About

Azur Lane is a Chinese side-scrolling mobile video game set in World War II in which players control World War II battleships anthropomorphized as anime girls. Since being released in China, the game has since been released in Japan and Korea, and an English released is planned for 2018.

History

Azur Lane was developed by Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi and released for iOS and Android on May 25th, 2017.^[1] The game was published by video-sharing website Bilibili.

In the game, players control anthropomorphized versions of naval ships from armies in World War II, namely the fleets of United States Navy, Royal Navy of United Kingdom, Imperial Japanese Navy and Nazi Kriegsmarine. Players use strategy to recreate naval battles loosely based on those from the war. More than 250 characters have been included in the game.

The game was released in Japan on September 14th, 2017, published by Shanghai Yostar, and in Korea in February of 2018 published by XD Global. An English-language version was announced by Shangai Yostar in June of 2018, with a 2018 release date planned.^[2]

Reception

The game has received some criticism for its similarity to other moe anthropomorphism titles such as Kantai Collection and Girls Frontline. However, the game proved very popular in China, contributing the majority of Bilibili's revenue the quarter it was released. It also was massively popular in Japan, surpassing over five million players. Hong Kong media outlet HK01 noted the game differentiated itself from Kantai Collection with less luck-based gameplay.

Online Presence

Online, the game has amassed a growing following. Its official Twitter account has gained over 8,900 followers.^[3] Its Facebook^[6] page has over 13,000 likes. The game has an extensive Wiki^[4] as well as a page on TV Tropes. ^[5] On YouTube, popular videos about the game feature tips and overviews. One of the most popular videos for the game is a sponsored post by Ai Kizuna which has gained over 337,000 views (shown below, left). A video by ThanatosPraetor giving an overview of the game gained over 17,000 views (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References