Nintendo Reveals Pac-Man 99, a Battle Royale Arcade Game

If you thought they couldnt be any later to the party, youd be wrong. Nintendo has announced Pac-Man 99, a retro battle royale variation of the famous arcade game.

You read that right, theres a Pac-Man battle royale game.

In Pac-Man 99, as many as 99 players will join together in a lobby to play their own games of Pac-Man simultaneously. The goal: to survive longer than all of the other players. But to keep things interesting (and competitive), a few tweaks have been made.



At its core, the game is the same as a standard run of Pac-Man, with a few differences. Whenever the player successfully consumes a ghost while under the effects of the Power Pellet, special enemy variations known as Jammer Pac-Mans will be sent into the games of other players. These hollowed outlines of Pac-Man will chase the player. Upon making contact, they will slow the player down, putting them at greater risk of being caught by the ghosts.

Another key difference are the Ghost Trains. Along the sides of the board are two rows of ghost outlines. If the player runs over them, they will be assigned to a ghost on the board. When they then consume a Power Pellet, all of those ghosts will be consumable as if they were standard ghosts (resulting in a Jammer Pac-Man being sent to another player).

Seem familiar? The battle royale component, as well as the mechanics, share the same structure as Nintendos last retro battle royale games, Tetris 99 and Super Mario 35.

And just like those games, Pac-Man 99 will be free to anyone with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. It will be available 9 PM EST on April 7 (thats the day this story is published).

While battle royale games have come and gone - well, not gone, but definitely no longer in the prime - were surprised to hear Nintendo reveal such an idea. It does sound fun, we admit. But the trend has gone, and the longevity of these games are struggling as a result. Were sure plenty of people will play the game, especially since its free. But let's see how popular it is a few weeks from now.