Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced that it will cease operating the online service of the PvPvE extraction shooter Synduality: Echo of Ada in May 2027. The game will switch to an offline-only mode; at the same time, players will be able to transfer some save data and purchased items to a special PvE mode.
After the update scheduled for October 2026, the Synduality online service will no longer receive new updates. Syn Coins, the game’s premium currency, will be available for purchase until December 17th. There should be a data transfer feature coming in December that will allow you to save some of your progress for the offline version; details will be announced later.
The official date for Synduality to shut down its online service and transition to an offline version will be announced in March 2027. After this transition, all network features of the current version will no longer be available.
Synduality was released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows (Steam) in January 2025, and had 3,622 online players on Steam at its peak (according to SteamDB). The game has been criticized for its pay-to-play model, lack of content, and harsh PvP gameplay (typical of the extraction type, where character death results in loss of equipment, and equipment balance has drawn criticism).
However, the move to an offline mode with purely PvE gameplay seems to be exciting for many Japanese fans. Since many players were dissatisfied with the PvP portion, especially being killed by other users and thus losing their favorite mechs, the rejection of future PvP made some of them consider returning to the game. While player opinions naturally vary, many believe PvP was one of the reasons the project initially lost popularity.
For over 90% of players, PvP is a reason for quitting the game. In fact, they should have opened access to offline mode earlier rather than waiting for online services to be shut down. A lot of people would play it if there was no PvP, and a move like this could even increase the audience.
I said from the beginning that they should offer PvE right away, but they never did. Perhaps the offline version they are currently developing will lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people online at the same time. I’d love to play an offline version that’s purely PvE oriented.
