Arc System Works just put Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! on Steam

Arc System Works and Taito released Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! on Steam on April 22, 2026. I adore all things Bubble Bobble and will buy any game on any system, so adding this to my PC library was a foregone conclusion. The game costs $39.99 and brings the complete Nintendo Switch experience to a new platform.

The title originally launched on the Switch on May 23, 2023. Prior to that release, the franchise saw Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey launch on PlayStation in 2021. Taito created the original arcade spin-off in 1994. They took the dinosaur protagonists Bub and Bob from their 1986 platformer and dropped them into a puzzle format. The core loop of aiming a pointer and matching three colored bubbles has remained intact for over thirty years.

Four players on one screen

The main draw of this specific entry is the expanded multiplayer. Older games in the series strictly focused on solo play or one-on-one competitive matches. Everybubble allows up to four players to tackle the story mode cooperatively. The board scales up to accommodate the extra players, which fills the screen with massive clusters of bubbles.

Competitive play also gets a bump with a two-versus-two team battle mode. Players share a screen with their teammate and can send garbage bubbles over to the opposing team's board by clearing large groups. The Steam release keeps all of these local and online multiplayer options intact, as reported by 4Gamer.

Bub and Bob demand my money

I have purchased various iterations of Bust-A-Move on the Super Nintendo, the Neo Geo Pocket Color, and the Dreamcast. The formula simply works. Taito also included a crossover mini-game called Puzzle Bobble vs. Space Invaders in this package. Up to four players control the bubble launchers at the bottom of the screen, but instead of clearing a static board, you shoot upward to destroy descending Invaders. It is a bizarre mashup of two completely different arcade mentalities. The frantic pacing actually makes it a great palate cleanser between standard puzzle matches.

Arc System Works handled the publishing for this PC port. They are primarily known for fighting games like Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. Their involvement here makes sense given their history of bringing Japanese arcade and console titles to Steam with solid netcode. A tile-matching puzzle game does not require the same frame-perfect rollback netcode as a competitive fighter, but having a reliable publisher ensures the online matchmaking actually functions.

The PC release finally frees the game from being a Switch exclusive. Finding online matches on the Switch version has become difficult over the last three years. A fresh release on Steam should inject some much-needed life into the player base. I will be spending my weekend trying to clear the story mode on hard, assuming my wrists hold up.