The first version of baby mousethat of the animated short Steamboat Willie, is now in the public domain and it didn't take long before the announcement of a horror game starring him: Infestation 88. Too bad it has already changed its name to Infestation: Origins due to the accusations of anti-Semitism received.
For those who don't know, “88” is a code used by neo-Nazis to write “HH”, i.e. “Heil Hitler”. H is the eighth letter of the alphabet. The game focuses on eliminating a monstrous version of Mickey Mouse and exterminating some rats using gas. Naturally the reference to Nazi propaganda, which often depicted Jews as rats, as well as to the final solution, with millions of people killed in the gas chambers, appeared quite evident to most, starting from the number used in the title.
In short, three clues sometimes prove it and many were worried that what seemed to be just a satirical game about Mickey Mouse was actually hiding something more.
To respond to criticism, the development studio Nightmare Forge Games announced the name change to Infestation Origins, declaring itself ignorant of the meaning of the number 88.
The name change
We read the message: “Infestation 88, our game, is set in the 1980s, with 1988 being chosen simply due to the symmetrical design of the logo. Unfortunately we were not aware of the other meanings of the number 88. Be that as it may, After learning about them, we changed the name of the game to Infestation: Origins. We apologize for our ignorance on the matter and appreciate that this issue was brought to our attention so we could address it immediately.”
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