‘Gundam Battle Operation 2’ is a more tactical mecha game.
Following the game’s success on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Gundam Battle Operation 2 will be released via Steam this later this year, but we also have some network tests to look forward to in April.
Ostensibly, an online free-to-play third-person action multiplayer game, the Gundam Battle Operation series has partly evolved from games like Gundam Senki 0081 on the PlayStation3. Originally sharing the same engine, these are slower paced and more tactical mecha games.
Naturally, Gundam fans tend to love this approach but it’s definitely not for everybody. That said, these games are very popular in Japan have also won a fair few awards over the years, with Gundam Battle Operation 2 having won the PlayStation Partner Award two years running.
The original Gundam Battle Operation was released on the PlayStation 3 back in 2012 and ran for 5 years. It was followed by Gundam Battle Operation Next in 2015 on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, but that game was sadly mostly terrible.
That resulted in the creation of Gundam Battle Operation 2 on the PlayStation 4 in 2019, with a PlayStation 5 version released last year. So the news of a PC release makes a lot of sense, especially as Bandai Namco is now testing the PC waters with upcoming games like Gundam Evolution as well.
Anyway, if you go over to the Steam page for Gundam Battle Operation 2, the details on the upcoming network tests are all laid out.
The first test will be from April 14 to 17 and the second test from April 21 to 24. So that should give people plenty of time to check out the game and hopefully help Bandai Namco sort out stability issues with the netcode.
This is especially important as Japan’s internet speed is incredibly fast and consistent across the country, whereas in the West this is not often the case. So these network tests are pretty crucial for online games that get an international release.
Finally, it’s also worth pointing out that while the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of Gundam Battle Operation 2 offer cross-play, the PC version will be standalone in that regard, which is unfortunate.
So if you like your mecha games to be more tactical and considered, then Gundam Battle Operation 2 might be worth a look.
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