Infestation: Origins — Everything We Know

Well, it’s happening again. Steamboat Willie has entered the public domain, which can mean only one thing: horror games, and a boatload of ‘em. First we had the beloved Winnie the Pooh thrown through the grinder in Winnie’s Hole, and now, well, ol’ Mickey Mouse himself is getting a makeover in Infestation: Origins. Why horror, and it a good old-fashioned happy-go-lucky platforming game? Who knows, but developer Nightmare Forge clearly seems to believe they’ve got the winning ticket on this one.

Infestation: Origins, formerly known as Infestation 88, is currently slated to launch at some point in 2024. Curious to learn more about it ahead of its debut on the Steam shelves? Here’s everything we can currently tell you about the upcoming project by Nightmare Forge Games.

What Is Infestation: Origins?

Infestation: Origins is an upcoming 1-4 player survival-horror game in which players will work as exterminators over a series of “infested”‘locations, one of which will just so happen to don a Steamboat Willie-looking villain. In other words, Mickey Mouse has gone rogue, and it’ll be up to you to exterminate him, as well as an enormous roster of vermin.

“In the 1980s, what was thought to be an outbreak of vermin morphed into something far more sinister,” Nightmare Forge wrote in a press release. “Infestation: Origins is an episodic, four player co-op survival horror game in which you and your friends are exterminators called in to treat these mysterious infestations.” Guess what? Steamboat Willie is vermin, apparently.

Story

It hasn’t been confirmed whether or not there’ll be a storyline, as such, but Nightmare Forge has mentioned that there’ll be a number of locations to essentially pulverize as one of the few exterminators. And that’s where your duties will lie: at the epicenter of various “infested” locations. As an exterminator, you will need to work as a unit to survive the trials — whatever they may be. And yes, Steamboat Willie will be one of said trials.

Gameplay

Judging from the looks of the footage that has been showed to date, Infestation: Origins will be a bit like Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, in the case that you’ll have to move between certain locations and exterminate various monsters and, in this instance, a sadistic critter who looks an awful lot like Mickey Mouse. Either alone, or with up to three friends, you will need to tackle various creatures, all whilst playing a literal game of cat-and-mouse with some oddly familiar characters.

“Explore unique locations and uncover the story behind how each infestation began,” the game’s description reads in part. “Find the means to access and unlock new areas. Use cameras to keep an eye on activity. Maintain power to enable different systems. Find the source at all costs.”

Going by that, it sounds like some gameplay features could include a Five Nights at Freddy’s-type system, in the fact that you’ll need to operate cameras, as well as keep track of certain villains whilst also carrying out other duties around each site.

“Utilize a variety of extermination gear to subdue the outbreak,” the description continues. “Eradicate all nests and monstrous fiends lurking throughout. Run when you can, hide, help your friends – just don't fall victim to the infestation's spread.” In other words, don’t let Mickey Mouse bash your brains in with a boxing glove.

Development

Update: We're changing our game's name to 'Infestation: Origins'. Full statement below. pic.twitter.com/pHSdT83SEm

— Nightmare Forge Games (@NMForgeGames) January 2, 2024

It was always going to happen — Steamboat Willie porting its way over to the world of horror in light of its arrival on the public domain. However, what comes as the biggest surprise of all is the fact that Nightmare Forge announced the conceptual designs for Infestation: Origins only several hours after the property was enrolled into the public domain. And not just that, but ol’ Steamboat Willie was also given another treatment, one that just so happened to put him in the center of an upcoming horror-comedy movie called Mickey’s Mouse Trap.

Disney officially lost the copyright to the 1928 iteration of Steamboat Willie earlier this week, which means, while the media giant still has access to the later versions of the character, the original designs are free for public use. In other words, we can definitely expect to see a whole lot more of Mickey Mouse in the near future. With that said, it wouldn’t be wise to put your hopes into believing that there’ll be anything even remotely traditional.

Infestation: Origins, formerly known as Infestation 88, was given a change of title due to its original name receiving backlash. Unaware of its connection to neo-nazi ideology at the time of its announcement, the studio went on to alter it. Fast-forward several days, and it quickly went on to become Infestation: Origins.

“Unfortunately, at the time of its announcement, we were unaware of any additional meanings the number '88' has,” the team wrote in a statement. “Through feedback from the community, we learned it did, and therefore made this name change ASAP.” Good call, Nightmare Forge.

Trailer

The good news is, there is a short trailer of Infestation: Origins already knocking about on Nightmare Forge Games’ official streaming handle. You can check it out for yourself in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Infestation: Origins will be heading to PC via Steam at some stage in 2024. Does that mean it won’t be making an appearance on the likes of Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, or Switch? From the looks of it, yes. With that said, if the game does go on to sell enough copies at launch, it could, in theory, find its way to consoles at some point in the foreseeable future. The jury’s out on that one.

Interested in staying up to date with Infestation: Origins? If so, then be sure to check in with the folks over at Nightmare Forge for all the latest updates here. If anything does change ahead of its 2024 release, then we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Infestation: Origins when it arrives on PC? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.