Pac-Man 99 is shutting down in October 2023

Pac-Man 99, the Nintendo Switch Online subscription-exclusive online battle royale game from Nintendo, Arika, and Bandai Namco, will officially shut down on 8 October 2023. From this date, online service will shutter, and it will be delisted from the Nintendo eShop, preventing new purchases.

Those who already own the game will maintain access, and Pac-Man 99‘s offline DLC modes will still work for these players, but any online modes will be removed – leaving only CPU Battle, Blind Time Attack, and Score Attack playable.

‘PAC-MAN 99, which is currently available as a benefit for Nintendo Switch Online members, will soon be discontinued,’ the official announcement reads. ‘Distribution of the main game and sales for each DLC will end accordingly.’

Read: Classic Battlefield games are being delisted in April 2023

The delisting process will begin in August, with paid custom themes being removed, followed by the Deluxe Pack and Mode Unlock features in September. Some caveats have been provided to reassure players their paid content will remain available:

• PAC-MAN 99 themes that were purchased can be used in offline mode.
• Purchased content can be re-downloaded even after the discontinuation of sales.
• PAC-MAN 99 Deluxe Pack includes all paid downloadable content, so please be careful not to make duplicate purchases.

Regardless, the removal of Pac-Man 99 is unfortunate – and continues a trend of major video game companies removing and delisting once-prominent games. It’s impossible to keep every single game ever made available to players who cherish them, but in recent times, this shelving process has begun happening on a shorter timeline.

Super Mario Bros. 35, another Nintendo eShop exclusive was only available between October 2020 and April 2021. Pac-Man 99 has been live for two years, having launched in April 2021.

The reason for this swift delisting has not been revealed by Nintendo, although it’s easy to assume that server maintenance and upkeep costs do not currently match consumer interest or investment. As a live service title, shuttering was always a possibility for Pac-Man 99 – but the speed at which this game and its predecessors have shut is frankly surprising.

For anyone who enjoyed playing Pac-Man 99, there are still a few months left to play the game. But from 8 October 2023, it will join games like Super Mario Bros. 35 in the video game afterlife.