Bandai Namco Reportedly Sending Staff to ‘Expulsion Rooms’ Where They Have Nothing to Do After Canceling Multiple Games, Including a Mystery Nintendo Project
Japanese game company Bandai Namco is reportedly sending staff to “expulsion rooms” where they have nothing to do after a number of projects were canceled, including one said to be for Nintendo.
Bloomberg reported that Bandai Namco, which publishes the multi-million selling Elden Ring, Tekken 8, and, most recently, the three million-selling Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, is cutting its workforce after canceling “several” games “due to lackluster demand.”
The report also alleges Bandai Namco is sending workers to “oidashi beya,” or “expulsion rooms,” where they’re given nothing to do. This, Bloomberg alleged, is “putting pressure on them to leave voluntarily.”
According to the site, Bandai Namco Studios Inc. (the video game development division of Bandai Namco) has moved about 200 of its roughly 1,300 employees to expulsion rooms and nearly 100 have resigned, with more expected to leave in the coming months.
Japan has strict labor-protection laws that make it harder to cut staff than in other countries, such as the U.S. Expulsion rooms are therefore sometimes used by companies to drive staff to become so disheartened that they resign voluntarily, and thus are ineligible for severance they would normally receive had they been made redundant.
In a statement given to Bloomberg, Bandai Namco denied pressuring staff to leave voluntarily, but did confirm the cancelation of games in development, and revealed some employees are now waiting to work on their next project.
“Our decisions to discontinue games are based on comprehensive assessments of the situation,” Bandai Namco said. “Some employees may need to wait a certain amount of time before they are assigned 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 reports that Bandai Namco has suffered financially in much the same way other video game companies have post-pandemic, with big losses coming from write-downs tied to game cancelations. It alleged that Bandai Namco has recently stopped development on games that feature characters from Naruto and One Piece, “as well as a project commissioned by Nintendo Co.” This mystery canceled Nintendo game was not named.
Bandai Namco Studios has for a number of years developed games for Nintendo, including exclusives Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Pokkén Tournament, and New Pokémon Snap. In November 2023, Bandai Namco announced the team it had set up to do contract development for Nintendo as Bandai Namco Studio 2 & Studio S, promising more to come.
On the studio’s new website, a statement read: “Bandai Namco Studio 2 & Studio S has been a studio specializing in contracted development projects. We have cooperated in the development of many world-class titles, such as Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Kart Tour.
“As a group of professionals who do not compromise on quality, we will continue to produce world-class titles in the future. We are looking forward to the participation of highly motivated creators.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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