For 25 years, people across the globe have been gleefully entertained by the wacky adventures of the sponge living in a pineapple under the sea,SpongeBob SquarePants. Over 300 episodes of the hit Nickelodeon animated series have told the tale of the undersea fry cook and his friends, butSpongeBob SquarePants’adventures weren’t limited to television. Multiple films, TV spinoffs, stage adaptations, books, comics, and, of course, video games have kept people enthralled with the snail-owning sponge over the years. However, video games based on SpongeBob’s world solely seemed to lessen dramatically in the 2010s. That was until the surprise release of multiple SpongeBob games in the early 2020s, including one announced for 2025.
SpongeBob SquarePants’ Modern Video Game Resurgence
For players who grew up in the early 2000s, many probably have fond memories playing Nickelodeon video game classics such asThe Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules,Nicktoons Unite!, andSpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom. It was thanks to nostalgia for this era of games that THQ Nordic tasked Purple Lamp Studios to develop a remake ofBattlefor modern audiences and platforms in 2020 calledSpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated. WhileRehydratedreceived mixed reviews, it was a financial success selling over 2 million copies by 2021. This success inspired THQ and other game companies to develop more SpongeBob games and include the icon in several other games.
This resurgence of SpongeBob in video games first continued with his appearance in 2021’sNickelodeon All-Star Brawl, aSuper Smash Bros-like fighting gamefeaturing all kinds of Nickelodeon characters, new and old. SpongeBob would go on to be featured inHot Wheels Unleashed,Minecraft,Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway, andFall Guys. In 2023, THQ Nordic and Purple Lamp Studios released a spiritual sequel toRehydratedin the form of the new gameSpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. LikeRehydrated,Cosmic Shakewas a third-person platformer that received mixed reviews but saw lower-than-expected sales, far below sales seen withRehydrated.
SpongeBob SquarePants’ Latest Video Game
Despite the poor sales ofCosmic Shake, Nickelodeon continued to approve new video game developments of the world of SpongeBob, resulting inthe October 2024 release ofSpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game. A third-person physics-based sandbox game,The Patrick Star Gamestars SpongeBob’s loveable, goofy, best friend Patrick as the protagonist, a first for the video game medium. Here, Patrick can complete a variety of mini-games and short quests in order to earn sand dollars and enter The Fry Cook Games. However, likeCosmic Shake,The Patrick Star Gamehas so far received mixed to poor reviews.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Gamewas released on the same day as Patrick’s voice actor Bill Fagerbakke’s 67th birthday, on May 31, 2025.
SpongeBob SquarePants’ Future in Video Games
While SpongeBob’s recent resurgence in video games has been mixed overall, that hasn’t stopped the jellyfishing fan from being the star in upcoming games. In a recent trailer,a sequel to THQ Nordic and Purple Lamp Studios’Cosmic Shakewas teased, seemingly completing a trilogy starting withRehydrated. Little information is known about this upcoming Spongebob game, but it does have a release date of 2025. It’s expected that this game will be a third-person platformer and will play similarly to bothRehydratedandCosmic Shake. Only a few clips of gameplay were shown, depicting Spongebob walking around as a skeleton and as his normal self in the dark, deep-sea city of Rock Bottom.
In terms of the story, this newSpongeBob SquarePantsgame appears to havethe Flying Dutchman ghostas the main antagonist, as he is seen repeatedly throughout the trailer. The trailer was also titled an “Official Halloween Gaming Trailer” and features many spooky scenes, so having the Flying Dutchman being an antagonist could work. A mysterious pink portal opens up and drags buildings and buses into itself and seemingly strikes residents with bolts of lightning. Bosses from prior games also appeared such as Squidward turning into a giant octopus and Miss Shell appearing as a witch. Both SpongeBob and Patrick appear as small ghosts at the end of the trailer, and they’ll likely have to use these forms to help save Bikini Bottom once more.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game
WHERE TO PLAY
This is Patrick!Create hilarious mayhem in the open world of Bikini Bottom.Patrick fans, your time has come - and Bikini Bottom is your open-world playground! So become the Star of the show, put your silliest ideas into action, and enjoy the physics-based chaos that unfolds all around you.Fun with PhysicsTake things and push them somewhere else. Physics!From The Krusty Krab to Glove World, the SpongeBob universe is yours to goof off in. Skydive with just a parasol (or nothing at all), search for buried treasure in the Dump, or release the rage in Mrs. Puff’s Rage Room. Use almost any item you’re able to find, from the reef blower to a can of paint, to change the world into Patrick’s dream playground.Iconic StylesUnlock classic Patrick outfits with your crazy stunts and collectibles.Take on challenges only Patrick would attempt, set up by your best friends like SpongeBob, Sandy Cheeks, Mr. Krabs, and … Plankton. Or do absolutely nothing, for longer than anyone else can possibly manage - it’s your world to be as Patrick as possible.Everyone’s HereGet silly with SpongeBob, Squidward, Sandy, and more.So step inside one of Bikini Bottom’s most enigmatic minds, forget all the rules, and have the most hilariously unpredictable experience you can imagine!
