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Manila Bulletin devider Technews devider Gundam goes to the metaverse with AWS

Gundam goes to the metaverse with AWS

Published May 13, 2025 03:02 pm

Bandai Namco has launched Gundam Metaverse with AWS. 

We’re not talking about one of the shows of Gundams where kids go full isekai or semi-isekai via VR pods. 

The Gundam Metaverse is delivered using the new Amazon GameLift Streams capability on AWS, providing a virtual space where fans of the Gundam franchise can gather, interact, shop, and engage with the universe of Gundam on PCs and smartphones in minutes. The Gundam Metaverse integrates digital and physical experiences on the cloud, allowing fans to explore immersive worlds of the Gundam franchise, purchase limited-edition merchandise, enjoy playing mini-games featuring user-created Gundam models with others, and join virtual live events, all at low latency on any device. 

By using Amazon GameLift Streams, the game publisher can stream an immersive metaverse space with high-quality 3D graphics while ensuring low-latency access from standard PCs and smartphones, making it easily accessible to Gundam fans across countries, regions and generations. Amazon GameLift Streams is a new capability of Amazon GameLift, a fully managed service on AWS empowering developers to build and deliver the world’s most demanding games. By integrating Amazon Translate, a fast and high-quality machine translation service, in the chat function, fans using English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), and Japanese languages can interact with each other in real-time.

With support from AWS Professional Services, Bandai Namco Entertainment built a game development environment on AWS to enable creators and engineers around the world to collaborate securely and efficiently beyond geographical constraints. By integrating version control software and backup functions on AWS, the company safely manages valuable game assets while significantly reducing operational costs. Additionally, by establishing a continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) pipeline integrated with Unreal Engine on AWS, the company enables game builds on-demand using Amazon EC2 G4 instances, realizing enhanced global team collaboration and faster development iterations. The company also plans to leverage Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service that supports the building and scaling of generative AI applications, to further improve development efficiency.Bandai Namco Entertainment also integrated Amazon Anywhere into its metaverse, allowing U.S. Gundam enthusiasts to buy real products they see in digital spaces. Using the Amazon shopping feature available in the United States, fans can purchase 29 physical items—including popular Gundam model kits—without leaving the digital environment.

Nao Udagawa, President & CEO at Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. said, “AWS has enabled Gundam fans in Japan and around the world to connect across borders, allowing us to launch seamless and immersive services accessible from anywhere. AWS's low-latency, highly available services, available from its global infrastructure, accelerates our content development, serving as the driving force that delivers new surprises and emotional experiences to our fans.”“Japan is a powerhouse in the global media and entertainment industry attracting fans across the globe, and Gundam is a rich part of Japanese culture that fuses the creativity of diverse creators, builders, and fans,” said Akihiko Shirahata, president at AWS Japan. “We're excited to collaborate closely with Bandai Namco Entertainment to help expand a beloved cultural icon into immersive digital experiences. AWS is honored to be part of this mission in advancing the global growth of Japan's leading media and entertainment industry in this new era with generative AI and other cutting-edge technologies.”

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