The next chapter in the epic Poppy Playtime franchise, Chapter 4, is slated to be launched in the near future. Here's everything you need to know about this upcoming release.
Since its initial release in 2021, Poppy Playtime has grown to become a popular cult classic title in the horror genre. From its creative use of the first-person perspective to the challenging puzzles, and the lore-rich story, it's easy to see why so many have become addicted to it.
The game already has three installments to its episodic franchise. The most recent episode, Chapter 3 'Deep Sleep', was released on January 30, 2024, to much excitement and fanfare. It introduced new characters such as CatNap and continued the story from Chapter 2.
Now, all eyes are turned to Chapter 4. What is its release date? Which characters will return? And most importantly, what's the story? We'll answer all those questions below.
Poppy Playtime Chapter 4's Release Date Has Been Announced
Mob Entertainment has confirmed that Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 will be launched globally in January 2025.
This coincides with the series' timeline of annual releases. To refresh your memory, Chapter 1 came out in October 2021, Chapter 2 was launched in May 2022, and Chapter 3 was released in January 2024. Understandably, the time difference between Chapters 2 and 3 is noticeable. However, Chapter 3's delay could be attributed to, at the time, the departures of key team members.
It's also worth noting that Mob Entertainment has begun developing ports of their previous titles for consoles such as the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Poppy Playtime 4 will first be released on PC before a mobile and console port is launched. Given the developers' track record with previous chapters, it is likely that these latter ports will be released a few months after the game's PC rollout.
Warning: The following section contains spoilers from Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 and previous chapters.
What Chapter 4 Could Mean For The Story And Characters
To bring you up to speed about what might happen in Chapter 4, let's first review what happened at the end of Chapter 3. In the final scenes, the player confronts the cat-like monster, CatNap, at the Gas Production Zone.
After successfully defeating it, the hand of the mysterious being known as the Prototype appears from the ceiling. CatNap wearily submits itself, but it is for null effect as the Prototype stabs CatNap through the mouth and pulls its body away.
Poppy then shows the player footage of "The Hour of Joy", where it is revealed that it was the Prototype who had commanded the killing of the Playtime Co. factory employees.
Determined to kill the Prototype, the player and Poppy take the elevator down to the Prototype's Lair. However, Kissy Missy is attacked by an unknown enemy. Poppy and the player bring the elevator back up to save her and Chapter 3 ends there.
In Poppy Playtime Chapter 4, the story will pick up where it left off with the same characters. Poppy and the player will attempt to save Kissy Missy from her attackers. We may see Ollie return to aid us once more.
Given the story arc so far, it is clear that the main antagonist in the coming chapter will be the Prototype. Justice is slated to be served and the wrongdoer is certainly them.
Chapter 4 will dive deeper into the lore, with the reasons behind the Prototype's desire to kill the Playtime Co. employees potentially being revealed. On top of this, the Prototype's Lair may be explored and could be one of the main areas of the chapter's story.
This wraps up our speculations of what could happen in Poppy Playtime 4. The franchise hasn't shied away from wild surprises and horrific monsters, so the coming story may be one that we completely don't expect. Either way, we're excited about what's in store.