind.
Q: How is Bless Unleashed different from Bless Online? How is it a “different game”, other than the use of Unreal Engine 4?
A: Every aspect, from the story to the combat, to the skill progression has been carefully crafted to portray a new console MMORPG experience. Bless Online and Bless Unleashed are completely different games, sharing a similar art style and existing in the same game world. More details on Bless Unleashed will be revealed in the coming weeks.