A new trademark from Bandai Namco suggests theKatamari Damacyseries could see its first entirely new console game in more than 15 years. The recently filed trademark is for a newKatamari Damacyproject calledOnce Upon a Katamari, and while it’s not yet clear what it will involve, it could be the highly anticipated follow-up fans have been waiting a long time for.
The series features a tiny green alien known as The Prince of All Cosmos and his cousins rolling around giant balls called Katamari, which latch onto objects they encounter. As each Katamari grows, it is able to accumulate objects of increasingly large size, and most timed rounds are built upon the challenge of building the biggest Katamari possible. Since the release of the first game in 2004 for PlayStation 2, 18more Katamari gameshave been released, although many have simply been rereleases of older content or games for mobile phones.
However, on February 27, Bandai Namco filed a trademark patent forOnce Upon a Katamariwith theEuropean Union Intellectual Property Office, which is still listed as under examination by the intellectual property agency. There is not much publicly accessible information detailing what this project is about, but it could give some fans hope that a brand newKatamarigame is on the way. The last game released came in 2023, and whileWe Love Katamari + Royal Reveriehas environment design variationsfrom its predecessor, it was essentially a remaster of 2018’sWe Love Katamari Reroll, leaving 2009’sKatamari Foreveron the PlayStation 3 as the last truly new game in the series, although even that game reused some levels from older titles.
Brand-New Katamari Game May Be Coming
This isn’t the first time fans have been excited about the possibility of a new entry in the series. In March 2023, some fans saw the announcement ofWe Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverieas a sign that anewKatamari Damacygame was on the horizon, and many may be hoping thatOnce Upon a Katamariis the game they’ve been waiting for.
It would also be interesting to see how the new game would prosper without series creator Keita Takahashi at the helm. Takahashi, who left the company in 2010, served as director for the first two games despite protestations that there should be no sequel to the original, and subsequent games since his departure have generally not been met with the same positive reaction from fans asKatamari DamacyandWe Love Katamari. Meanwhile, theKatamari Damacycreator has made other gamessince leaving Bandai Namco, though none have been met with the same popularity.
Katamari Damacy
The rolling, sticking, never-stopping, ever-swelling clump of stuff that makes a star out of everyone and everything.
When theKing of All Cosmosaccidentally destroys all the stars in the sky, he orders you, his pint-sized princely son, to put the twinkle back in the heavens above. How, you ask? By rolling everything and anything on Earth into clumps, so he can replace what’s missing in space.
Pick up everything!
Go from rolling along a tabletop to ravaging through city streets, picking up momentum and skyscrapers along the way.
You’re already on a roll!
Play is controlled with the analog sticks, with no buttons to press or combos to cause distress. Featuring object-collecting gameplay mechanics of mesmerizing simplicity and absurdity.
Roll over the competition!
Two-player battle mode lets you compete in a race to grow the biggest ball of stuff. Even the competition can be picked up!
