We predicted as much, but there’s nothing like having your beliefs confirmed; a Mickey Mouse horror game is coming our way, having been announced just hours after it became public domain.
If you cast your memories back all the way to… oh, just the 18 December 2023, you’ll see that we foretold of this exact scenario, thanks to Steamboat Willie becoming public domain. As mentioned back then, the rest of the Mickey Mouse brand, e.g. the more contemporary versions of him are safe, but poor ol’ Willie is going to be subjected to such horrors.
What do you think to Mickey's new look in Infestations 88?
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Or, rather, we will be subjected to them.
Nightmare Forge Games, a small indie developer, has announced Infestation 88, a survival horror that stars – you guessed it – Steamboat Willie. So, basically Mickey Mouse. Let’s face facts here, no one is going to split hairs over the character’s name when playing this game.
Due to Disney’s all-seeing-eyes, and the fact it’s already said how it will “work to safeguard against consumer confusion”, it makes sense that Nightmare Forge has tried to cover itself by stating the following: “This game is inspired by works that are now in the public domain. This independent creation has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise endorsed by any original authors of said works. All content in this game is used under appropriate public domain guidelines, and is not affiliated with, related to, or endorsed by any existing intellectual property or trademark holders.”
Mickey isn’t the only “classic character” in the upcoming Steam horror, there will also be many familiar faces from our childhoods and urban legends joining the fray too; think of it as a who’s who of faces we know and, maybe, once loved.
What can we say, other than 2024 is shaping up to be a nightmarish ride before it finishes its first week? How apt for January. If you want to play Infestation 88, you can wishlist the title on Steam ready for its release later in the year.
