Escape from Playtime
Escape from Playtime is a 1 to 4 player co-op survival horror game in an abandoned toy factory. You play a Smiling Critter, scavenge for tools, and carry loot back through classrooms, warehouses, and testing labs. Mob Entertainment develops and publishes the game for Windows. The open beta runs October 1 to 4, 2026, and Steam Early Access begins October 21, 2026.
A crew can go in solo or as you plus up to 3 friends. Rejected Playtime Co. creations hunt the halls, and a panicked whisper can end the run. The genres are Online Co-Op, Horror, Extraction, and PvE. Launch is planned on Steam.
What a run asks of the crew
Each run drops the crew into a fresh stretch of the factory. Layouts are procedurally generated, so the classrooms, warehouses, testing labs, and the dark corridors between them do not repeat as a fixed map. A mysterious Voice sends players in for scattered parts and resources. The promised sanctuary for loyal toys is called A Better Place.
Survival means using the room you are standing in. The denizens stalking those halls are other rejected Playtime Co. creations, and they hunt for prey. Friends have to stay close enough to hear one another, because proximity voice carries only to players who are nearer, a microphone is not required, and there is no in-game text chat.
Call the room you can see, because the next run will rebuild the corridors. A cart full of parts is the success condition, and a whisper that panics the crew can still wipe the attempt before Barry is reached.
Open beta and Early Access
Two builds are on the calendar. Compare them for crew size and for what each one locks. The beta is a short window. Early Access is the longer build that follows it.
Signup for the earlier test is separate from a purchase. The price has not been announced yet.
The open beta lets a crew of up to 8 players in, and it recommends 4. Only the first four shifts are open during that test. Not all of the Smiling Critters will be playable while the beta is up. The window runs from 10 a.m. Pacific on October 1 through 6 p.m. Pacific on October 4, 2026.
Steam Early Access begins on October 21, 2026. That build plans the full eight-character roster, one starter zone, and a core enemy lineup. The eight character names have not been announced. The ordinary party size stays 1 to 4 players total.
Pictures and the release trailer
The capsule shows the purple cat logo, and the parlor still shows the Smiling Critters in a wrecked room. Press play for the release trailer. The same trailer is on the Early Access page. Zach Belanger and Seth Belanger founded Mob Entertainment in 2015, and a separate team from the Poppy Playtime chapter team is making this game.
Family Sharing is on, so a household library can lend the game when the owner is not playing it.
The age ratings are DEJUS 14, a German rating of 16, and IGRS 18.
You can queue alone or with other players. The modes cover Single-player, Multi-player, Co-op, and Online Co-op alongside the horror and extraction labels.
Controller support is partial, and some controllers fail, so keyboard and mouse remain the reliable pair of inputs.
The price has not been announced yet, so a budget for Early Access has to wait.
Online Co-op and the horror extraction tags describe the same Windows build, whether you queue alone or with three friends.