Bandai Namco Entertainment has a new Gundam game on the way, and it is trying something the series has never done before. Gundam Blitz Order was announced earlier this week (October 15th) as an "RPG-style idle simulation" for iOS and Android, making it the first idle game in the franchise's history. Along with the reveal, Bandai Namco opened applications for a network test that runs next month, and players in the United States and England are eligible to sign up.
The game is free-to-play with in-app purchases, and its official site notes that those purchases include loot boxes. There is no release date yet. Check out the English announcement trailer below:
How An Idle Gundam Game Works
The development team laid out the idea in its first Dev Notes blog post on the official site. "With Gundam Blitz Order, we're taking on a new challenge for Gundam games by developing the series' first idle game," the team wrote. It describes the game as one where players collect and strengthen mobile suit units, raise their combat power, and build formations around how each unit fights.
The team also made a pitch to players who have never touched the genre. "While some players may be new to the idle game genre, it offers unique benefits that help reduce the burden of gameplay," the post reads, pointing to upgrade materials that are collected automatically so players can progress more easily.
That automatic side is one of two battle modes. In the idle mode, your squads fight on their own around the clock and gather upgrade materials over time. Those materials pile up for as long as 24 hours, so logging in once a day is enough to claim everything without losing any. You can assign any Mobile Suits you own to these squads, and the number of squads you can deploy grows as you progress, which also raises how much you earn.
Materials are spent to level up your whole roster at once instead of one unit at a time. The official site says this means newly acquired units can be thrown straight into battle without a long grind to catch them up.
Classes, Formations, And EX Skills
The second mode is where players actually take control. Every unit belongs to one of six classes: Guardian, Striker, Assault, Artillery, Sniper, and Support. The original Gundam is a Guardian, a defensive class built to take hits head-on and protect the rest of the team. Artillery units hit hard but cannot take much punishment, so the developers suggest keeping them back from the enemy, and some of them can hit several targets along a line of fire if they are lined up well.
Assault units charge straight at specific targets, while Support units heal allies and hand out buffs. Before each fight, players pick which units to bring and where to place them on the battlefield, and the team says some situations will also call for thinking about how your lineup matches up against the enemy's.
Each unit also has its own skills, led by EX Skills, which can be fired off once enough time has passed in a battle. They can be triggered by hand or set to auto, and the setting can be switched mid-fight. Every EX Skill gets its own visual effect built around that unit's traits. Mobile Suits, warships, and Mobile Armors from across the Mobile Suit Gundam series are all part of the roster, and the official site also mentions boss battles, warship escort missions, unit development, and collecting iconic items from the series. The Japanese press release adds that some content will have players competing against each other.
How To Join The Network Test
Applications opened the same day as the announcement and close later this month (October 26th at 11:59 a.m. JST, which is 10:59 p.m. EDT on October 25th). The test itself runs next month, from November 18th at 2:00 p.m. JST to November 24th at 1:59 p.m. JST. For players in the US, that works out to midnight EST on November 18th through 11:59 p.m. EST on November 23rd. The official Gundam Blitz Order account shared the sign-up link:
Spots are limited. The English test has room for 500 participants, and if more people apply than that, Bandai Namco will pick testers itself. The terms say it may choose based on the knowledge of and passion for Gundam that applicants show on the form, so it is worth filling that part out properly. Selected players will be emailed starting November 13th. Japan has its own test with 2,500 spots, and the game also has Korean and Traditional Chinese sites.
There are a few more rules to know. The email you apply with has to match your Apple ID or Google account, and it cannot be changed later. Android players need Android 16 or newer with at least 6GB of RAM, while iPhone players need an iPhone XS or later on iOS 16 or newer with at least 4GB of RAM, plus the TestFlight app. iPads and tablets are not supported. The test build only has part of the full game, including fewer units, you cannot buy in-game currency, and progress will not carry over to launch. Testers are allowed to post screenshots and videos as long as they follow Bandai Namco's game commentary policy.
Are you applying for the Gundam Blitz Order network test, or is an idle game the last thing you wanted from the Gundam series?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.