In November 2024, we brought you the news that the Boulder Dash series will be celebrating its 40th year with a brand new title. The new game, titled Boulder Dash 40th Anniversary, is due for release on Steam, Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, and App Store on the 10th of July 2025. In the meantime, the Retro News team had a chat with two of the game’s creators to look behind the scenes of this upcoming arcade adventure romp that looks set to be one of the best Boulder Dash games yet.
Most of our readers will be familiar with the Boulder Dash series, but for anyone not in the know, it started life as an Atari 8-bit computer game released in 1984. It went on to be one of the most influential series in gaming history and was ported to just about every console and computer under the sun in some form or another. Since then, it has spawned a myriad of sequels and spin-offs, as well as seeing several design changes to its quintessential star, Rockford.
One of the standout features of the series has always been great presentation. And with this latest entry, developer BBG Entertainment has brought in the best and brightest to make sure the visuals and soundtrack keep to this tradition. For the soundtrack, veteran composer Chris Hülsbeck has gotten onboard, and we ask him what it means to him to be involved in celebrating Boulder Dash’s 40th year. “I am myself a big fan of the original Boulder Dash games, which I played extensively in the mid-80s on the Commodore C64,” He explains.
We ask Chris how his involvement came about. “I was very excited to be a part of this 40th Anniversary Edition of the games. BBG Entertainment had a stand right next to our Factor 5 stand at gamescom 2024 and asked me if I wanted to take part in the new edition, while I was playing an early version of Boulder Dash 40th Anniversary. Of course, I was immediately on board!”
Chris also explains the challenges involved in writing music for such an important video game. “First of all, it is a big honor to work on a reboot of a legendary title like that. And of course, it is challenging, because people might not like the new sound. The basic idea from the beginning was to create a remix of the original theme music by Peter Liepa that sounds contemporary. There is now a version for the menu and an in-game version. Of course, I also used sounds that I used on the C64 in the 80s. I also added some new effects and other pieces of music.”
Stephan Berendsen is the CEO and owner of BBG Entertainment and now holds the rights to Boulder Dash following an acquisition in 2017. Since then, Stephan has overseen the development of several new games in the series. We ask Stephan why it’s important to continue the legacy of Boulder Dash. “Taking into account how many fans have been having fun with various Boulder Dash games for many decades, it was clear to us that we are committed to upholding the key values and pillars of the game.”
Stephan also explains his objective in making new games for the series. “Since we took over the rights to Boulder Dash in 2017, my goal has always been to make a comprehensive new version that brings together the old and the new. An anniversary edition, exactly forty years after the trademark was registered in 1985, seemed like a good time to do this.” We also asked Stephan about the challenges in making games that appeal to a new audience while pleasing older fans. “In my opinion, it’s the unusual combination of platform game and puzzle game that makes Boulder Dash so appealing even today, for all target groups.”
He continues by explaining the feedback received at game shows. “We had an initial version of Boulder Dash 40th Anniversary at our stand at gamescom in August 2024 to try out, and found that Boulder Dash appeals to all target groups: children, young people, and parents. The older gamers were, of course, delighted to play the original games from back then, while their kids worked their way through the new levels. The response at our gamescom stand showed that the Boulder Dash game concept still appeals to young and old today.”
We also ask Stephan what it’s like working with such a distinguished composer for the game. “Chris is one of the best-known German video game developers, and when it turned out at gamescom 2024, where he was right next to our stand with his Factor 5 stand, that he had always been a fan of Boulder Dash, I simply asked him if he would like to contribute the sound. He was immediately enthusiastic and on board.”
He also thinks back to his first time playing Boulder Dash and the responsibility of taking it forward. “For me, the best thing was to see the first two Boulder Dash games on the original C64 and Atari, and to look back then on my computer for the first time. With the CRT graphic effect, you suddenly feel like you’ve been transported back 40 years in time. On the other hand, it was nerve-wracking to create the same game feeling, because tiny details in the speed can mess everything up. Getting it all right can be very frustrating.”
He follows this up by thinking about the challenges of bringing such an iconic series to modern platforms. “Taking into account how many fans have been having fun with various Boulder Dash games for many decades, it was clear to us that we are committed to upholding the key values and pillars of the game. And because the focus is on playability and functionality, finding the right style for the visuals is a very complicated process, because while we’re doing this interview, we’re still busy reworking the graphics to make them modern, but still attractive for Boulder Dash fans.”
Stephan has had to juggle keeping the core gameplay mechanics intact while adding new features. “The basic gameplay has, of course, not changed, but with new features such as growing walls, slime, an enemy generator, eggs, and other things, we have tried to bring a breath of fresh air into the Boulder Dash universe. And we have to be careful, because die-hard Boulder Dash fans are extremely picky when it comes to remakes of the old originals. Not only does everything have to look and play the same, but it’s the speed, the scrolling, the physics. To achieve this, we worked closely with the world’s best Boulder Dash experts, including Peter Liepa, the developer of the original game.”
We also wanted to know how Stephan was feeling now that the game is coming close to being released. “I can’t believe that the years of work will soon come to an end, because we are still in the middle of it. We are currently working on the last bug fixes and improvements. Also, we are adding the possibility to upload and share user-created levels through our Boulder Dash server.”
We finish up by asking Stephan what the future holds for the series. “This is certainly not the end of the series. It’s rather a new beginning, because we want to offer users the opportunity to create new levels with the editor and share them with the community. We will also be holding the first Boulder Dash world championship at gamescom and launching an eSports tournament.”
Retro News would like to thank Stephan and Chris for their time, and the best of luck with the game.
