Announcements
Escape from Playtime has three public dates so far. August 26, 2026 carried the headline Escape From Playtime is Coming Soon! September 20, 2026 brought the PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct date. September 30, 2026 set the open beta window. The teaser trailer is titled Experiment 82626.
The August 26 reveal pointed players toward a later playtest. On September 20, PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct set Steam Early Access for October 21, 2026 and an open beta starting October 1. On September 30 the open beta was set from 10 a.m. Pacific on October 1 through 6 p.m. Pacific on October 4, through FirstLook. The teaser and the reveal film sit with those dates, beside a factory door labeled ELEVATOR.
Three posts in order
Read the dates from the reveal forward. Each date keeps its headline and the change it made to the plan. The order is August, then September 20, then September 30.
The elevator door labeled ELEVATOR is a factory sign, not a fourth date. It shows the building those dates are about.
Escape From Playtime is Coming Soon!
Mob Entertainment revealed the game and pointed players toward a later playtest.
Escape from Playtime Launches 10/21/2026, Open Beta Soon!
Steam Early Access on October 21, 2026, plus an open beta starting October 1, from PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct.
Escape From Playtime Open Beta!
Open beta from 10 a.m. Pacific on October 1 through 6 p.m. Pacific on October 4, via FirstLook.
Experiment 82626 and the reveal film
Experiment 82626 is the title of the teaser. The reveal film is the other early video. Press play to watch either one. Neither replaces the October 21 release trailer on the home page and the Early Access page.
At the August reveal, Brandon James, game director at Mob Entertainment, said the team has always loved the idea that Playtime Co. is a huge, awful place with more hiding inside it than anyone has seen. He paired that with building multiplayer in this world, working with the community, and keeping a jump scare or two.
Play the teaser when you want the Experiment 82626 title, and play the reveal film when you want the August reveal. The October 21 trailer is a third film, and it lives on the home page.
What those posts locked in
After September 20, the Early Access day is October 21, 2026, with the full eight-character roster, one starter zone, and a core enemy lineup. The eight names are still unknown. After September 30, the open beta is a four-day window, up to 8 players, 4 recommended, first four shifts, and not every Smiling Critter playable. Connect your Steam and Discord accounts on FirstLook, and finish onboarding, before that test will count you in.
The game remains a 1 to 4 player co-op horror run for the Early Access party, even though the beta cap is higher. It stays Windows only, the price is still unannounced, and a separate team from the Poppy Playtime chapters is still making it. A later date can move a detail. Beta faults belong on the known-issues page, not among these three dates.
The August reveal is the first public date, and it does not itself open the October 1 server.
Tokyo Direct is the show attached to the September 20 date, not a separate game mode.
FirstLook, through Mob Insider, is how you sign up after September 30.
Experiment 82626 names the teaser film, and it is not a version number for the Early Access build.
The October 21 release trailer stays on the home page. The teaser and the reveal film are the two earlier films.
August 26, 2026 is the reveal day, with the headline Escape From Playtime is Coming Soon! and a pointer toward a later playtest.
September 20, 2026 is the PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct date. It places Early Access on October 21, 2026 and an open beta at the start of October.
September 30, 2026 is the open-beta date, with FirstLook and the Pacific window from the morning of October 1 to the evening of October 4.
Experiment 82626 is the teaser title, and it sits beside the reveal film rather than replacing the release trailer.
The elevator door labeled ELEVATOR belongs to the factory, not to a fourth date.
After Tokyo Direct, the roster plan is still the full eight characters without their names, plus one starter zone and a core enemy lineup.
After September 30, the test limits are up to 8 players, a recommendation of 4, the first four shifts, and a partial critter set. Four is the recommended crew because eight is chaos.
Connect your Steam and Discord accounts if you are joining from the September 30 date, because FirstLook asks for both.
The three dates do not set a price, a console, or a phone version, and Windows remains the platform.
Brandon James spoke at the reveal about a huge awful Playtime Co. and about jump scares, which is the tone of the reveal film and the teaser.
A later update can move a date. Beta faults stay on the known-issues page.
Open beta codes work only inside the Pacific window, from the morning of October 1 to the evening of October 4. Early Access after that test still opens on one starter zone, and later zones are expected as players shape the game toward 1.0.
The reveal, the Tokyo Direct date, and the open-beta date are the whole public calendar so far. None of them names the eight Smiling Critters or sets a price.