One of Britain’s most politically confused platform heroes is back. The Monty Mole Collection launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC on January 23, bringing six classic microcomputer games to modern platforms for £6.99 / $8.99 / €8.39.
The collection is developed by Imagine Software and published by Pixel Games UK, and it bundles together the core Monty Mole games plus a few extras, all wrapped in a modern emulator with some handy quality-of-life features.
If you grew up with a Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, or Amstrad CPC, you may well remember Monty’s coal-stealing antics. Or you might be like me, who was aware of Monty, but didn’t get the chance to fully appreciate his adventures.
Now, you can!
What is The Monty Mole Collection?
You get six games from Monty’s long and increasingly chaotic career:
Wanted! Monty Mole
Monty starts his career of extremely questionable decision-making by stealing coal from a South Yorkshire pit to survive winter. Expect flying pickets, weird enemies, and a final showdown that somehow involves a ballot paper.
Monty Is Innocent
Monty’s been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing a bucket of coal (seems fair). His mate Sam Stoat has to break him out.
Sam Stoat: Safebreaker
Sam gets his own game, proving he’s more than just Monty’s dodgy mate. This time he’s after a big score.
Monty on the Run
Fresh out of prison, Monty makes a break for freedom. Dodge enemies, grab coins, and try not to get caught again.
Auf Wiedersehen Monty
Monty flees the UK and travels across Europe, trying to earn enough money to buy his own island and finally be left alone. Relatable.
Moley Christmas
A festive oddity where Monty delivers… a game about Monty delivering a game. Jump, climb, dodge hazards, and question reality.
You also get modern features
These are still very much 1980s platformers, but the collection adds some modern mercy. You can save and load at will, rewind your mistakes, and apply display filters if you want that fuzzy CRT look back.
Back in the day, falling off a platform meant starting again and pretending you were fine with it. Now you can just rewind and carry on like nothing happened.
The Monty Mole games weren’t just cute animal platformers. They were inspired by the 1984 UK mining strikes and created by Peter Harrap, the teenage son of a mining inspector. What started as a simple idea about stealing coal to survive turned into a running story about being chased across Europe by increasingly annoyed authorities.
They were big hits on home computers like the Spectrum (you can play some of the Monty games on The Spectrum) and C64, and Monty became one of those characters that felt very specifically British.
Launch details
The Monty Mole Collection launches on January 23, 2026, on Xbox Series X|S and PC via the Microsoft Store (it is already available on Steam, but without Monty Is Innocent). It costs £6.99 / $8.99 / €8.39 and includes all six games, plus modern features that make them far less brutal than you remember — unless you choose to play them that way. Learn more on the Pixel Games UK website.
Some heroes wear capes. Monty wore a helmet and stole coal.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
