New Game Boy Color-Compatible Game Buddy Is Launching in 2026

More than two decades after Nintendo discontinued the Game Boy Color, a brand-new game compatible with the handheld is on the way. Buddy: The Video Game is targeting a Q4 2026 release on ModRetro's Chromatic, with the cartridge also fully compatible with original Game Boy Color hardware.

Developed by playinstinct and published by ModRetro, Buddy is a horror game based on Casper Kelly's upcoming movie of the same name. IGN first revealed the project on August 20 alongside its teaser trailer.

Buddy: The Video Game is not simply using pixel art to imitate a Game Boy release. ModRetro is publishing it for the Chromatic, its modern handheld built around Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, while maintaining compatibility with Nintendo's original Game Boy Color.

That means anyone with working original hardware will be able to play the new release without needing the Chromatic.

ModRetro has not announced an exact launch date yet. The game is currently scheduled for the final quarter of 2026.

The game mixes survival horror with visual novel storytelling and several smaller arcade-style activities.

Story Mode follows the events of the movie and lets players decide whether to cooperate with Buddy or defy him. Survival Mode drops the story focus and has players run, hide, and search for supplies while Buddy hunts them through locations taken from the film.

Buddy Mode reverses the setup by putting players in control of the orange unicorn as he chases children who refuse to follow the rules of his show.

Mini Game Mode moves closer to the cheerful children's program that Buddy is pretending to be. It includes activities built around dancing, painting, riding, dusting, and other challenges, giving the game a lighter side alongside its horror modes.

The video game is arriving after Buddy reaches theaters on August 28. The horror film is directed by Casper Kelly, who co-wrote it with Jamie King, and stars Keegan-Michael Key as Buddy alongside Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace, Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt, and Delaney Quinn.

Its story takes place inside the colorful world of a children's television show where Buddy teaches a group of kids through songs and games. Things begin to unravel when one child refuses to play along.

Buddy: The Video Game takes that same premise back to hardware first released in 1998, with its new Game Boy Color-compatible cartridge planned for Q4 2026.