When is the Infestation Origins release date? Following the release of Steamboat Willie to the public domain, naturally, a ton of games and movies are already in the works featuring the classic Mickey Mouse imagery. When the same happened with Winnie the Pooh, we got the horrifying Blood and Honey movie, and Nightmare Forge Games are doing something similar with Steamboat Willie in Infestation Origins, a horror game starring the classic Disney character.
Infestation Origins is a co-op horror game in which you and your teammates are hired to exterminate a severe rat problem. Only, it’s a bit more than a simple rat infestation. A horrifying Steamboat Willie seems to be responsible for some killer rat takeover, including giant mutant rats and, well, Mickey Mouse himself. This isn’t Disneyland, and you certainly won’t want a hug from this mouse.
Infestation Origins release date estimate
Infestation Origins will be released into early access in 2024. However, there is no set full release date yet. Since the game is launching in early access, and it seems to already be a considerable way into development, we hope to see an Infestation Origins release date in mid-2024.
There’s no real way to whittle down a theoretical release date for Infestation Origins, since we’re only just hearing about it for the first time now, and Nightmare Forge Games isn’t working on anything else right now. However, this means that its attention is solely on the release of Infestation Origins.
Nightmare Forge Games is an entirely new development outfit, and Infestation Origins is its first game as a unit. However, its website states that the team is made up of “a team of industry veterans who have specialized in creating horror games since 2010”, so Infestation Origins should be in good hands.
Infestation Origins trailers and story
The first Infestation Origins trailer, released on the day of the game’s announcement, and on the day Steamboat Willie transferred to the public domain, provides some insight into the plot and setting of the horror game.
From the voice-over, which gives considerable Five Nights vibes, we are told we’ve been hired as members of an extermination team to get rid of a rat infestation in a storage facility. Your client claims to have tried to rid the area of the vermin already, but soon realized the threat was more dangerous than they first thought. Giant, fleshy nests cover the walls and giant rats roam the halls, and it’s your job to find out what’s causing it – and put a stop to it.
Infestation Origins name change
Infestation Origins was originally called Infestation 88, but, less than a day after the game’s reveal, the name was changed. The number 88 is commonly associated with Neo-Nazism – with some believing the game’s rat extermination imagery to be a direct reference to the Neo-Nazi salute. Nightmare Forge has responded to the controversy alongside changing the game’s name, claiming that 88 was a reference to the year the game is set in and that it was “unaware of any additional meaning the number 88 has.”
That’s all we know so far about the co-op game, but it’s still early days, and there’s plenty of information to come. In the meantime, there are plenty of other games to scratch that classic cartoon itch, including some of the best Disney games. Plus, Infestation Origins isn’t the only upcoming game vying for the rubberhose cartoon-style game crown, as Mouse brings a black-and-white, Mickey Mouse-style FPS game to a PC near you.