Saturday, 24 October 2026
Anime, manga, and games, with a take · A Yukimedia publication

← all stories

Pac-Man

Pac-Man's current coverage is dominated by licensing and reissues rather than new games. A feature phone Pac-Man was revived in G-Mode Archives+ on June 18, and the character appeared in several product lines and crossovers through the year.

Synthesized from 8 Yomimono stories · updated Oct 15

Pac-Man's recent Yomimono coverage is mostly licensing and reissues rather than new games. In June, G-Mode Corporation revived the feature phone version of Pac-Man through its G-Mode Archives+ project on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam for 800 yen, preserving the original arcade gameplay with four ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. That same month, Bandai Namco Entertainment announced that My Hero Academia: All's Justice would come to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 3 in Japan and September 4 worldwide with a Pac-Man collaboration minigame, which would also reach other platforms by free update.

Physical merchandise followed. Bandai released the capsule toy Pac-Man Mejirushi Accessory Continue in the second week of August at 300 yen per play, with 12 types in Round and Dot versions. Sticky Monster Lab opened preorders on September 25 for a six-figure Pac-Man blind box priced at 7,920 yen tax included, with release scheduled for October 2026. Epic Games also confirmed Pac-Man among the teased characters in the trailer for Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 "Override," which launched August 20.

Two items moved Pac-Man into wider contexts. Bandai Namco Experience held the PAC-MAN art gallery "PAC-MAN BEYOND - FROM 8-BIT TO INFINITE BITE." at MIYASHITA PARK in Shibuya from July 24 to 27, with a later run in Fukuoka from August 28 to 31, selling items including a PAC-MAN MIKOSHI at 440,000 yen. Separately, Opper published jevman, an open-source benchmark in which six models including Jev, Kev, Laya, Clef, and GPT-6 Luna Decisions play 100 games each under standard rules, ranked by 100-game average score with a 95 percent confidence margin.

Key facts

Revival platform
The feature phone version of Pac-Man was released on June 18 through G-Mode Archives+ on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, priced at 800 yen tax included. ↗
G-Mode Archives+ position
It is the third Bandai Namco Entertainment title revived through G-Mode Archives+, following Xenosaga Pied Piper and Namco Chronicle. ↗
Merchandise format
Bandai's capsule toy Pac-Man Mejirushi Accessory Continue launched in the second week of August at 300 yen per play, with 12 types. ↗
Blind box lineup
Sticky Monster Lab's six-figure Pac-Man blind box opened preorders on September 25 at the BLITZWAY JAPAN online store, priced at 7,920 yen tax included, with release scheduled for October 2026. ↗
Art gallery run
The PAC-MAN BEYOND art gallery is held at MIYASHITA PARK in Shibuya from July 24 to 27, 2026, and in Fukuoka from August 28 to 31. ↗
Fortnite appearance
Pac-Man is among the characters teased in the trailer for Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 7 Season 4 "Override," which launched August 20. ↗
My Hero Academia crossover
The Switch 2 version of My Hero Academia: All's Justice includes a Pac-Man collaboration minigame, arriving September 3 in Japan and September 4 worldwide. ↗
AI benchmark
Opper's jevman benchmark has six models play 100 games each against standard-rule ghosts, returning direction probabilities within a 2-second limit per junction and ranking by 100-game average score with a 95 percent confidence margin. ↗
Nex Playground titles
Bandai Namco Entertainment will release Pac-Man for Nex Playground in Japan in fall 2026, ahead of the console's 2027 Japan launch. ↗

Timeline

Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.

Facts

Release
game · this fall · Japan · 2026-10-03
Release
game · second week of August 2026 · Japan · 2026-08-06
Release
game · 2026-06-18 · worldwide · 2026-06-17
Licensed by
BLITZWAY JAPAN online store (Japan) · 2026-09-26
Announced
art gallery (PAC-MAN BEYOND - FROM 8-BIT TO INFINITE BITE.) · 2026-07-17
Announced
revival of feature phone version (G-Mode Archives+) · 2026-06-17

Connections

Produces of
sticky monster lab, bandai

Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/pac-man. CC BY 4.0.

All coverage

Oct 9

Opper Releases Jevman, A Pac-Man Benchmark For Decision Models

Opper published jevman, an open-source benchmark that has AI models play Pac-Man to compare decision-making. Six models, including Jev, Kev, Laya, Clef, and GPT-6 Luna Decisions, each play 100 games against standard-rule ghosts. Models receive maze, dot, and ghost data as JSON and return up, down, left, or right as probabilities within a 2-second limit per junction. Ranking uses the 100-game average score, with a 95 percent confidence margin, so models inside that margin are treated as tied.

