Blue Archive Coming to Steam This Summer with Major Updates

Blue Archive, a popular mobile gacha game, will be available on Steam this summer.

This marks the first time the game will be playable on PC after being exclusive to mobile devices for years. The announcement came during the recent Kivotos! Live stream by Nexon Games.

The Steam version will include full Korean voice-overs for the main story and significant improvements to the English translation. These updates aim to please longtime fans who have waited for a PC version of the game.

The game enjoys a significant fan base in Japan, where enthusiasts produce and sell merchandise and fan comics at events such as Comiket.

The game puts players in the role of "Sensei," a teacher brought to Kivotos, a city made up of thousands of schools. While officially tasked with restoring order by leading a group called the Federal Investigation Club Schale, most players are drawn to the game's wide variety of female characters with distinct personalities who carry guns.

One major reason fans wanted a PC version is the increasing censorship on mobile platforms. When the global version first launched in late 2021, it included some censorship—images were cropped to hide nudity and dialogue was toned down. After fans complained, Nexon created two separate versions for mobile: one that kept the original content with a higher age rating, and another cleaned-up version to meet app store requirements.

This is why the Blue Archive announcement has been celebrated by fans. On PC, these mobile platform restrictions don't apply. Other games like Goddess of Victory: NIKKE and Brown Dust 2 realized this early and have actually increased their revealing content since releasing on PC.

The Steam release will only be for the Global version of the game, which Nexon has managed since November 2021. The Japanese and Chinese versions, handled by a company called Yostar since February 2021, might get separate announcements later.