Mickey Mouse horror game gets a name change amid antisemitic accusations
The game is now called Infestation: Origins
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Infestation 88, the Mickey Mouse horror game from Nightmare Forge Games, has been renamed following accusations the title was antisemitic.
The first-person online co-op game wasannouncedon January 1 and is based on Steamboat Willie, the oldest black and white version of Mickey Mouse, with a dark twist. This announcement came after the character officially entered the public domain at the beginning of this year.
After receiving a trailer andSteam page, however,Infestation 88has undergone a swift name change after some usersonlinepointed out the Neo-Nazi connotations of its original title. Now, the game is namedInfestation: Origins.
According to theAnti-Defamation League, the number “88” is used as code within the Nazi movement to reference “HH” (or “Heil Hitler”) as the letter is the eighth in the alphabet.
Nightmare Forge Games released astatementyesterday (January 2) to explain the name change, and said: “Our game ‘Infestation 88’ is set in the 1980s, with the year 1988 chosen simply due to its symmetrical design in the game’s artwork/logo.
“Unfortunately, we were unaware of any additional meaning the number ‘88’ has,” the studio continued. “However, after learning about this, we’re changing the game’s name to ‘Infestation: Origins’. We apologize for our ignorance on this and appreciate that this was brought to our attention so we could address it ASAP!”
The statement was released to social media after Nightmare Forge Games shared acomment with Kotaku, which at the time claimed: “No additional connotations are intended.” In addition, it confirmed that it was open to changing the game’s name.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Furthermore, according toInverse, when asked if the team behind the game were neo-Nazis, it responded, “No, we are not.”
The officialwebsitedescribes the members of the studio as “a team of industry veterans who have specialized in creating horror games since 2010,” but when asked if it could disclose the identities of the members, Nightmare Forge Games told Inverse: “Due to the large amount of attention and initial public reception, we’re choosing not to disclose our identities at this time for the sake of maintaining privacy.”
For more, be sure to check out our list of thebest indie horror gamesyou can play right now, along with our list ofevery upcoming game of 2024.
The PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling gives multiple games a huge visual upgrade – can it compete with Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor?
I’m a Nintendo Switch expert, here are the best early Black Friday deals right now
Arcane season 2 confirms the hit series isn’t just one of the best Netflix shows ever made – it’s an animated legend that’ll stand the test of time
