This year marks the 45th anniversary of Namco's ridiculously popular and influential arcade game Pac-Man.
So, to celebrate this important milestone, the company has revealed a year-long celebration of the series, to take place throughout 2025 and into early 2026, which spans video games, live events, and more (h/t: Gamespot).
To kick off the celebrations, the official Pac-Man YouTube channel released a new visually-impressive video yesterday, called PAC-MAN: 45 Years of ImPACt, which was created in Unreal Engine.
This 3D-generated video was directed by Miles Cable of Bodega Virtual and produced by LEFT and shows various characters playing a bunch of different Pac-Man iterations from over the years. This includes the arcade original, the Atari 2600 port, Pac-Man World, and a brief glimpse of the 2D action platformer Shadow Labyrinth, which has been described as a reimagining of the classic franchise and is scheduled to be released later this year.
In the addition to the above, in a press release, the company also outlined a bunch of other projects for the year ahead, including Pac-Man Simulator, a collaboration with Supersocial for the hit game Roblox; a Pac-Man cookbook; a bunch of special-edition gaming accessories for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S from PowerA; and playable electronic toys from dreamGear and arcade machines from Arcade1Up.
That's in addition to a few clothing partnerships including an agreement with Club América to sell a limited number of Pac-Man-branded "soccer" jerseys.
In case that wasn't enough, Namco also announced a Pac-Man live experience, starting in March, that is set to take place in the UK at Manchester’s Arcade Arena, and is said to let players "step into a life-sized interactive maze for a fun, multi-sensory adventure".
That's in addition to a couple of exhibits in the States, including a special display at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle that will last from April 30 through to June 4, 2025, and a retrospective exhibition at the Great Park Gallery in Irvine, California from May 18 through to September 28, 2025.
It's safe to say, Namco is leaving no stone unturned in celebrating the iconic arcade game.