It's 2023 and McDonald's Just Stealth-Dropped a New Game Boy Game
The sentence "McDonald's just released a Game Boy game" was not something I thought I'd be writing today, but alas, here we are. I'm as perplexed as you are. The officially sanctioned game is called Grimace's Birthday, and it's made for the Game Boy Color. Don't have one of those lying around? Not to worry, it's playable on desktop and mobile, too.
More Context
What Grimace-inspired merchandise does McDonald's release?
For those who might not know, Grimace is one of the original McDonalds characters along with the Hamburglar, Birdie the Early Bird, and of course, Ronald McDonald. The game's a side scroller created by indie studio Krool Toys, and it takes place on -- wait for it -- Grimace's birthday.
More Context
What is the history of Grimace as a McDonald's character and how does it fit into the company's branding strategy?
As Grimace, you have to find his missing friends before it's time to blow out the candles on his cake, and to do that you guide him on a skateboard and grab milkshakes along the way. McDonald's said you can "immerse yourself in Grimace's world as he races around classic McDonald's birthday scenes to find his pals - like Birdie and Hamburglar - all in a quest to cut his birthday cake. The game will be free to play on desktop and mobile beginning June 12."
In a press release, Tariq Hassan, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald's USA, said Grimace was the perfect character for fans to interact with at the intersection of popular culture and nostalgia.
"Our fans have amazing childhood memories of their birthdays at McDonald's...and Grimace's Birthday is all about paying homage to the amazing, fun moments we all share. We're excited to put a modern spin on these memories to continue to drive McDonald's relevance with a new generation. Grimace is the perfect lovable icon to have McDonald's meet our fans at the intersection of nostalgia and culture."
Also, in celebration of the chubby purple one's birthday, McDonald's is offering a "Grimace Birthday Meal," which features a purple shake. Oh, and they offered some insight in Grimace's origin story, too; apparently, Grimace comes from a place called Grimace Island, where his family includes "Grandma Winky, aunts Millie and Tillie and his Uncle O'Grimacey."
More Context
What is the Grimace Birthday meal?
mcdonald's straight up released a mcdonaldland game that runs on legitimate game boy hardware. what the fuck pic.twitter.com/Je1t1tDwGt -- Nick C. (@nickisonlinet) June 13, 2023
The game has two modes: normal and hard, where there's no auto-grind but tricks get double points. This isn't McDonald's first foray into retro gaming, either. Last month the company released a Tetris handheld in the shape of a McNugget, unfortunately only in China.
The Grimace's Birthday site is adorably retro and you can tell McDonald's (or whoever) put a lot of thought into it. Even the sounds of the clicks sound like they were taken straight out of 2003. You can play the game here.