Poppy Playtime Chapter 3: Deep Sleep Interview - "There Is Always More To The Story" (2025)

Beloved horror game Poppy Playtime finally receives its third chapter this week, entitled Deep Sleep. The long-awaited installment comes from independent multimedia company Mob Entertainment, which branched out into game development following success on YouTube. The original Poppy Playtime released in 2021 to widespread critical praise, and proceeded to have its storyline continued with Chapter 2: Fly in a Web in 2022.

The latest chapter will take players to a previously undiscovered area, the abandoned orphanage Playcare, which is located within the Playtime Co. toy factory. Alongside giving fans access to a never-before-seen locale, Deep Sleep also introduces a new antagonist: CatNap. Part of the Playtime Co.’s Smiling Critters plush line, the horrifying feline will be pursuing players throughout their journey, which includes five challenges, a myriad of discoveries that advance the universe's lore, improvements to the GrabPack, and more.

Screen Rant interviewed Mob Entertainment CEO Zach Belanger and CCO Seth Belanger via email to discuss the creative process behind making a new chapter, the biggest differences between Deep Sleep and previous installments, and Poppy Playtime fan theories.

Zach & Seth Belanger On Poppy Playtime Chapter 3

Screen Rant: What can you reveal about the new antagonist CatNap, and what made them the right villain for this chapter?

Zach Belanger: The Story of Catnap begins with The Smiling Critters, a popular toy line developed by Playtime co. Catnap is one of Experimental Prototype 1006’s key henchmen. As players discover the story of CatNap and how he rose to power among the toys, they will also discover that the new areas introduced to the game are CatNap’s hunting ground. We tell players to go ahead and explore. But beware, you are always being hunted. That adds a heightened level of suspense to the experience.

I know this is the biggest installment in Poppy Playtime yet - what kind of challenges came with that new scope?

Zach Belanger: From a development and business side, there are more challenges, the size of the development team, a larger pipeline of tasks that need to get done, scheduling, asset management, producing, and wrangling it all together into one cohesive game. Building a bigger production truly upped our game and every team member’s skills and makes us a stronger studio for the next projects.

Seth Belanger: When we scoped out Chapter 3, we knew it was going to be the biggest in the series, but also faced a challenge. We know the overall story arc for the future of the series, however, we had to have some long conversations about exactly how much of the story we tell now and how much we save for later. We had to find that perfect stopping point that kept players in suspense.

In addition, wanting to make a bigger game means making more content, but we didn’t want to stuff the game full of content just to make the play time longer. It had to make sense for the story.

What things were you most looking to explore more in-depth with a larger chapter this time around?

Seth Belanger: In Chapter 3 we are introduced to the storyline of Playcare, the onsite orphanage in the Playtime Co. toy factory. This opens a lot of story ideas and speculation, and our fans LOVE to speculate. There’s an orphanage? In a toy factory? Why is it there? Who are these orphans? Where did they come from? How did they get there?

It’s exciting that in the game, the player needs to find clues to put this story together, but it’s not easy. There is always more to the story; delivering that is a fantastic creative challenge.

From the trailers, it's clear the third chapter has a very distinct aesthetic tone. What was the creative process like behind designing this expansive new kid-themed environment?

Seth Belanger: It’s always an interesting challenge when we introduce a new area to the game. On one hand, Playtime Co. factory (and the game) has a very distinct look and sound, so we need to stay faithful to the art direction and tone we established. The players expect that tone and sound when they play a Poppy Playtime chapter. Contrastly, when we introduce a new area of exploration, in this case the orphanage, we need to provide something that is new and surprising. We constantly ask ourselves, does it still look like an area the leaders of Playtime Co. would have constructed AND, how is this new area visually interesting, surprising and compelling to explore? It’s no easy feat.

Did the team find themselves implementing player feedback into this new chapter in any capacity?

Zach Belanger: One of the most unique things about Poppy Playtime is that the audience is extremely vocal and active online. It’s easy to find thousands of discussions about the story, characters, interpretations about what they see in the games and speculation about what is next. We encourage those conversations, but it’s a fun challenge. We have a full story arc planned out for the future, so we know where the story is going. It’s fun to see what the fans are speculating and contrast that with the surprises we really have planned.

I know this installment also comes with new upgrades and features - what can you reveal about those, and what made you want to implement them?

Seth Belanger: Some of the biggest upgrades and features coming to the game revolve around the infamous GrabPack. Players will have two new hands to use this Chapter that are crucial to their exploration and survival. Just as we implemented the green hand in Chapter 2 to hold electrical charge, the new purple hand extends to help push yourself higher off of platforms while the orange hand operates as a flare gun to help ward off some not so friendly foes.

What would you say are the biggest differences between this and previous chapters?

Zach Belanger: We like to think of developing each chapter like a hike up a large mountain. Every single step gets us closer to the peak, but with each step we must improve our art. We must improve our sound. We must push the story one step closer to its climax. We must improve our puzzles and environments. When you compare Chapter 3 to any other chapter, you will see everything has a heightened sense of execution. The art is more vibrant and visually compelling. The sound design is more immersive. The puzzles are more involved. Every single element of the game gets you one step closer to the peak.

Poppy Playtime

Adventure

Puzzle

Indie Games

Action

Survival Horror

Platform(s)

Android , iOS , Microsoft Windows

Released

October 12, 2021

Developer(s)

Publisher(s)

Source: Mob Entertainment/YouTube