Pac-Man 99 has only just been laid to rest, but Bandai Namco is back with another stab at the battle royale genre, announcing Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs for the Nintendo Switch, launching early 2024.
The game is an expanded version of Pac-Man: Mega Tunnel Battle, which was originally released on Google Stadia. Naturally, the game was shut down in conjunction with Stadia's closure at the start of 2023.
Those after a single-player experience need not apply here, as Chomp Champs will be an online-only affair, pitting up to 64 players against each other via cross-platform play and custom matchmaking.
Here's a look at the official description:
PAC-MAN MEGA TUNNEL BATTLE: CHOMP CHAMPS brings a lot of variety and features that make playing its uniquely PAC-MAN take on Battle Royale even more fun. In the game, players must eat their way through multiple interconnected mazes to become the Chomp Champ – a.k.a. the last PAC standing at the end of each match.
Gain the upper hand on other players or turn the tables against Ghosts by utilising a variety of Power Items which give PAC-MAN shields, enhanced speed and more. Players can also sabotage their competition by using Power Items that help the Ghosts. Not only will they be able to chomp through PAC-MAN’s regular diet of dots and the occasional fruit, but they can also chomp through other player-controlled PAC-MAN characters.
Additionally, players can assert their own unique style by personalising their PAC with a fun variety of body, head, and face cosmetics.
Will you be diving back into the world of Pac-Man battle royale? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.
Comments 43
Oh.
So that's why Namco shut down Pac Man 99.
"Pac Man Returns....'
WORLD 2 RE-PAC?! LET'S GOOOOOOO
"...in another battle royale game"
@LadyCharlie
Yeah, there wouldn't be any other reason, besides low player count.
This was one of the better exclusive on Google Stadia, glad they finally brought it back on more active platforms. Now if only we could get Gylt that would be something good.
That's great, I was really sad to see this go as it was one of Stadia's best games.
This makes sense. Namco announced just yesterday there would be some Pac-Man event in New York this week where they would be showing off a brand-new game. I wanted it to be World 2 Re-Pac, but it was obvious that wasn't happening, since the marketing really put an emphasis on the arcade style of games and it seemed like they were trying to target a more casual audience. I thought maybe it would be a Championship Edition 3 or something similar.
I've also been thinking about Pac-Man 99 shutting down and how there was a separate Pac-Man battle royale game that I think was either on mobile or for browsers or something. [Edit: It was Stadia, as stated by above comments.] I thought, they're probably gonna port that game to consoles. But for some reason, I didn't put two and two together and realize that this would be the announcement.
I'm glad that with Bomberman and now Pac-Man, they aren't shutting down their online servers for no reason. They have another, similar game in mind, so it doesn't make the loss feel like as much of a big deal. Hopefully these online communities will have a long life ahead of them, considering Bomberman and (presumably) Pac-Man are no longer free-to-play. Will check it out, hope the game is fun and with plenty of incentive to keep playing and not full of microtransactions.
I think Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is still happening, but I guess now isn't the time. Sigh. Oh well...
Honestly I think this might be a better use for a Battle Royale for Pac-Man. Pac-Man 99 was fun and I'm glad it had single player content, but it just didn't mesh as well with the pre-existing 99 format Tetris used, I think shutting that down and bringing this over to other platforms is probably the right move. Very interested to check this out
This is Pac Man 99 at home
Looks promising. I love my Pac-Man museum +, and I have plenty of Pac-Man already but I might be tempted if it's not too expensive
I audibly went 'Ah' when I saw this
I like Pacman, I really do. It was one of the very first games I played on the Atari 2600. But Pacman 99 just never did it for me. Hopefully this go around will be more enthralling.
«Those after a single-player experience need not apply here, as Chomp Champs will be an online-only affair, pitting up to 64 players against each other via cross-platform play and custom matchmaking.»
That's bad for me... At least, this game will be F2P... Yes?...
