10 Video Games You Didn't Realise Were Cancelled In 2023

Of all the me-too battle royale cash-in games to release over the last five-or-so years, Pac-Man 99 is certainly one of the more intriguingly unique.

Following in the footsteps of Arika's other inspired battle royale titles Tetris 99 and Super Mario Bros. 35, Pac-Man 99 launched in April 2021 and transplanted Pac-Man's iconic gameplay into a competitive multiplayer format with effortless ease.

Though its popularity certainly declined after that initial boom period, it was nevertheless assumed that Arika would continue to support it in perpetuity, as they continued to do for Tetris 99.

But in May, Arika confirmed that Pac-Man 99 would be shutting down in October, and that it did.

Though players who owned any of the game's paid DLC could play a number of offline modes, the primary appeal was of course battling against 98 other flesh-and-blood players.

It hasn't been revealed why Pac-Man 99 got shut down while Tetris 99 continues to thrive, though there are two distinct possibilities - its dwindling player-base, or an agreement with publisher Bandai Namco expiring.