Project KV Cancelled After Negative Reactions Over Blue Archive Similarities

Project KV, a visual novel-type game from former developers of Blue Archive, has been cancelled. Read on to discover what may have caused the game’s cancellation.

Project KV Cancelled After Ire Over Similarities with Blue ArchiveProject KV Devs Apologize for the Commotion

Dynamis One, a development studio founded by former Blue Archive developers, has cancelled their upcoming game, Project KV. The game, which garnered significant attention upon its announcement, became embroiled in controversy due to its striking similarities to Blue Archive, the mobile gacha game the team previously worked on at Nexon Games.

The studio announced the cancellation on Twitter (X) on September 9th. In their statement, Dynamis One apologized for the trouble and commotion caused by Project KV and acknowledged the concerns raised about the game’s similarities. The studio emphasized its commitment to avoiding further issues and announced the cancellation of the project. Additionally, Dynamis One expressed its regret to fans who had supported Project KV and stated that all materials related to the project would be removed online.

The studio concluded by promising to work harder to meet fan expectations.

Project KV unveiled its first promotional video on August 18th of this year. This initial teaser featured a brief story prologue with full voice acting and introduced the development studios involved. Two weeks later, a second teaser was released, offering a closer look at the game’s characters, story, and key figures. However, the project was unexpectedly canceled a week after the second teaser’s release.

While today may be a sad day for Dynamis One, people online seem to be celebrating the project’s demise.

Blue Archive vs. ‘Red Archive’

Korean publisher Dynamis One, led by former Blue Archive's Park Byeong-Lim, sparked conversation upon its inception in April. Park, along with key developers, departed Nexon to establish the new company, raising concerns within the Blue Archive community.

However, the unveiling of Project KV ignited controversy online. Fans swiftly identified striking parallels between the new project and Nexon's Blue Archive. Concerns extended from the overall aesthetic and music to the central concept: a Japanese-style metropolis populated by weapon-wielding female students.

Further fueling the controversy was the inclusion of a "Master" character akin to Blue Archive's "Sensei." Additionally, a halo-like embellishment adorns the heads of characters in Project KV, mirroring the halos in Blue Archive.

These halos were one of the most contentious aspects of the controversies surrounding the endeavor. In Blue Archive, halos are not simply decorative elements but hold significant narrative weight, serving as a visual symbol of the intellectual property.

Given Nexon’s emphasis on the importance of these halos, their appearance in Project KV raised concerns among fans. Many felt that the undertaking was attempting to capitalize on Blue Archive’s success by adopting similar visual identifiers, despite the lack of a direct connection between the two. This led to accusations of plagiarism and the perception that Project KV was a blatant rip-off.

Fans even speculated that "KV" stands for "Kivotos," the fictional city in Blue Archive. As though it were an antithesis to the aforementioned, many nicknamed it "Red Archive," suspecting it to be a derivative expansion of the existing intellectual property.

Despite this, Kim Yong-ha, the general producer of Blue Archive, indirectly addressed the controversy by sharing a post on Twitter (X) from a Blue Archive fan account that clarified Project KV’s lack of connection to the original intellectual property.

Translated, the post reads: "Project KV is not a sequel to Blue Archive. It is not a spin-off either. It is a game being developed by a company established by employees who left Nexon Games, the developer of Blue Archive."

Ultimately, the overwhelmingly negative response proved to be Project KV's undoing. Dynamis One announced the game's cancellation without delving into the specifics of it. While there may be those that expressed disappointment at the lost potential, many saw it as a justified consequence of the alleged plagiarism. Whether Dynamis One will learn from this misstep and attempt a more distinct vision for future projects is a question left unanswered.