Why Mickey becomes the (scary) character in a horror video game

Looking at Mickey who is tracking down characters to eliminate them. Mickey with a machine gun in his hand that shoots at everything that moves. In the field of video games, the year 2024 is already shaping up to be a big mess for the most famous mouse in the world.

As of January 1, 2024, the iconic character has fallen into the public domain, at least in his first form, “Steamboat Willie.” This means that its operation is no longer reserved solely for the Disney company. Within 24 hours, a horror game starring Mickey was revealed.

Far from the usual version of Mickey

Inside Infestation 88Players take on the role of exterminators who must overcome a vermin epidemic, a trailer posted on IGN’s website shows. Except that in the role of the big bad, the developers at Nightmare Forge Games cast Mickey.

But here the mouse seems tortured: its face is mutilated and its ears are bitten off. An artistic direction that contrasts with the usual children’s version of the character that Disney sports.

On the same topic, a horror movie starring Mickey in the role of a serial killer was also announced on January 1. Or immediately after the character has entered the public domain.

These announcements promise intensive exploitation of the mouse image in the coming months. Furthermore, the first seconds of the trailer for Infestation 88 It makes it clear that the video game is directly inspired by the character of Mickey.

“An independent creation”

But some had anticipated Mickey’s arrival in the public domain. So the game Mouse had shown images of the mouse as early as May 2023. It is a first-person shooter where the hero and enemies are represented with features inspired by the characters.

In the game description, the Fumi Games studio indicates that Mouse It is inspired by “the charm of 1930s cartoons.” In a black and white universe, the player plays a private detective who attacks criminals with weapons in hand, in a context of political corruption. Scheduled for release next year, it is not subject to copyright law and can therefore freely use the Mickey character.