Poppy Playtime is an episodic indie horror game that released in October of last year. Many quickly picked up on the game for its unique puzzles and terrifying characters, particularly Huggy Wuggy. Despite its relatively short playtime, people were eager to see what the next chapter would bring to the table.
However, things went south when the developer, MOB Games, decided to release a set of Poppy Playtime NFTs. This earned the disdain of many fans, which then led to plenty of negative reviews on the indie game’s Steam page.
The Poppy Playtime NFTs
In December of last year, MOB Games announced that it’d be offering NFT versions of Poppy Platyime’s in-game posters. The developer presented the offer as an “opportunity to own a piece of the game.” Additionally, collecting all of the available NFTs — six in total — would present fans with the option of unlocking the seventh NFT. A complete set would then allow players to complete a puzzle.
The puzzle was presented through a set of audio clips that came with each NFT. The first six clips provided different sets of letters in distorted voices, while the last was a cipher that gave the player hints as to how to put the letters together. The final answer to the puzzle was “Mommy Long Legs is coming,” which was likely a teaser for the game’s next chapter.
That said, fans weren’t happy with how MOB Games decided to tease Chapter 2. Each NFT in the collection cost $14.99, making it a steep purchase to collect them (any NFT aversions aside). Players also felt that the developer was hiding Poppy Playtime lore behind a paywall. Following this, Poppy Playtime’s reviews on Steam began to plummet, and MOB Games deleted its NFT announcement on Twitter. Today, of the over 30,000 reviews, around 7,000 are negative.
On May 3, MOB Games CEO, Zach Belanger, finally released a statement on the Poppy Playtime NFT issue. In it, he explicitly states that MOB Games regrets undertaking the NFT project. He also clarifies that the company never intended to hide important lore behind a paywall, citing that the NFT puzzle only contained a teaser for the next chapter. Despite this, Belanger explains that the Poppy Playtime NFTs will still remain up for sale as the company is under contract. The company’s NFT earnings will then be donated to the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), a group dedicated to decreasing air pollution and transitioning to clean energy.
Other Issues Surrounding Poppy Playtime
Though the NFT issue has, more or less, been taken care of, MOB Games still has a few problems to attend to. Belanger’s statement also addresses the recent plagiarism issues. Reportedly, Poppy Playtime plagiarized Venge, another indie horror game by developer Ekrcoaster. Moreover, some staff at MOB Games have a shared history with Ekrcoaster, and bullying allegations have been put forth.
Apart from this, Poppy Playtime Chapter 2, which was released last May 6, is riddled with bugs and startup issues. With currently around 3,500 Steam reviews, about 1,100 are negative. Some players share that they’re unable to even play because of fatal error exception screens. Other, more lucky players manage to play but report that the game is too buggy.
All these problems don’t paint MOB Games in a positive light. Many internet users express that they no longer want to support the company or Poppy Playtime given its shady practices. Still, there are plenty who’ve already forgiven the developers and are eager to see more from the episodic indie horror game. With more chapters, merch, and even a Poppy Playtime movie on the way, there’s plenty for them to look forward to.
Poppy Playtime is available now on Android, iOS, and PC.