If you grew up in the 90s or just love a good coming-of-age story, you need to know about Mixtape. This upcoming narrative adventure from Beethoven & Dinosaur and Annapurna Interactive was supposed to launch in 2025, but just got pushed back to 2026. Before you get too disappointed, hear me out. This delay might actually be a good thing because what the developers are creating looks genuinely special.
What Is Mixtape Actually About
The premise hits you right in the nostalgia. Three best friends are driving to their final party together on the last night of high school. As they listen to a carefully curated playlist, the music triggers dreamlike reenactments of their most important memories together. You play as Stacy Rockford, a teenager who has dreamed of becoming a music supervisor in Hollywood since she was eight years old.
This isn’t your typical adventure game with puzzles and inventory management. Instead, Mixtape is structured like its namesake. Each memory plays out as a distinct vignette tied to specific songs, creating what the developers describe as the greatest hits of teenage friendship. You’re experiencing the story from the teenagers’ perspective, complete with their exaggerations, joy, and lack of focus. One moment you’re skateboarding, the next you’re flying through the air, then you’re taking photos at an abandoned theme park after hours.
The Studio Behind The Game
Beethoven & Dinosaur isn’t a household name yet, but they should be. This Melbourne-based studio previously created The Artful Escape, a BAFTA-winning psychedelic platformer about a teenage guitar prodigy trying to escape his folk legend uncle’s musical legacy. That game was weird, beautiful, and completely unforgettable.
The studio was founded by Johnny Galvatron, who was previously the lead guitarist for Australian rock band the Galvatrons. Before music took over his life, he studied film and computer animation in college. That background shows in his games, which feel more like interactive music videos than traditional gaming experiences. His team includes composer Josh Abrahams, guitarist Eden Altman, and several talented programmers who all share a vision for games that prioritize atmosphere and emotion over traditional gameplay loops.
That Soundtrack Though
Let’s talk about the real star of Mixtape: the music. This game features an absolutely stacked lineup of licensed tracks from legendary artists. We’re talking DEVO, The Smashing Pumpkins, Guns N’ Roses, Roxy Music, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and Lush. That’s not background music. That’s the soundtrack of a generation.
For a game literally about how music triggers powerful memories and emotions, having access to these iconic tracks is crucial. Galvatron described the feel as “sorta like channel-surfing old-school MTV at 3 AM,” which perfectly captures that late-night nostalgic energy when you’re young and everything feels impossibly big and important. The entire game is soundtrack-driven, with gameplay moments specifically designed around the music rather than the other way around.
Why Licensed Music Matters
Most games can’t afford or don’t bother with licensed music because it’s expensive and complicated. They create original soundtracks that fit the mood but lack that immediate emotional punch of hearing a song you know. When you hear a real track from your teenage years, it doesn’t just sound familiar. It transports you back to specific moments, feelings, and people. That’s the experience Mixtape is chasing, and having Annapurna Interactive as publisher probably helped secure those music rights.
The Spider-Verse Visual Style
Mixtape’s presentation draws heavy inspiration from Spider-Verse films, using stop-motion-inspired animation that gives everything a tactile, handcrafted quality. The visual style aims to blend 3D graphics with that deliberately imperfect frame-by-frame aesthetic that made Into the Spider-Verse feel so fresh and distinctive.
This approach serves the storytelling perfectly. The game takes place in gorgeously dreamlike memories, not literal recreations of events. Teenagers don’t remember things accurately. They remember the feeling, the emotion, the exaggerated importance of moments that adults might dismiss as trivial. The stylized animation reinforces that this is filtered through teenage perspective, where everything is more dramatic, more beautiful, and more meaningful than it probably was in reality.
How The Gameplay Actually Works
One gameplay example the developers shared involves the three friends getting into trouble and ending up in a shopping cart, careening down a hill while being chased by police. As the memory unfolds, it becomes increasingly ridiculous and exaggerated. You even get a playable section from the perspective of an action news helicopter reporting on the chase. It doesn’t need to make sense. It just needs to feel like how teenagers remember their wildest nights.
Other vignettes include skateboarding through town, flying for some reason, hitting baseballs, putting on a fireworks show from the backseat of a moving car, and experiencing your first kiss. The gameplay variety keeps things fresh while maintaining that central theme of teenage experiences filtered through memory and music. You’re not solving puzzles or managing resources. You’re just living in these moments, experiencing the joy and chaos of being young.
