The Binding of Isaac’s beggar might be getting his own game in The Legend of Bum-bo

Edmund McMillen, the indie designer behindSuper Meat BoyandThe Binding of Isaac, has teased a new project:The Legend of Bum-bo.McMillen has been working on the game for several months in collaboration withJames Id.Isaacmusic teamRidiculonwill be providing audio. UnlikeIsaac,Bum-Bowill feature 3D graphics.

The announcement post on theIsaacblog describesBum-boas, “a turn-based puzzle RPG type thingy thats [sic] randomly generated.” McMillen acknowledged the significance of announcing the game there, implying thatBum-bowill have some sort of connection toThe Binding of Isaac. The coin and turd pile in the logo image included with the announcement are two of the most frequently recurring items in that previous game, corroborating that implication.

InThe Binding of Isaac,Bumbois a collectible power-up added in the recentAfterbirthexpansion. It starts as the disembodied head of one of the beggars that occasionally pop up in the game’s randomly generated levels, floating around with Isaac and collecting coins which it consumes to level up and gain new attack abilities that aid Isaac. The “Bum-bo want coin!” slogan in the announcement logo thus suggests that this is likely the same character. Id and McMillen both retweeted an image from artist Tikara, who has created artwork for officialIsaacmerchandise.

Bumbo finally got coin… now Bumbo want ADVENTURE!@edmundmcmillen@jamesidpic.twitter.com/ZTygMXCt1y

— Tikara (@TikaratheMew)July 15, 2025

First released in 2011,The Binding of Isaacis an action rogue-like game loosely inspired by the Biblical episode of the same name. Isaac is a young boy whose fanatical mother believes that God ordered her to kill him as a test of faith. He escapes into the basement and must descend through a series of procedurally generated levels inspired by dungeons from the originalLegend of Zelda, shooting tears as a weapon. An enormous number of power-ups can be found to enhance Isaac’s abilities in ways ranging from subtle to completely absurd.

The game mixes challenging arcade gameplay with grotesque imagery and religious iconography in a uniquely personal cocktail. Despite its theologically offensive nature, it has been massively successful, receiving a series of ports and updates up to as recently as October 2015 with theAfterbirthexpansion.