One of the most-wishlisted games on Steam just got a release date after three years in the dark

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These Party Animals have been waiting a long time

Party Animals
(Image credit: Recreate)

Party Animals - a physics-based multiplayer brawler that's quietly one of the most-anticipated games out there - finally has a release date.

During tonight's Summer Games Fest, developer Recreate confirmed that the Party Animals release date has been set for September 20. That's three years after the game's demo - which dropped in 2020 - smashed its way to becoming one of the biggest games on Steam, with more than 130,000 concurrent players - not far off the likes of Rocket League or V Rising, and higher than Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

A chaotic, laughter-filled trailer confirms that release date, as well as a release date on PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One. It also shows off some gameplay; if you're at all familiar with indie hit Gang Beasts, there's a good chance that Party Animals will appeal, although the characters here are a little more cute and cuddly than you might be familiar with. Party Animals functions as a chaotic but super-cute brawler, where you're competing over a series of minigames in a physics-based competition. There's the likes of free-for-alls and objective-based competitions, so it's not all brawling. If you like competing against other players on the couch or online in quickfire comedic games, then keep an eye on Party Animals.

It's been a long few years since that initial demo. Party Animals was originally set to launch in 2021 after its appearance at Xbox's E3 showcase that year, but Recreate says it underestimated the amount of time it would take to get the game ready for launch.  There's some good news attached to that long wait, however - new maps, modes, and multiplayer servers which should ensure plenty of new stuff to check out.

For details on Party Animals and all the other news from this evening's show, check out our Summer Games Fest 2023 live coverage.

Ali Jones
Ali Jones
Managing Editor, News

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

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