OpenMBU is a reverse-engineered version of Marble Blast Ultra, a puzzle-platformer originally developed by GarageGames and released on January 25, 2006 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade.
Marble Blast Ultra was one of XBLA's breakout titles, selling over 24,000 copies within the first four days of its launch. It quickly rolled into the Top Played Xbox Live Games list, sharing the limelight with Halo 2, Call of Duty 2, and Dead or Alive 4. The game proved popular with Xbox 360 owners early in the console's life and even throughout it, selling well over 756,000 copies since it was released. Throughout 2006 to 2010, it secured a place in the Top 10 and Top 20 XBLA Top Played Games list.
In February 2011, the game was abruptly removed from the Xbox Live Marketplace, causing confusion and disappointment among fans. Many were and still are unaware that it was removed and under the impression that the game had simply lost popularity, while this is not true.
In 2009, GarageGames rebranded as Instant Action and launched InstantAction.com, aiming to bring higher quality games to web browsers, with Marble Blast Ultra being one of them, but renamed to Marble Blast Online. While the company experienced some success, it was regrettably announced at the end of 2010 that Instant Action would be shutting down.
GarageGames has since been reformed, but during the time between rebranding and the shutting down of Instant Action, much of their IP was sold off. As such, the rights to Marble Blast were lost, resulting in the removal of the game from the Xbox Live Marketplace in February 2011.
The news of its removal was met with widespread disappointment, sparking a strong desire for its return among fans. Over the years, the frustration eventually led a group of dedicated fans to start a project focused on faithfully recreating the original Marble Blast Ultra experience for PC. And so in 2021, OpenMBU was born.
OpenMBU is a faithful recreation of the game that includes enhanced visuals, improved performance, a redesigned UI, bug fixes, and new features. It includes additional controller options, new game modes, fan-made content (levels, skins, mods, etc), leaderboards, support for up to 32-player multiplayer, Discord Rich Presence, and more.
What is Marble Blast Ultra?
Marble Blast Ultra is a 3D puzzle-platformer and the sequel to Marble Blast Gold. The game originally released in December 2002 as Marble Blast, and then updated in May 2003 being renamed Marble Blast Gold. The sequel, Marble Blast Ultra, was released a few years later for the Xbox 360 with new features and improved graphics.
In Singleplayer, the goal is for the player to reach the end pad of each level as quickly as possible, while navigating obstacles and hazards that can impede progress. Powerups are available to assist the player in completing each level.
In Multiplayer, players battle to collect gems within a specific time limit, utilizing powerups to maneuver quickly through levels and disrupt opponents. The player with the most points at the end of the time limit wins.