Why The Delay Makes Sense
The announcement that Mixtape was delayed from 2025 to 2026 came in November 2025. While delays are always disappointing, this project seems ambitious enough that extra development time could be crucial. Creating a game where licensed music drives the entire experience requires careful coordination between gameplay, narrative, and soundtrack. Every vignette needs to feel perfect for its song, and that level of synchronization takes time.
Beethoven & Dinosaur isn’t a huge studio. They’re a small team in Melbourne working on something that feels deeply personal. The Artful Escape took years to complete, partially because they refused to compromise their vision. Given how well that game turned out, giving them the time they need for Mixtape seems like the right call. Better to wait for something special than rush something that doesn’t capture what made the concept exciting in the first place.
The Annapurna Interactive Factor
Having Annapurna Interactive as publisher is a huge advantage for Mixtape. Annapurna has built an incredible reputation for supporting creative, narrative-focused games that might struggle to find funding elsewhere. Their catalog includes games like What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilds, Stray, and Neon White. These aren’t massive blockbusters. They’re carefully crafted experiences that prioritize artistic vision over commercial safety.
Annapurna gives developers the resources and time they need while protecting their creative freedom. For a project like Mixtape that lives or dies on its ability to capture genuine emotion and nostalgia, that support structure is invaluable. They’re also experienced at marketing these kinds of games to audiences who appreciate them, which is crucial for reaching the people who will actually connect with what Mixtape is trying to do.
Platforms and Game Pass
When Mixtape eventually launches in 2026, it’s coming to PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. More importantly, it was confirmed at Summer Games Fest 2025 that the game will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass. For a narrative adventure that might only last 6 to 8 hours, having it on Game Pass is perfect. Subscribers can jump in without additional cost, and that lower barrier to entry means more people will actually experience what could be a really special game.
The Game Pass strategy worked incredibly well for other Annapurna titles like What Remains of Edith Finch, which found a much larger audience through the service than it might have otherwise. For games that depend on word of mouth and emotional connection rather than massive marketing budgets, these subscription services can be game-changers.
FAQs
When will Mixtape be released?
Mixtape is scheduled for release sometime in 2026. The game was originally planned for 2025 but was delayed to give the development team more time. No specific release date or window within 2026 has been announced yet.
What platforms is Mixtape coming to?
Mixtape will launch on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The game will also be available day one on Xbox Game Pass for subscribers at no additional cost.
Who is making Mixtape?
Mixtape is being developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur, the Melbourne-based studio that created the BAFTA-winning game The Artful Escape. The studio is led by Johnny Galvatron, formerly the lead guitarist of Australian rock band the Galvatrons. The game is being published by Annapurna Interactive.
What kind of game is Mixtape?
Mixtape is a narrative adventure game focused on storytelling and atmosphere rather than traditional gameplay challenges. It features a series of playable vignettes representing memories, with activities like skateboarding, flying, taking photos, and other teenage experiences. Think of it more as an interactive coming-of-age movie than a puzzle or action game.
What music is featured in Mixtape?
The game features licensed tracks from major artists including DEVO, The Smashing Pumpkins, Guns N’ Roses, Roxy Music, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and Lush. The music is central to the game’s structure, with gameplay moments designed around specific songs.
Is Mixtape connected to The Artful Escape?
No, Mixtape is not a sequel or connected to The Artful Escape narratively. However, both games are made by the same developer, Beethoven & Dinosaur, and share a focus on music-driven storytelling and distinctive visual styles. If you enjoyed The Artful Escape, you’ll likely appreciate Mixtape’s approach.
How long will Mixtape take to complete?
While no official length has been announced, based on similar narrative adventure games and the developers’ previous work, Mixtape will likely take between 6 to 10 hours to complete. The focus is on quality of experience rather than lengthy gameplay.
Will Mixtape have multiple endings?
This hasn’t been confirmed. Based on the game’s structure as a series of memories being recalled during a car ride, it seems designed as a linear narrative experience. However, the developers haven’t detailed whether player choices will impact the story’s outcome.
Conclusion
Mixtape represents something increasingly rare in gaming: a project driven by genuine artistic vision rather than commercial calculation. It’s a game about teenagers made by people who understand that being young isn’t about grand adventures or saving the world. It’s about small moments that feel massive at the time, friendships that define who you become, and music that soundtracks it all. The delay to 2026 is frustrating, but if Beethoven & Dinosaur can deliver on what they’re promising, we might get one of the most emotionally resonant gaming experiences in years. Sometimes the best things are worth waiting for, especially when they come with a killer soundtrack.