Pac-Man 99 Is Getting Delisted By Nintendo This October

Nintendo is going to delist the 2021 battle royale game Pac-Man 99 later this year. The Nintendo Switch exclusive title, which is available for free on Nintendo Switch Online, is going to be shut down on October 8, 2023. Online services of the maze video game and its distribution will end alongside its free custom themes after this date. However, users can still access the offline mode, but only if they have bought the DLCs.

There are two paid DLCs for Pac-Man 99, Mode Unlock and the Deluxe Pack additional content. You can still play CPU Battle, Blind Time Attack, and Score Attack while offline even after the game shuts down. Furthermore, all of the themes players have bought can also be used in offline mode in addition to other purchased content. Everyone can re-download these items after Nintendo delists the game in October.

On 08/10/2023, the online service for PAC-MAN 99 will end and the game will no longer be available as part of a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

For more information, please see our website: https://t.co/qXQczN2pPd pic.twitter.com/3gAMqvE572

— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) May 17, 2023

However, you need to be quick if you haven’t bought these already as the discontinuation starts as early as August. Paid custom themes will not be available after August 8th and both of the Pac-Man 99 DLCs will be impossible to buy after September 8. Therefore, if you want to play the title after it goes offline on October 8, buy the DLCs before September.

It is sad to see Pac-Man 99 get the axe just over two years after its release. Bandai Namco released the game on April 7, 2021, after seeing the success of the Tetris battle royale title. But, unlike Tetris 99, which had over 2.8 million players two months after release, the Pac-Man game never caught on. As a result, Nintendo is shutting down this modern take on the beloved Japanese video game.

Even with this failed experiment, Pac-Man is still one of the most iconic video game franchises of all time. The series has sold 48 million copies worldwide and released dozens of arcade and console games. Since the 1980s, it has grossed $14 billion worldwide and made Bandai Namco a major player in gaming. Besides the obvious monetary success, Pac-Man is also one of the most recognizable characters in entertainment history.

It has been around since the ’80s and was an influential part of arguably the most historically significant era in media history. There are movies, comics, books, and much more based on the character. Hence, it shows that such a big franchise with a huge fan base can also fail sometimes. Pac-Man 99 is available on Nintendo eShop and you can still play the game with other players before it eventually shuts down on October 8, 2023.

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