A new official entry in Namco's Dig Dug series has just been released on Android and iOS earlier this week, with the catch being that it is only going to be available for two weeks.
Dig Dug New Frontier is described as a "modern take on the classic arcade game" and is a collaboration between the Australian game developer Spunge Games (part of Liquid Animation), Bandai Namco, and interactive media platform Gamisodes.
It was released on June 17th and is being offered as a playable title on the Gamisodes app until June 30th, at which point it will be removed (presumably never to return; we've reached out to a spokesperson for the devs to try and clarify this).
Gamisodes, in case you've never heard of it (and we don't blame you!), is a media app that is pitching itself as the "Netflix of Interactive TV Shows". It features a library of interactive television shows that combine animation with simple gameplay tailored towards a younger audience.
The latest Dig Dug project, for instance, combines CG animated cutscenes with more traditional gameplay segments reminiscent of the original arcade game. This sees the player tunnelling underground blowing up enemies like Fygars and Pookas.
Looking into the history of Gamisodes, it seems that the platform launched last year, and has links in the past to a bunch of Blockchain nonsense, having partnered with the Canadian animation company Wildbrain and SUI Blockchain creator Mysten Labs to release an interactive Inspector Gadget interactive TV show with card-based NFT drops.
Understandably, Dig Dug fans were disappointed upon finding this out, sharing their dissatisfaction on social media, leading the company behind the app to spam any posts mentioning NFTs with an assurance that this particular project is NFT-free.