Pac-Man 256 vs Pac-Man 99: endless maze or battle royale?
Two modern reinventions, one built around a bug and one built around a crowd. They share dots and ghosts and almost nothing else, and only one is still playable today.
Two very different ideas
Pac-Man 256 (2015) was made by Hipster Whale, creators of Crossy Road, with 3 Sprockets and published by Bandai Namco. It turns the overflow glitch from pacman split screen level into a wall of static that rises from the bottom of an endless, upward-scrolling maze. Pac-Man 99 (2021) was developed by Arika for Nintendo Switch Online as a 99-player elimination game in the style of Tetris 99: eat ghosts to send "jammer" obstacles into opponents' mazes and be the last player standing.
Side by side
Pac-Man 256 (2015)
- Single player
- Endless, procedurally continuing maze that scrolls upward
- The glitch wall chases you from below
- Power-ups: laser, tornado, freeze, bomb, magnet and more
- No lives: one touch ends the run (revives were purchasable on mobile)
- Score = dots eaten with combo bonuses
- Mobile, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch; still playable
Pac-Man 99 (2021)
- 99 players online
- Classic-style single maze per player
- Opponents send jammer Pac-Men that slow you
- Power-ups via sleeping ghost trains
- Eliminated when caught; last survivor wins
- Rankings and placements
- Switch Online only; service ended October 2023
How Pac-Man 256 plays
The maze never ends; new sections generate above you while the glitch consumes everything below. Eating 256 dots in a row triggers a screen-clearing explosion, a nod to the original's broken counter. Power-ups are collected as pickups and upgraded with coins or play time, and ghosts appear in several types, including some that only move along one axis and some that sleep until approached. There are no levels and no fruit; it is pure survival scoring.
How Pac-Man 99 played
Each player had a maze resembling the original, with sleeping ghosts in the corridors. Waking and eating a train of ghosts sent jammer Pac-Men into other players' mazes; touching a jammer slowed you, making you easier for ghosts to catch. Four strategy modes let you target the strongest players, those closest to elimination, random opponents or whoever attacked you. The game was free with a Switch Online subscription and had paid themes, but Bandai Namco closed the service on 8 October 2023 and removed it from the eShop.
Shared DNA with the original
Both games keep the ghost colours and the pellet-reversal mechanic described in pacman energizer explained, and both borrow the sleeping-ghost trains introduced by Championship Edition DX (see championship edition compared to arcade). Neither uses the original's four targeting rules in full, so the strategies in ghost targeting logic in pacman apply only loosely.
Verdict in 2026
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which can I play today? | Pac-Man 256 on mobile, PC and consoles. Pac-Man 99 is offline. |
| Best for short sessions? | Pac-Man 256: a run lasts a few minutes. |
| Best for competition? | Pac-Man 99 was, while it lasted; today, Championship Edition leaderboards or community events. |
| Free alternative in a browser? | Our Endless Maze mode on the mr pacman maze game site uses randomly generated boards and one life: endless random maze game. |
For the full chronology of official titles, see all official pacman games.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pac-Man 99 still playable?
No. Online service ended on 8 October 2023 and the game was delisted.
Who made Pac-Man 256?
Hipster Whale and 3 Sprockets, published by Bandai Namco in 2015.
Why is it called Pac-Man 256?
After the level 256 glitch in the original arcade game, which the game turns into a chasing wall of static.
Was Pac-Man 99 free?
The base game was free with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription; themes and offline modes were paid.
Does Pac-Man 256 have multiplayer?
The console and PC versions added local multiplayer for up to four players.