Jetpack Joyride

It was also released on PlayStation 4 on April 26, 2016. A mobile version using the keypad was released in 2021 for KaiOS devices. The game features the same protagonist from Age of Zombies and Monster Dash, Barry Steakfries, who the player controls as he steals a bullet-powered jet pack from a top-secret laboratory, being a direct spin-off of the latter game. The game has been met with favourable reviews and has won numerous awards.

• Developer — Halfbrick Studios • Publisher — Halfbrick Studios Beatshapers (PSP) Big Ant Studios (PSV, PS3, PS4) Storms (KaiOS) • Platforms — iOS, Flash, Android, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, BlackBerry PlayBook, BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone, Windows, KaiOS, tvOS • Released — iOSSeptember 1, 2011Web'AndroidSeptember 28, 2012PSP BlackBerry PlayBookDecember 13, 2012PS3 & Vita BlackBerry 10March 6, 2013Windows PhoneJune 5, 2013WindowsJune 5, 2013PS4April 26, 2016KaiOSAugust 26, 2021 • Genre — Endless runner • Modes — Single-player

• Illustration — Barry flies through a volcano-like background. Below him is a scientist and in front of him is an electric zapper. The game uses a simple, one-touch system to control the jetpack; when the player presses anywhere on the touchscreen, the jetpack fires and Barry rises. When the player lets go, the jetpack turns off, and Barry falls. Because he is continually in motion, the player does not control his speed, simply his movement along the vertical axis. The objective of the game is to travel as far as possible, collect coins, and avoid hazards such as zappers, missiles and high-intensity laser beams. Contact with any of these obstacles would result in instant death, although Barry's body will tumble and slide for an additional distance upon dying. As the player travels, golden coloured "Spin Tokens" occasionally appear, which the player can collect. At the end of each run, these spin tokens are used in a slot machine (one token gives one spin) which can award the player various prizes, including coins, additional spin tokens, a head-start, a player revival, and explosives that can propel the player's body for an additional distance after death. If the player does not wish to spin the slot, they can cash in all remaining spin tokens for 100 coins each. Rainbow-coloured boxes with gears can also be found throughout the game. When touched by the player, these boxes provide Barry with a vehicle which lasts until he hits an obstacle. The available vehicles are "Bad As Hog" (a chopper motorcycle), "Mr. Cuddles" (a mecha dragon), "Crazy Freaking Teleporter" (a teleportation device), "Gravity Suit" (the suit used by Gravity Guy, enables gravitational reversing), "Profit Bird" (a bird-shaped plane which ejects banknotes), "Lil Stomper" (a large mech suit), "Wave Rider" (a jet ski), and "Sleigh of Awesome" (a sleigh drawn by two reindeer). In later special events, six additional vehicles were made available: a "Hoverboard" and the "DeLorean Time Machine" (both from Back to the Future), the "Ecto-1" (from Ghostbusters), "Voyager Shuttlecraft" from (Star Trek), and "Cryo Thrusters" (a pair of ice skates). Most of these vehicles are also available in Magnetic and Golden upgrades that can be purchased for coins in "The Stash" (the in-game store). In a later update, the "Strong Arm Machine" (S.A.M.) was introduced: the only obstacles faced while driving the S.A.M. are missiles, which the player must deflect with its arm. This vehicle, unlike the others, is only available after the player has collected three puzzle pieces, spelling "SAM", in one day. If the player activates the S.A.M. five days in a row, a special costume is made available as a reward. The Stash also sells aesthetic upgrades such as character outfits and different jetpacks. Most of these items do not alter the gameplay in any way, though alternative jetpacks can be useful in achieving some of the missions (such as travelling a distance without harming any scientists). Limited use utilities are also for sale, as are gadgets and vehicle upgrades. Gadgets provide permanent enhancements for the player, but Barry can have only two gadgets equipped at any one time, however, they can purchase an item that permanently increases that number to 3. Players can also access their profile from within The Stash, view achievements on Game Center or Google Play Games, and purchase coins with real world money. At any time in the game, the player is provided with three missions, such as high-fiving (running past) a certain number of scientists, avoiding coins for a set distance, flying close to a certain number of zappers, or having a near miss with a set number of missiles. Each individual mission carries one to three stars, depending on its difficulty. When each mission is completed, the stars are added to the player's experience level and a fresh mission appears (unless the player has enough missions to make it past level 15). Once the number of stars required for the experience level are obtained, the player's level increases and a coin reward is given. Once the highest level is reached, the player receives one of 125 badges selected at random, showing that the complete set of missions have been achieved, and starts the game with new missions. The level titles (e.g. "Graduate", "Ninja", etc.) remain the same, but the level numbers increase, so a player will start from level 16 with the title "Badger". Players can cash in stars multiple times once they reach the title "Barry", to collect more badges and reach a higher level number. Mission unlocks allow the player to get the stars for a mission without completing the mission through gameplay, at the cost of 500 coins per star.

Barry Steakfries works as a salesman for a gramophone-making company, but the business is about to go bankrupt due to low sales. One day, as he walks down a street, sad because of the low sales, he finds one of the "top secret" laboratories of Legitimate Research and sees the Machine gun jetpack inside. Dreaming of using the jetpack to do good, Barry bursts through the wall of the laboratory and steals the experimental jetpack from the clutches of the scientists, thus beginning the game. Barry's nationality is unknown, but he is usually depicted in tie-in media with an Australian accent.

The game was titled Machine Gun Jetpack during development. It was released on the App Store on September 1, 2011. Subsequent upgrades included add-ons such as different jetpacks, utilities and gadgets to assist the player, as well as providing support for the Retina display. The game was launched on Facebook as a Beta on May 11, 2012. It was subsequently ported to Android devices, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, BlackBerry PlayBook, BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone 8, and KaiOS.

On December 18, 2020, Halfbrick Studios announced a sequel to the game titled Jetpack Joyride 2: Bullet Rush. The studio also released an official trailer of the game. Jetpack Joyride 2 was in soft-launch phase in Australia, New Zealand and Canada until March 2022, when it was pulled from App Store and Google Play store, with Halfbrick explaining that the game had "entered a new closed phase of development for an indefinite period". The final game was released on August 19, 2022, as an exclusive title for Apple Arcade. In addition, there is also a real-time tabletop adaptation of the game by Lucky Duck Games.