Namco and the creators of Crossy Road team up for new Pac-Man game based on level 256 glitch

In case you didn’t mark your calendar, Pac-Man officially turned 35 years old today. To help celebrate, Bandai Namco and Hipster Whale — creators of the smash hit game Crossy Road — have released a trailer for an upcoming game based around Pac-Man’s infamous level 256 glitch.

The level 256 glitch was actually bad code in the original game that caused it glitch up upon reaching level 256. You wont find the same level progression here, with Pac-Man 256 being an endless runner like PAC-MAN DASH!, but featuring a more classic top-down isometric view. Player must navigate around ghosts and munch on glowing fruit to stay alive while a huge ever-present glitch keeps the action moving forward. It’s actually a similar gameplay mechanic to the one we saw in Crossy Road, so it’s not too much of a surprise.

As is the trend these days, Pac-Man 256 will be a freemium title when it launches later this summer with in-app purchases. Exactly what those will be remains to be seen, although we have a feeling it will something like those found in Crossy Road. We’ll keep an eye out for more details as we approach Pac-Man 256’s launch.