“The ultimate Zumba experience happens in a class, and the videogame is a great way to introduce new people to Zumba,” he says. But Perlman is enthusiastic about how videogames have contributed to the worldwide accessibility of Zumba. The background environments of each stage will be taking on new interactive features, using visual cues like additional dancers and scenery shifts to reward the player for accuracy and encourage them to keep moving.īringing Zumba to the Switch, a device that is both portable and can be used at home, may seem antithetical to the formula that has made it such a success worldwide. True to the company’s focus on individual trainers, Zumba Burn It Up! will bring back some of the real-life celebrity Zumba instructors from previous games. Fans of the past game will also see some familiar faces. Galante says that players will be able to track their progress by participating in pre-set daily and weekly challenges, aiming for specific scores or perfect technique, or for a particular number of routines, among other goals. 30 different routines will be available, in short, medium, and long sessions.

While the new four-person multiplayer feature suggests a desire to keep up with their sole competition on the Switch, the Just Dance series, Zumba Burn it Up! will still have a strong commitment to fitness. However, 505 Games’ cofounder Raffi Galante tells me they are “open to exploring it closer to launch after hearing more feedback from players and Zumba fans.” Routines will be available in Single Song or Full Class mode, as well as in Fitness Party, which allows up to four players in either mode. Currently, there are no plans for post-release content. Over 30 total songs will be available, including “I Like It,” by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin, “Level Up,” by Ciara, “Azukita” by Steve Aoki, as well as other chart toppers by artists like Bad Bunny & J Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Play-N-Skillz & Elvis Crespo, and Bomba Estéreo, among others. In Zumba Burn It Up!, players will be able to work out to a wide variety of dance styles, including, as Zumba cofounder Alberto Perlman tells me, “reggaetón, salsa, merengue, cumbia, hip hop, and Bollywood”, with a selection of original tracks to match. Today, 505 Games and Kuju Games have announced a new installment of the series for the Nintendo Switch, bringing a new exercise option to the device that offers much of what the dance craze has come to be known for, both on and off the screen. Its last title, Zumba Fitness: World Party, came out so long ago, Microsoft was still supporting the Kinect.

It’s been a few years since Zumba, the worldwide dance-based fitness program, has made an appearance on videogame consoles.

Zumba music lists