Pac-Man 99 to shut down in October

Pac-Man 99, the online multiplayer take on Namco’s arcade staple, is to be shut down this autumn, Nintendo has announced.

Like Tetris 99 before it, Pac-Man 99 is a multiplayer, online take on a familiar classic, pitting just shy of a hundred players (hence the name) in maze-based battle royale matches.

If you’re a fan of Pac-Man 99, there’s bad news: it’s going to be shut down on 8 October 2023.

Nintendo made the announcement a short while ago on Twitter, with a more detailed plan for the shutdown detailed on its website.

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

In essence, support for the game will gradually be withdrawn in August, with custom themes vanishing from its in-game shop; other bits of DLC will go in September, while the service as a whole will end the following month.

The game will no longer be downloadable as of 8 October, and online play for its online modes will be switched off on the same day. Nintendo does add that players will be able to enjoy Pac-Man 99’s offline features, such as its CPU Battle and Score Attack modes:

Users who purchase the Mode Unlock or Deluxe Pack DLC before September 8th 2023 will still be able to enjoy all offline modes (CPU Battle, Score Attack and Blind Time Attack) after the end of service, as well as any Custom Themes they have purchased. This DLC is available to all Nintendo Switch users, regardless of Nintendo Switch Online membership status.

Pac-Man 99 first launched exclusively for Nintendo Switch in April 2021, having been developed by Arika, the same team that handled Tetris 99. The latter appears to have garnered more long-term interest from players than Pac-Man 99, though, given that Tetris 99 launched in 2019 and is still going strong at the time of writing.

Pac-Man 99’s impending doom is a further sign of how transitory and harsh the online gaming world can be. Hold your favourite online games close, readers. Hug them. Cherish them. You can never know for sure when their end will come.