Sword Art Online Variant Showdown to Enter Indefinite Maintenance to Fix Underlining Issues of Gameplay

Bandai Namco released a statement from game producer Takeuchi regarding the future of Sword Art Online Variant Showdown.

It appears that the game has been delivering poor user experiences to players since its launch. Takeuchi-san shares:

Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by the various issues that have persisted since the app’s launch. Although we have tried to handle all issues as they arise, due to the frequency with which new issues are occurring, after careful consideration we have decided to temporarily suspend the service and carry out extensive maintenance to fix the underlying problems.
Doing so will require some time, but we hope that it will enable us to provide a more stable app experience for all our users. Once again, please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.

We will be doing everything we can to ensure that we are able to provide the most enjoyable app experience possible for all our users once service resumes. Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.

We hope you will continue to support Variant Showdown.

The maintenance period is set to take place from September 28, 2023, through Summer 2024, but that end date is just a placeholder given, and they aren’t sure how long these issues will take to fix.

The developer’s goal:

• To redevelop and improve the underlying game system that causes issues to frequently occur.
• To develop new content that will increase the app’s lifespan.
• To improve parts of the app that hinder enjoyment or are difficult to understand.
• To adjust game rules and character abilities.

The team is also encouraging players back up their Save Data. Currently, sales will be suspended on August 31, 2023.

We’ll keep you updated on news surrounding Sword Art Online Variant Showdown.

Sword Art Online Variant Showdown is a 3D action game featuring an original story told in the SAO universe. The story introduces a new VR game called Cross Edge, which is rumored that losing a fight to a certain mysterious player means losing a portion of your own memories. Kirito and his friends decide that they need to butt in once again so they make their way into the game to see if they can crack the case. This story is set after the events of Alicization and will include a new character named Layla.

During gameplay, players can equip characters with Ability Cards to raise their stats. The cards can add special buffs to the characters to attack enemy weak points. Further, players can bring up to 3 characters into battle.

Sword Art Online Variant Showdown is available now on iOS and Android.