Mickey Mouse 'Infestation' Game Does the Bare Minimum With Disney's Liberated Copyright

The Disney mascot can now haunt your dreams. The first day of the new year marks . During this annual occurrence, numerous works enter into the United States public domain and are free to use by anyone with no fear of any copyright claims being levied against them. In 2024, the most noteworthy addition to the public domain is the animated short, .

The short is considered the first appearance of . Within hours of the new year, one video game has already taken and announced a new non Disney game. Developer Nightmare Forge Games its new game on January 1, 2024 with a trailer that includes a horrific twist on Mickey Mouse. is described as an episodic co operative survival horror game for one to four players.

Gamers must investigate mysterious infestations in the year 1988 that stem from these scary twists on classic characters. Nightmare Forge also announced that the game is currently scheduled to enter Early Access on Steam in 2024. In an email to , Nightmare Forge said, “The 1928 animation short entering the public domain has allowed us to include our own derivation of the film's starring character in our game, which fits perfectly as an antagonist causing an infestation.

However, rather than focusing on any one particular antagonist, the game will include multiple twisted versions of classic characters and urban legends.” Some on social media have already called out the game’s title for using the numbers ‘88,’ which were noted on the Anti Defamation League’s database as an .

In response to these concerns, Nightmare Forge Games gave this statement to : When reached for comment on these claims, Nightmare Forge did not immediately respond. On the studio’s website, Nightmare Forge describes itself as “a team of industry veterans who have specialized in creating horror games since 2010.” However, the studio does not disclose any staff attached to the project or any past titles the team has worked on.

It is unsurprising that a video game was ready to announce its use of the now public domain as soon as the new year began. But the specific use of Mickey leaves something to be desired. While Nightmare Forge insists that will not focus on Mickey as the singular antagonist the use of “Mickey Mouse but scary” in the game’s first trailer makes me wonder if there will be much substance beyond the shock value premise.

Beyond scary Mickey, ’s trailer shows off a fairly mid looking horror game. ‘Beloved children’s character but scary’ isn’t very compelling. In 2022, Winnie the Pooh entered public domain, and in 2023, the horror movie released. Here is the film’s description on : “After Christopher Robin abandons them for college, Pooh and Piglet embark on a bloody rampage as they search for a new source of food.” currently has a three percent Tomatometer score and a 50 percent audience score on .

There isn’t depth behind a premise that doesn’t go past a singular sentence pitch. This isn’t to say people shouldn’t make use of ’s status as public domain. There is potential for interesting twists on the familiar short and its star. 2023’s showed that you can get weird with how you use familiar characters, you just have to do it well.

‘Mickey Mouse but scary’ feels like a first draft, still a work in progress..