New Mickey Mouse Horror Game Announced After ‘Steamboat Willie’ Entered Public Domain
In case you haven’t heard, yesterday was not only the first day of 2024 but also the day that Mickey Mouse officially entered public domain.
After years of delaying the inevitable, Disney now finds itself in a world where other creators can freely use the company’s mascot as he appeared in the 1928 short Steamboat Willie.
Photo: D23
Mickey Mouse Horror Game Announced
As it turns out, the developers at Nightmare Forge Games are wasting no time taking advantage of Mickey’s new availability.
Photo: Collider
On the day the world’s most famous mouse hit the public domain, the video game studio announced a cooperative horror game titled Infestation 88.
In the new game, players will take on the role of exterminators after being called to rid a storage facility of rats in 1988.
Photo: Collider
As the infestation of rats becomes more overwhelming, the exterminators eventually find themselves face to face with a horrifying-looking Mickey.
A Whole New World
Clearly based on the Steamboat Willie version of the character, this kind of usage would have been unfathomable just weeks ago.
Like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, Nightmare Forge will take advantage of a popular character entering the public domain and take the character in a much darker direction.
Photo: Disney
Infestation 88 is likely just the tip of the iceberg for non-Disney Mickey Mouse content. With the world’s most recognizable cartoon character now fair game, expect all kinds of small studios to try and capitalize.
Interestingly, Steamboat Willie is not the only character to hit public domain this year. Winnie the Pooh’s friend Tigger has joined the silly old bear in the free-usage category, as will Peter Pan.
With the entry of Mickey Mouse into public domain, however, it is clear that we are entering a new era. How Disney and Disney fans navigate these uncharted waters remains to be seen.
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