Looks cool. I really enjoyed Pac Man 99 for a while but eventually went back exclusively to Tetris 99. I think these games really need incentives to keep coming back, Tetris does a good job with new themes. Unlockable costumes in this is a good shout.
@Vyacheslav333 I think it if it was they’d have made that clear in the trailer/press release…I’d have imagined so anyway. Either way I honestly hope it’s not free to play, I’d rather pay £10 or so and have everything unlockable in game without needing to pay for costumes etc
That title just rolls off the tongue
I just want Championship Edition DX+ on Switch.
Everytime I see online multiplayer focus games like this, I will not give them any support.
Those games are temporary and we will never able to own the games like old fashioned way physical games.
Good to see this out of Stadia purgatory.
@Not_Soos Heh, I did say this needed to come out of Stadia purgatory before PMW2 so probably Pac Man World 2 is not to far... No, wait. They also need to release Championship Dx+ before this one. Sorry.
@Ogbert Me too, man. Me too.
Is this F2P?
Also, when I read the headline, my reaction was an audible "ohhhhhhhh that's why it shut down..." which got me some odd looks haha
I was hoping to see Mega Tunnel Battle being brought to consoles, so I can give it a try.
"Want to play some PAC-MAN MEGA TUNNEL BATTLE: CHOMP CHAMPS?" "What?" "You know PMMTBCC" "Uhhh I have to go..."
Interesting. I don't know what to expect but I'm glad something is "effectively replacing" Pac Man 99, which was cooooool
this is already looking like a better game. fzero 99 showed how being directly involved and disrupting the players adds to the hectic fun compared to pacman 99
As one Pac-Man game dies, another one gets revived.
Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Mega Tunnel Battle compared to 99. It felt mundane and too much in the weeds about customizability and defending your home base, even if it provides its own incentives. It was oddly slow for a Pac-Man game. 99 may had been repetitive, but it offered better aesthetics and a cool challenge.
Played this a few times at a friend's. Super fun!
@GalaxicGlobe This being PMMTBCC is almost as good as ACNHHHPDLC hah! (Animal Crossing New Horizons Happy Home Paradise Downloadable Content)
@CaleBoi25 Or "MK8DBCPDLCW1-6" (Mario kart 8 deluxe booster course pass downloadable content waves 1-6)
so that's where pac man 99 went...
Battle Royal really found a way to give old arcade games legs in modern times. Love it.
That announcer is too excited.
This trailer is edited weirdly... besides that...
This looks promising! I didn't really get a chance to play a lot of Pac 99 but I could tell it wasn't for me. This game on the other hand looks to me exactly what 99 should have been. Super excited, I just hope it's not a F2P...
Probably, yeah. Casual online multiplayer with randos is definitely my thing.
Is it a free to play?
I'm looking forward to the day F-Zero 99 gets taken down and then a full game is released the next day.
That title really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
So this is why 99 is going.
Shame.
I liked Pac-Man 99 but it wasn't very intuitive, this looks like it could actually be a better game.
So reading the comments this was one of Stadia's best ... hum hum ... RIP Stadia .. for the better and .. well .
But how long will it be before they shut this game down too?
Last time Switch got a formerly Stadia exclusive Battle Royale (Super Bomberman R Online) it only lasted around a year before the servers were closed.
I don't know if I'll like this one as much as 99 but I'm always down for a new iteration of Pac-Man.
This looks pretty good, though I am a bit put off by the apparent emphasis on cosmetics... it smacks of free-to-play shenanigans.
Welp, at least now we know why Bandai Namco shut down Pac-Man 99 for sure!
Would be nice if people stopped blaming Nintendo for that not only considering this, but also that it was developed and published by Bandai Namco so Nintendo had nothing to do with that other than just letting it be available as part of NSO...
Anyway, this looks cool so I will consider eventually trying it myself, but like others here I have my fingers crossed that we'll get Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac at some point!
Ah, well it's great they've got a new battle royale to replace Pac-Man 99, at least it's not just a shut down without some sort of replacement. I'll miss it though, I liked playing it time to time!
The new battle royale looks good fun.
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