Perhaps the biggest surprise during this morning’s Nintendo Indie World showcase came from the long awaited Mixtape which finally saw its release date announced after a year and a half of consistently open dates. First it was 2025, then Fall 2025, and after that it was delayed to this year. Finally, a late spring window of May 7, 2026 has been chosen as its launch date.
First revealed in June 2024, Mixtape is the second game from Melbourne, Australia developers Beethoven & Dinosaur and a natural evolution from their first title The Artful Escape that’s once again published by Annapurna Interactive.
Straight from the mind of director Johnny Galvatron, Mixtape is set in the 1990’s and sees players take control of Rockford who still hopes to one day live out her dream of becoming a music producer, as her and friends Slater and Cassandra look back fondly at their 1980’s teenage years on the last night they’ll spend together before their whole world changes.
Mixtape Plans to Take Players on a Wild Ride
The game plans to take players on a visual and sonic ride with the characters moving through the world on skateboards, vehicles, and even on foot. However, the game’s biggest highlight is its licensed soundtrack that promises songs from Smashing Pumpkins and The Cure to Joy Division and the 80’s animated Transformers film man Stan Bush as well.
Today’s release date trailer completes the incremental reveals with last year’s Summer Game Fest featuring a gameplay trailer and the announcement that Mixtape launches day one on Xbox Game Pass. Annapurna also released a short developer diary on the game giving players a glimpse into its major aspects including that Mixtape means the entire game encompasses the name with all types of gameplay styles meshed together looking to deliver on nothing but the hits.
Thankfully, we now know it won’t be long before players can begin enjoying everything the game has to offer when it drops on May 7 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
