Because of the space requirements on XBLA titles at the time, Live focuses almost entirely on the multiplayer aspect of the game (in essence being the antithesis to Bomberman Hero). There's no story or campaign mode, with single player simply pitting the player against anywhere from 2 to 7 CPU opponents. Up to 4 players can play locally, and online play allows for 8-person battles. To make up for lack of single player, the games allows players to customize their Bomberman in a variety of themed costume parts. In 2009, a PS3 version of the game was released under the title Bomberman Ultra.
In 2010, Hudson teamed up with Pi Studios to release a sequel, Bomberman Live: Battlefest. The sequel continued the multiplayer focus of the first game, with more themed stages, costume parts and power-ups to play with.
The Bomberman Live games provide examples of:
- For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: Battlefest, in addition to the standard costume customization parts, allows players to user their Xbox Live Avatar as their player character.
- Mission-Pack Sequel: Battlefest.
- Super Title 64 Advance: An odd variant, as the "Live" in the title does not refer to the Xbox 360 console the games have been release on, but rather the Xbox Live online network they're available on.
- Un-Reboot: This game goes back to the original continuity, disregarding Bomberman Act:Zero's attempted Darker and Edgier Continuity Reboot.
