What is the Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 release date? Chapter 2: Fly in a Web was the last instalment of Poppy Playtime, and left us both relieved to have avoided Mommy Long Legs and excited for what might come next.
The Poppy Playtime games are an interesting mix of horror micro-scenarios, with the overall narrative being punctuated by several terrifying mini-games. The second chapter of Poppy Playtime tasked the player with a few rounds of whack-a-mole, red light green light, and a really twisted game of Simon Says. What will the next chapter of the indie game involve, and more importantly, what is the Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 release date?
Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 release date window
The Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 Deep Sleep release date has been delayed from December 2023 to early 2024. This announcement came on December 11, 2023, as Mob Entertainment announced a delay of “several additional weeks”.
This delay is no surprise given the recent departure of a number of several Mob Entertainment staff, which has presumably caused some upheaval within the company. Animators Micah and Zachary Preciado, also known as Zamination, and producer Andy Gill all left the company at the tail end of 2023.
However, the reason given in the Mob Entertainment Twitter announcement is that the game just “is not ready yet” and that chapter 3 is the “biggest, highest quality installment to Poppy Playtime yet.” Following a series of game teasers, the first full chapter 3 trailer (below) was released alongside the statement, and certainly gives us even more to look forward to.
Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 story
In the final scene of Poppy Playtime Chapter 2: Fly in a Web, you find yourself aboard a train with Poppy as it derails, ultimately crashing into a building. The last thing you see before unconsciousness takes you is a sign for ‘Playcare’. In the first teaser trailer, Elliot Ludwig himself confirms the Playcare location, stating that it is a refuge for children. It looks clear that the third chapter of Poppy Playtime will take place inside this refuge.
The main antagonist of Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 is a new character, CatNap, one of the Smiling Critters. These popular children’s toys are seemingly cute plushies, but CatNap took a dark turn, harming children with a noxious gas. According to the first full Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 trailer, Poppy herself wants to take CatNap down, and we’re going to help her do it.
Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 trailers
MOB Games released the first teaser trailer for the game in August 2022, which you can watch below, and followed up with a second in July 2023, you can see at the top of this page. We have also seen a series of promotional videos themed around the Smiling Critters themselves, with the official game trailer being revealed on December 11, 2023.
As you can see, we’re teed up for a pretty spooky storyline, which looks to be set mainly within Playcare. Based on the gas mask alone and creepy new monsters, we think Chapter 3 might be the most disturbing entry to the series yet – especially since the latest threat seems to have even taken Huggy Wuggy himself out. Of course, we now know that this gas mask is essential for keeping us safe from CatNap’s attacks.
The second trailer shows Playcare in a bit more detail, which reminds us somewhat of the spooky orphanage in The Outlast Trials. We’re pretty terrified to be left alone in the dark and gloomy daycare, but at least we’ll have Poppy to keep us company… We might be grateful for her when that creepy Smiling Critters make their debut appearance.
These new monsters, I mean, toys, are now known to be the Smiling Critters, and each has been introduced to use on Twitter/X. These cute, scented plushies, like Mommy Long-Legs and Huggy Wuggy before them, seem to have altered by whatever’s going on in Playcare.
In the retro, VHS-style trailer above, we are shown just what happened to the Smiling Critters – in particular, when Catnap was introduced to the gang. This grinning purple cat was supposed to help tired and frightened children sleep with a scented mist, only the gas turned out to be toxic. What are the chances Catnap and this deadly poison is one of the threats we face in Poppy Playtime Chapter 3?
Now you know that Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 will be released this year, it could be the perfect time to revisit the previous games and get back up to speed with the unnatural goings on. If you’re after something else to play in the meantime, we have the best PC games here, and the best horror games if you’re looking for something else to keep you awake at night.