So here's the thing about January 1st - it's basically Christmas morning for indie developers and, unfortunately, shovelware creators. This year's haul? Betty Boop finally joins the public domain party, along with Blondie and a fresh batch of Mickey Mouse cartoons from 1931.
Look, I'm all for creative freedom, but we know exactly where this is heading. Remember what happened when Winnie the Pooh entered public domain? We got "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey." And when Steamboat Willie Mickey became fair game last year? Yeah, the horror games started dropping within weeks. It's like clockwork at this point - beloved character loses copyright protection, boom, suddenly they're wielding a chainsaw in some $2.99 Steam game.
But wait, there's actually some cool stuff in this year's batch. Those 1931 Mickey shorts include "The Moose Hunt" and "Traffic Troubles," which honestly have some wild animation that modern developers could do something interesting with. And Betty Boop? She's got that whole flapper aesthetic that could work in literally any genre - not just lazy horror cash-ins.
The real question is whether we'll see anyone actually do something creative with these properties. Sure, we'll get the inevitable "Betty Boop's Nightmare Mansion" or whatever, but imagine a proper jazz-age adventure game starring Betty. Or a Mickey platformer that actually captures that rubber-hose animation style. The potential's there, developers. Please surprise me.
Oh, and heads up - next year we're getting King Kong and the first appearances of Donald Duck. Start placing your bets now on which one gets the horror treatment first.
Yuki
MMOs & live service — MMORPG, looter shooter, MOBA