View source for Infestation: Origins

{{Notability|date=January 2024}}
{{confused|Infestation: Survivor Stories}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Infestation: Origins
| image = File:Infestation Origins logo.jpg
| developer = Nightmare Forge Games
| publisher = Nightmare Forge Games
| genre = [[Survival horror]]
| platforms = [[Microsoft Windows]]
| released = TBA (Early Access November 15, 2024)
| modes = [[Single-player]], [[multiplayer]]
}}
'''''Infestation: Origins''''' (originally titled '''''Infestation '88''''') is an upcoming [[survival horror]] game developed and published by Nightmare Forge Games. The game is known for featuring [[Mickey Mouse]] as he appeared in the 1928 animated short film ''[[Steamboat Willie]]''. It was announced on January 1, 2024, after the short entered the [[public domain]] in the United States. The game was released in [[early access]] on November 15, 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Mike |title=‘Infestation: Origins’ Comes to Early Access This October; Closed Beta Coming Soon [Trailer] |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3833175/infestation-origins-comes-to-early-access-this-october-closed-beta-coming-soon-trailer/ |access-date=October 18, 2024 |work=Bloody Disgusting! |date=September 27, 2024}}</ref>

== Controversy ==
Upon its initial announcement, [[IGN]] compared the game to the 2023 horror film, ''[[Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey]]'', due to a similar situation where [[Winnie-the-Pooh]] fell into the public domain.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 1, 2024 |title=Infestation: Origins - Official Reveal Trailer |language=en |publisher=[[IGN]] |url=https://www.ign.com/videos/infestation-origins-official-reveal-trailer |access-date=January 2, 2024}}</ref> As soon as the game was announced, the game was criticized for being an [[asset flip]] as well as the alleged use of [[audio deepfake]]s instead of voice acting. Furthermore, the game was criticized for reflecting [[neo-Nazi]] themes such as the use of [[88_(number)#In_neo-Nazism|the number 88]], a number embraced by neo-Nazis and the premise of exterminating rats with gas, a theme evoked in Nazi propaganda.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gault |first1=Matthew |date=January 2, 2024 |title=Widely-Hyped Mickey Mouse Horror Game Sure Looks Sketchy as Hell |language=en |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7b44p/widely-hyped-mickey-mouse-horror-game-sure-looks-sketchy-as-hell |access-date=January 2, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shepard |first=Kenneth |date=January 2, 2024 |title=Mickey Mouse Game Changes Name After Antisemitic Accusations |url=https://kotaku.com/mickey-mouse-infestation-88-origins-horror-game-1851134630 |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=[[Kotaku]] |language=en}}</ref> In response to the allegations, the developers of the game renamed the game.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bailey |first1=Kat |date=January 2, 2024 |title=Infestation '88 Renamed as Developers Disavow 'Nazism and Hate in Any Form' [Update] |language=en |work=[[IGN]] |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/mickey-mouse-horror-game-devs-respond-to-neo-nazi-and-ai-claims |access-date=January 2, 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Works based on a copyright-free Mickey Mouse]]

==References==
{{reflist}}{{Mickey Mouse games|state=collapsed}}{{Non-Disney works featuring Mickey Mouse}}
[[Category:2020s horror video games]]
[[Category:Horror video games]]
[[Category:Indie games]]
[[Category:Mickey Mouse video games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:Non-Disney Mickey Mouse-media]]
[[Category:Survival horror video games]]
[[Category:Upcoming video games]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Windows-only games]]
[[Category:Obscenity controversies in video games]]
[[Category:Video games set in 1988]]
[[Category:Early access video games]]
[[Category:Horror video games based on children's franchises]]