Poppy Playtime

Poppy Playtime is a first-person survival horror where the player plays as a former employee of Playtime Co. who returns to the abandoned toy factory of said company after receiving a letter from the staff who were thought to have disappeared 10 years ago.[1] The protagonist discovers that Huggy Wuggy, a large humanoid figure that acts as the mascot of the company, is alive and is malicious towards them, along with other enemies throughout the factory.[2] The game utilises multiple puzzles throughout, which the player must solve in order to progress further, with some requiring a gadget named the GrabPack, a backpack that can be equipped with two extendable hands which can be used to pull and reach objects from a far distance, conduct electricity and access certain doors.[3][4][5] The player can also find various VHS tapes lying around the factory, which gives a more in-depth explanation of the story.[6]

The idea of Poppy Playtime was originally thought of by game director Isaac Christopherson, stating that people called most indie horror games 'Walking Simulators', giving MOB Games the idea to "create something with gameplay that doesn't feel quite so run-of-the-mill, while still staying exciting, terrifying, and unique." A trailer for the game's first chapter was uploaded in September 2021.[7] The chapter was then released on Steam for Microsoft Windows on October 12, and was later released for Android and iOS on March 11, 2022.[8]

Starting on March 18, official merchandise of the game began being released, including plush toys.[9][10]

The second chapter is planned to be released in early 2022;[11][12] future chapters, along with the second chapter, are planned to be released as downloadable content.[3] A trailer for Chapter 2, named Fly in a Web, was released on February 22,[13] with several teasers later being posted to Twitter,[14] including a teaser trailer on April 9.[15]

Poppy Playtime was well-received upon its initial release, with it receiving praise for its atmosphere, story, and character design,[16][17][18] as well as being compared to the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise,[14] with Screen Rant's Austin Geiger calling Poppy Playtime "more engaging" than Security Breach.[19] However, the first chapter has been criticised for its short length, claimed to being roughly 30 minutes long.[20] The game also quickly gained exposure on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch,[12][21] with videos on the former reaching millions of views,[22] as well as games based on Poppy Playtime appearing on Roblox.[23]

In December 2021, on Twitter, the developers announced non-fungible tokens of the in-game posters, which was quickly met with backlash and negative reviews from the community, as well as some users issuing refunds, arguing that the developers put lore of the game behind a paywall. In response, the developers deleted the announcement, but were unable to remove the NFTs as well due to a contract they signed, stating that they have to wait for it to expire.[24][25][26]

Dorset Police and Lafayette County Sheriff's Department both released a statement to parents regarding the character Huggy Wuggy on March 22, 2022,[27] and April 7,[28] respectively, claiming that due to the character's name, various videos were not being blocked by "firewalls"[23][27] and filtered by parental filters on various platforms, including TikTok and YouTube Kids.[29] The former also claimed that various schools around the United Kingdom reported children recreating a game where one child hugs another and then whispers sinister things into the recipient's ear.[30] Some parents reported their children attempting to jump out of the window, claimed to be mimicing the character,[23] and Luxemburg-Casco School District reported impacted rapid eye movement sleep.[31] Fact-checking website Snopes confirmed that while there had been reports from parents within the United Kingdom, the police had incorrectly claimed that the character sang songs, despite said songs being fan-made and not appearing in-game. Snopes had also said that inappropriate videos involving the character were not available for younger users on TikTok and YouTube Kids, with spokespersons for each platform confirming so.[27]

In April 2022, according to Deadline Hollywood, MOB Games partnered with Studio71 to produce a film adaptation of the video game, with MOB Games' CEO Zach Belanger saying that it is "going to be a great ride". Studio71's President of Scripted Content Michael Schreiber stated that the film's storyline will "[stand] alone as its own terrifying and gripping saga."[32] MOB Games and Studio71 are also reportedly in talks on bringing Roy Lee into the project.[33]