Prepare for your new mobile gaming obsession.
The free-to-play endless maze-runner Pac-Man 256 today launched on Android and iOS devices. You can grab it from the Apple App Store or Google Play now. It’s the latest project from the two-man Hipster Whale team previously responsible for the hugely popular Crossy Road, which made $10M in 90 days when it released last November.
Pac-Man 256 is based on the infamous game-breaking map 256 glitch in the original Pac-Man arcade machines. It’s a collaboration between Hipster Whale and Japanese publisher Bandai Namco, and stylistically, it’s similar to Crossy Road. Bandai Namco is teaming up with smaller studios to help bring its older franchises back to life for the $30 billion mobile gaming market.
Most of Crossy Road’s revenue came through in-game video advertising and the sale of $1 characters, and it never felt like you had to spend real money in order to enjoy it. Pac-Man 256 feels nearly as generous with its approach to in-app purchases. You start with six credits, and you can spend one credit to play the game with power-ups enabled (like a laser or a freeze ray). You can also spend a credit — or sometimes watch a video — to continue after you die.
One credit regenerates automatically every ten minutes, and you can buy more with real money (including an “unlimited credits” option). You can earn in-game coins — which boost your power-ups — through gameplay or by watching adverts, and you can also buy them with real money.
Pac-Man 256 also has a “free play” mode, which lets you keep playing when you’re out of credits but strips away the game’s power-up system.
