The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has tried almost every kind of game over the past four decades, but it has never had an idle game until now. Bandai Namco Entertainment revealed Gundam Blitz Order earlier this week (October 15th), a free-to-play mobile title for iOS and Android that pulls Mobile Suits, warships, and Mobile Armors from across the series into one roster. The reveal came with a key visual, a trailer on the official GUNDAM CHANNEL INTL YouTube channel, and an open call for network testers.
Here is the announcement from the game's official X account, which shared the key visual:
Building A Squad From Across The Series
The hook for anime fans is the roster. The official site promises units from across the Mobile Suit Gundam series, and the game is built around collecting them, powering them up, and putting together your own squad. Each unit has its own abilities, traits, and EX Skills, and the developers say every EX Skill gets a unique visual effect designed around that unit's characteristics. Outside of combat, there is also room to develop Mobile Suits and collect iconic items from the series.
Every unit falls into one of six classes: Guardian, Striker, Assault, Artillery, Sniper, and Support. The development team's first Dev Notes post uses the Gundam itself as its example, placing it in the Guardian class, a defensive role that takes enemy fire head-on so the rest of the team can do its job. Artillery units bring heavy firepower but are fragile, Assault units rush specific targets, and Support units heal and buff allies.
Check out the trailer below:
A Gundam Game That Plays While You Are Away
The developers know idle games are new ground for the franchise. "With Gundam Blitz Order, we're taking on a new challenge for Gundam games by developing the series' first idle game," the team wrote on the official site, adding, "We hope many players will enjoy this new take on a Gundam game."
In practice, one battle mode runs on its own at all times. Your squads keep fighting and collecting upgrade materials for up to 24 hours, so a single check-in each day is enough to grab everything. Those materials level up every unit at once, which means a newly acquired Mobile Suit can join the front line right away. The other mode asks players to pick their units, place them on the field, and decide when to fire off EX Skills, though those can also be set to trigger automatically. Boss battles and warship escort missions are planned, and the Japanese press release mentions content where players compete against each other. The game is free-to-play, and the official site notes its in-app purchases include loot boxes.
Network Test Details
Fans in the United States and England can apply for the English network test until later this month (October 26th at 11:59 a.m. JST). The test runs next month, from November 18th to November 24th, and has 500 spots, with Bandai Namco choosing testers if there are more applicants. The terms say selection may take into account the knowledge of and passion for Gundam that applicants show on the form. Japan gets its own test with 2,500 spots, and results go out by email starting November 13th.
Testers will need a recent phone, since Android devices must run Android 16 or newer with 6GB of RAM and iPhones must be an iPhone XS or later on iOS 16 or newer with 4GB of RAM. The test version has fewer units than the full release, in-game currency cannot be bought, and none of the progress carries over to launch. No release date has been announced yet.
A Busy Stretch For Gundam
Blitz Order lands while the franchise is gearing up for its next big anime. Mobile Suit Gundam RG XARX-ZERO, a new TV series directed and written by Kenji Kamiyama with animation by SOLA ANIMATION, launches in Japan and North America in April 2027. It shares a universe with the action game Gundam Rogue Orbit, which arrives on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and Steam on March 5th, 2027, as part of the new RG Project. Blitz Order is aimed at a different kind of fan, the one who wants a pocket-sized hangar of favorites that keeps working while they are away. The copyright line on the game credits Sunrise, the studio that launched the franchise with the original series in 1979.
Would you rather see Blitz Order lean on classic Universal Century units, or do you want the alternate universe series like SEED and The Witch from Mercury front and center?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.