Developer Nightmare Forge Games announced on January 3rd that the title of the survival horror game “Infestation 88”, which was recently announced for PC, has been changed to “Infestation: Originsannounced that it would be changed to “. This work is attracting attention because it features Mickey Mouse, whose copyright has just expired, in the game.
“Infestation 88” “Infestation: Origins” is a survival horror game that supports solo play and online cooperative play with up to 4 people. The gameplay is episodic, and players aim to eliminate mysterious intruders on the stage by making full use of a variety of equipment.
The gameplay of this work involves exploring each area of the map, searching for and eliminating intruders that look like strange creatures. It is said that the trend will be to move on to new areas. Meanwhile, there are terrifying beings in the map that are causing an infestation of these intruders, and players must monitor their actions and survive by running or hiding. In this work, Mickey Mouse, who has turned into a monster, appears as that terrifying presence.
The background to Mickey Mouse’s appearance is the Disney animated film released in 1928.steamboat willie” is out of copyright at the end of 2023 under U.S. copyright law, and becomes public domain from January 1, 2024. This is the first work to feature Mickey Mouse (and Minnie Mouse). Although it is limited to the design of this movie, by making it public domain, anyone can freely use Mickey Mouse. In addition to this work, it appears that other games and movies using Mickey Mouse have also been announced.
The title of this game was changed just two days after it was announced on January 1st.developer’sstatementAccording to reports, after the release of the film, there were comments that the previous title, “Infestation 88,” was reminiscent of Nazism. The number “88” that was changed is also known as a slang word for “HEIL HITLER,” which praises Hitler, and its use in product names is still sometimes avoided.
The developer explained that this work is set in the world of 1988, and that the number “88” was chosen to match the symmetrical design of the game’s logo. He said he didn’t have any other intentions and didn’t know about the slang mentioned above, and decided to change it immediately after it was pointed out. As a result, the title of this work was changed to “Infestation: Origins”. Following the adoption of Mickey Mouse, this work once again attracted attention in an unexpected way.
“Infestation: Origins” is available on PC (Steam) is scheduled to be released in early access within 2024.
