It took barely 12 hours for the first Mickey Mouse games to appear after the Disney mascot entered the public domain

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Play as Mickey in a top-down shooter or be hunted by him in a terrifying new horror title

Mickey Mouse
(Image credit: Herosoft)

Less than a day after Steamboat Willie officially entered the public domain, several virtual adventures starring the world's most famous mouse have begun popping up online.

The first couldn't be further from the jaunty tone of Mickey's debut appearance. Titled Infestation 88, it's a horror game which sees you and up to 3 friends "treating sinister infestations caused by twisted versions of classic characters and urban legends", including a truly nightmarish version of the iconic and usually very friendly Disney mascot. 

If you're not keen on being scared silly by the iconic character, perhaps Inverse Ninjas VS. The Public Domain might be more your jam. It's a chaotic top-down shooter that sees you fight off waves of enemies as famous fictional characters, including Sherlock Holmes and Winnie the Pooh, and, thanks to a free new update that dropped on January 1, Mickey Mouse.

"In our efforts to be the very first, Inverse Ninjas VS. The Public Domain has signed an extremely expensive licensing deal of $0.00 to acquire the exceptionally non-exclusive rights to the most widely beloved cartoon character of all time that isn't named Bugs Bunny: MICKEY MOUSE from the hit cartoon Steamboat Willie!" developer Herosoft said in a post on Steam.

These may be the only two we know of so far, but chances are there's a slew of titles starring Mickey Mouse currently being dreamt up. One developer in particular that fans are hoping jumps on the bandwagon is Neowiz, creator of the stellar Pinocchio-inspired Soulslike Lies of P.

Check out our guide to new games 2024 for all the virtual adventures you've got to look forward to over the next 12 months.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.