If the embed is shot down over Jaburo, the announcement trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTdVcrrSK1w
Gundam has never been short of giant robots hitting each other, and Bandai Namco has just announced a new place for them to do it. Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 3 was revealed yesterday during the Gundam Games 40th Anniversary live stream. It is a free-to-play team battler for PS5 and Steam, with crossplay between the two, and it replaces Battle Operation 2, which has been running since 2018. That’s quite a long tour of duty, even by the standards of the One Year War.
Ranked matches stay at six against six, while custom matches stretch to nine a side. The big change is in the suits. For the first time, the series goes beyond the Universal Century timeline, with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED machines joining at launch. The trailer shows off the four-legged BuCUE. Bandai Namco says two or three more alternate-universe series will follow in the first year, so the arguments in the comments about which timeline is canon are about to get a lot longer.
The other new idea is that pilots can now climb out of their mobile suits and fight on foot, planting bombs at enemy bases, calling in support fire and capturing points. It is a very Gundam touch. The franchise has always been interested in the squishy human inside the very expensive armour, usually at the moment that human has a nervous breakdown. Every suit also gets an SP Skill, which charges over time and when you deal or take damage, and there is a “Battle Assist” option to simplify combos for those of us whose reflexes are more Ball than Gundam. A social hub called Base Camp rounds things off.
Bad news for veterans: there are no plans to run Battle Operation 2 and 3 side by side, and suits from the old game won’t carry over. Bandai Namco has promised some bonus rewards based on Battle Operation 2 achievements, with details to come. Japanese players who are currently playing the old game can apply for network tests on 20th and 22nd November, with ten suits and two maps. There is no release date or wider test for the rest of us yet.
The Steam page’s pitch is simple: “Enlist as a mercenary, pilot legendary mobile suits, and fight together to conquer the battlefield.” Since it’s free, the only thing the game is likely to cost you is your evenings, and, if the history of Gundam merchandising is anything to go by, a few model kits along the way.
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