Acclaim Brings Retro Arcade Hoops Back to Life with Super Basketball Classics Featuring the World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters

LOS ANGELES – Acclaim today announced Super Basketball Classics Featuring the World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters, a new entry in its beloved retro sports lineup that fuses old-school arcade basketball with the iconic flash, flair, and fun of the Harlem Globetrotters. Inspired by classic 8- and 16-bit hoops games and rebuilt for modern players, the game delivers fast, pick-up-and-play action packed with trick shots, couch co-op chaos, and nonstop highlight-reel moments. 

The game, coming to PC and home consoles, will be making its debut in conjunction with the Harlem Globetrotters 100th anniversary season, which tipped off in late December and will be celebrated around the world all year long.

From playground rivalries to cheat-code-style moves, Super Basketball Classics Featuring the World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters reimagines basketball as both competitive arcade action and pure spectacle. Whether players are running a full season, challenging friends head-to-head, or dazzling the crowd with over-the-top Globetrotter performances, every match is designed to feel like a show.

“The Harlem Globetrotters are synonymous with basketball and entertainment,” said Alex Josef, CEO of Acclaim. “This game celebrates that spirit while honoring the classic arcade basketball experiences fans grew up loving while building a whole new generation of fans, for years to come. With tight controls, big personalities and instant pick-up & play action, Super Basketball Classics brings the Harlem Globetrotters legacy to gamers and sports fans around the world.” 

“As we celebrate our centennial season the links that tie our vibrant past to popular culture of today continues to get stronger, and this partnership with Acclaim, literally brings this video game back to life for a new generation!” said Keith Dawkins, President, Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios. “It fits perfectly for what we are striving to achieve now and into the future, which is to create opportunities for fans of any age, anywhere in the world and on any device to learn and enjoy all aspects of the Harlem Globetrotters in whatever manner they choose. We can’t wait to play!”

Check out the Reveal Teaser:
https://youtu.be/U4AYjP4wYuA?si=F3P5u0iEIcUeSHOr

Steam Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4079160/Super_Basketball_Classics/

Key Features Include:

• The Harlem Globetrotters Take the Court
  Officially licensed and featuring the world-famous, Harlem Globetrotters, complete with signature moves, jaw-dropping trick shots, and unmistakable theatrical flair.

• Retro Gameplay, Modern Upgrades
  Inspired by classic arcade and console basketball titles, rebuilt with smoother controls, new animations, and modern competitive balancing.

• Deep Modes of Play
  Jump into quick Exhibition matches, take on a full Season Mode, or battle through Tournament play with branching brackets and high-stakes challenges.

• Co-Op and Versus Action
  Team up with a friend in couch co-op or go head-to-head for ultimate bragging rights.

• Signature Trick Shot System
  Pull off alley-oops, half-court bombs, outrageous dunks, and over-the-top moves straight out of a Globetrotters performance.

• Retro-Future Nostalgia Aesthetic
  Crisp pixel art, rotoscoped-style visual filters, and a soundtrack that blends classic arcade beats with modern flair.

From the creators of Basketball Classics, this new installment keeps the heart of arcade basketball alive while infusing it with the unmistakable personality of the Harlem Globetrotters. Part sports sim, part arcade spectacle, Super Basketball Classics Featuring the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters is a celebration of hoops culture, built for fans of retro games, basketball lovers and anyone who believes sports should be fun first.

Step up. Show off. And play ball the Harlem Globetrotters way.

About Acclaim

Originally founded in 1987, Acclaim established itself over the years as a leading worldwide developer, publisher, and mass marketer, bringing beloved franchises such as Mortal Kombat, Turok, and NBA Jam to home consoles. Today, Acclaim carries forward the ideology on which it was founded with its unrelenting support of talented indie developers and its delivery of high-quality, premium indie games to a global audience of discerning gamers. Acclaim’s return is a testament to the strength and enduring appeal of its iconic brand. 

For more information, visit http://www.PlayAcclaim.com.

ABOUT THE WORLD-FAMOUS HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS™ / HERSCHEND ENTERTAINMENT STUDIOS 

Now entering their Centennial season, The Harlem Globetrotters™ are THE originators of applying sport to deliver goodwill, excitement, showmanship, and athleticism to a global audience every year. Since 1926, with a legacy of elite talent that has included many of the greatest stars of men’s and women’s basketball from HBCU’s to Division I, II, III, NAIA, The NBA, and the WNBA, the Globetrotters are the first team ever inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. They have utilized their talents to showcase their iconic brand of basketball to tens of millions in over 124 countries and territories across six continents.

Never ones to stop innovating, the award-winning organization, which currently holds an unprecedented 80+ Guinness World Records, the most of any professional sports team, has expanded its media footprint to make their content available to fans new and old on whatever platform they choose, from EMMY nominated broadcast shows, specials, and feature films, to their own FAST channel, as well as reimagining the memorabilia and collectible space through a new partnership with cllct, with uniforms and other special apparel created by legendary designer, Jeff Hamilton. Content partners include; Hidden Pictures, Vantage Pictures, Aspire TV, and Hearst Media Production Group; commercial partnerships and consumer products include Zara, EQL, IMG, Jerry Leigh, OVO, Shoe Palace, Philcos, and Excel Sports as well as the official ball partner, Spalding and Exxact Sports. Coined by the U.S. State Department in 1951 as Ambassadors of Goodwill, and now serving The Official Ambassadors of Goodwill for the United Nations as well, the team leverages their moniker to drive its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts globally around their strategic pillars of Health & Wellness, Education, and Community Empowerment. These efforts have yielded partnerships with the likes of the NBA Retired Players Association, Microsoft, U.S. State Department Sports Diplomacy, United Nations: Food & Agricultural Organization, and Operation Homefront.

For More Information:
Glenn Mandel (for Acclaim, Inc.)
Escalate Communications
glenn@escalatecommunications.com

Frank DiPersio
Acclaim, Inc.
frank.d@playacclaim.com

For the Harlem Globetrotters:
Mirian Arias
Mirian.arias@harlemglobetrotters.com

Joe Favorito
joefavorito2@gmail.com