Mickey Mouse is the star of the horror game Infestation 88

Winnie the Pooh entered public domain back in 2022, which lead to us getting Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey last year. This made many fantasise about what we'd see when Disney's Steamboat Willie, and with that the movie's version of Mickey Mouse, also became public domain in 2024. Well, here's a taste.

Ryan McCaffrey over at IGN has the pleasure over unveiling the episodic first-person survival horror game Infestation 88. The concept is very familiar, as up to four players have to defeat hordes of enemies and subdue outbreaks of different varieties. What you haven't seen before is the first bad guy introduced, because no one has been allowed to use him without Disney's permission before.

That's right. You'll be fighting a more scary-looking version of Steamboat Willie's Mickey Mouse and his minions. It's extremely clear that the developers over at Nightmare Forge Games still aren't sure about how legal this is yet, and fear the wrath of Disney's lawyers, when the Infestation 88's Steam page has this message before anything else about the game:

"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."

It even sounds like we might see Winnie the Pooh and other beloved characters join the game after it launches as Early Access later this year as well, as the elevator pitch is:

"(...)you're an exterminator treating sinister infestations caused by twisted versions of classic characters and urban legends."

Sure sounds like Dead by Daylight is getting a competitor sometime in 2024 unless this becomes the first indication of how hard Disney is ready to fight to avoid Mickey Mouse being used in nontraditional ways. You can see the game in action in the trailer below.

Does Infestation 88 look interesting to you? What other kinds of games, movies and TV shows do you want to see Mickey Mouse in moving forward? Mortal Kombat 1, Super Smash Bros., a horror movie or what?