Bandai Namco Celebrates 40 Years of Pac-Man with New Multiplayer Game

Forty years ago, the world was first introduced to the ‘wakawaka’ sound of arcade game Pac-Man. Developer Bandai Namco is celebrating with new games, such as Twitch game Pac-Man Live Studio. Here, players can work together in co-op and create their own levels.

Whether you’re a gamer from the first hour, or actually have nothing to do with video games: everyone knows Pac-Man. Chasing yellow dots with a ‘yellow pizza with a piece of it missing’ while being chased by ghosts. This iconic scene will be unknown to anyone. In fact, according to developer Bandai Namco itself, Pac-Man has a global brand recognition rate of 90 percent.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary, Bandai Namco is releasing a 40th Anniversary Book, several games and of course a special arcade machine. The developer kicks off the festivities with Pac-Man Live Studio, a game playable via Twitch. In the game, players can team up in co-op mode Endless Mode, where each player gets one life. As long as at least one of these players completes the level, all players advance to the next level.

In Pac-Man Live Studio, gamers can also create their own levels with the Maze Creator. These mazes can again be shared with other players. In order to rank the most popular levels, the game gets a Most Popular menu. For those who think that all these new features detract from the original: the game also gets a Classic Mode that allows you to play the 1980 version. However, it remains an online game, so your high score will be on a record list. It is unknown when the game will be released. Players do not need to download the game, but can play it directly in Pac-Man Live Studio’s Twitch channel.

The Maze Creator from Pac-Man Live Studio