Escape from Playtime: Poppy Playtime Spinoff Hits Steam in October

Escape from Playtime, the multiplayer co-op extraction spinoff of the popular Poppy Playtime franchise, will launch into Steam Early Access on October 21, developer Mob Entertainment announced. It turns out that escaping a haunted toy factory is much more of a group project than initially advertised.

The October launch date, first reported by IGN, lands the game just ahead of Halloween, following its initial reveal at Gamescom last month.

Players step into the fuzzy skins of Smiling Critters trapped inside the abandoned Playtime Co. factory. Under the instructions of a mysterious voice, teams must solve puzzles, sneak, and cooperate to construct "a promised home for toys who prove their loyalty and usefulness." Proximity chat is active, meaning any loud panic over a microphone will alert the mutated factory rejects roaming the halls.

The details

• Release date: October 21, 2026 (Steam Early Access)
• Developer: Mob Entertainment
• Genre: Co-op survival horror extraction
• Key features: Proximity voice chat, puzzle-solving, stealth

The spinoff marks a major genre shift for the mascot-horror series, which has spent years building its fanbase through episodic single-player releases. Mob Entertainment has been busy scaling the brand outside of Steam, having signed a deal with Legendary Pictures in 2024 for a feature film, alongside a line of action figures from McFarlane Toys.

Now, the studio is testing whether players can successfully cooperate in the dark, or if they'll simply yell loud enough to get their entire squad disassembled.