Oct 3

Nex Playground Heads to Japan in 2027 with Sega and Bandai Namco Titles

Nex will launch its controller-free console Nex Playground in Japan in 2027, the company said at Tokyo Game Show 2026. The device uses a built-in camera and on-device motion tracking, with no cloud processing, so players control games by moving their bodies. Nex has established a Japanese subsidiary, Nex Japan LLC, and appointed Emiko Yamamoto as its general manager. Yamamoto previously worked at Sega, Walt Disney Japan, and Amazon Games. Ahead of the Japan launch, Sega will release Sonic Forces: Rival Rush and Bandai Namco Entertainment will release Pac-Man in Japan this fall. The console has been on sale in North America since late 2023 and is sold at more than 7,000 retail stores there. In the US, the unit costs $299 with five games included, and the Play Pass subscription is $49 for three months or $89 for a year.

Sep 26

Pac-Man Blind Box Lineup From Sticky Monster Lab Opens Preorders

Sticky Monster Lab is producing a Pac-Man blind box series of six figures. The set includes Pac-Man & Pinky, Pac-Man & Inky (Dot Ver.), Pac-Man Robo, Pac-Man Robo (Napping), Blinky & Power Cookie, and Clyde & Power Cookie. Preorders opened September 25, 2026 at the BLITZWAY JAPAN online store, with a box of all six priced at 7,920 yen tax included and release scheduled for October 2026.

Aug 6

Bandai Capsule Toy Pac-Man Mejirushi Accessory Continue Launches in August

Bandai will release the capsule toy Pac-Man Mejirushi Accessory Continue in the second week of August at 300 yen per play. The lineup includes 12 types of mark accessories based on the Pac-Man series, with characters like Pac-Man, Blinky, and Pinky available in both Round and Dot versions.

Jul 17

PAC-MAN Art Gallery Comes to Tokyo and Fukuoka

Bandai Namco Experience will hold the PAC-MAN art gallery 'PAC-MAN BEYOND - FROM 8-BIT TO INFINITE BITE.' at MIYASHITA PARK in Shibuya from July 24 to 27, 2026, and later in Fukuoka from August 28 to 31. The gallery displays modern art including a Kano School-style hanging scroll and sells items such as a PAC-MAN MIKOSHI (440,000 yen), PAC-MAN E-candles (16,500 yen), and T-shirts (8,800 yen). Advance reservations are open.

Jun 18

My Hero Academia All's Justice Switch 2 Version Launches September 3 With Pac-Man Minigame

Bandai Namco Entertainment announced on Thursday that the fighting game My Hero Academia: All's Justice will arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 3 in Japan and September 4 worldwide. The Switch 2 version introduces a new Minigame mode, which includes a collaboration minigame with Pac-Man. The Minigame mode will also be added to other platforms via a free update on the same day. The game originally launched in February for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The Switch 2 physical edition includes a special inner cover featuring a newly drawn illustration by studio Bones of Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shigaraki. The game's Story Mode adapts the manga's final battle arc, and the roster includes over 40 characters from the series. Online battles via GameChat's GameShare functionality are supported. Preorders are open for Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate Editions, with preorder bonuses including early access to Izuku Midoriya (Rising) and All For One (Chaos) plus 30,000 Hero Coins.

Jun 17

Feature Phone Version of Pac-Man Revived in G-Mode Archives+

G-Mode Corporation announced on June 17 that it will release the feature phone version of Bandai Namco Entertainment's "Pac-Man" on June 18 as part of its G-Mode Archives+ revival project. The game will be available on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam for 800 yen (tax included). This is the third Bandai Namco Entertainment title to be revived through G-Mode Archives+, following "Xenosaga Pied Piper" and "Namco Chronicle." The revival was first teased on G-Mode's official X account on May 22, which is Pac-Man's birthday. The feature phone version preserves the original arcade gameplay: players control Pac-Man through a maze, eating all cookies while avoiding four ghosts-Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. Power cookies allow Pac-Man to temporarily turn the tables and eat ghosts. G-Mode Archives+ is a project that faithfully reproduces feature phone game apps as they were at the time and distributes them on modern consumer game consoles. The project has previously released other titles including "Feature Phone" and "Namco Chronicle."