Poppy Playtime Controversy | Are These Controversies Legit?

Poppy Playtime is an online horror game that runs in two chapters, released some time apart. It has been published by Mob Entertainment, which is based in America. It is a single-player video game for Android, Microsoft, and IOS. 

The game includes horror toy characters in an abandoned toy factory, and its storyline evolves around the challenges faced by the player caused by these horror characters. The player has to escape hurdles to reach the end of the game. Various puzzles in the run must be solved to get into the next stage.

Overall, the game has gained considerable popularity in a short span. All due to its interesting gameplay and setting that evoke the interest of the players. It gained quite a good recognition online and became famous, along with some controversies, which will be discussed below. 

Overview of Poppy Playtime Real Story 

Before digging into the Poppy Playtime controversies, let’s first get right into Poppy Playtime gameplay. 

This video game was released in two chapters, the first was released in October 2021, and the second was released in May 2022. The first chapter spans a length of 45 minutes, and the second chapter can be completed in about 2 hours. 

The story of Poppy Playtime is based on an abandoned toy factory that had remained abandoned for ten years. The game begins with the player being an employee of the factory, who was revisiting the factory after ten years upon receiving a note from the staff that was thought to have disappeared years ago. 

The letter instructed the employee to locate the flower. Upon visiting the factory, the player discovers that many horrific toys are alive, creating hurdles for him. There are two chapters of the game with different puzzles and difficulties. 

The First Chapter, Known As ‘a Tight Squeeze’

The first chapter can be completed in about 45 minutes to one hour. It begins with the player receiving the letter and footage of the factory tour. The player initially has to solve a puzzle to unlock the main door, after which he gets the GrabPack. 

The GrabPack is used to open the entrance to the lobby, where the player will meet Huggy Wuggy, one of the horrific characters of the game. The power suddenly goes out inside the hall, and Huggy Wuggy disappears. The player then tries to restore the room’s power by solving a puzzle that will restore power to the machinery that manufactures toys. 

The toy is then used as a tool to unlock the door to the hallway. After entering the hallway, Huggy Wuggy reappears and starts chasing the player through the vents. When the hallway ends, the conveyer belt breaks, and Huggy Wuggy falls to the bottom of the factory. 

The player then has to unlock the door from the hallway and enter a room where the Poppy doll is found, and the player has to free Poppy, which marks the end of the first chapter.

The Second Chapter, Known As ‘fly In A Web’:

It begins with the player freeing Poppy and then entering the office of the factory’s owner, where he again finds Poppy, thanking it for freeing him. Poppy then tells the player the three-digit code to the factory’s train, helping the player to escape from the hurdles. The player then reaches the play station where the train is present and encounters Mommy Long Legs. 

Mommy Long Legs is another horror character of the game and tells the player that he has three chances to win games at the play station and board the train; otherwise, she will kill him. The player manages to win two steps of the game, getting to know two digits of the code, and flees after the third, followed by the horrific Mommy Long Legs through the tunnels. 

Eventually, Mommy Long Legs gets caught between the teeth of a grinder and dies. The third letter of the code is with Poppy, and the player boards the train after getting the code. 

Poppy explains to the player that he cannot escape the factory for specific reasons and assures him that he can bear all the consequences that will emerge further, which marks the end of the second chapter.

Poppy Playtime Controversy

Poppy Playtime faced severe backlash and controversies regarding many things, some of which include the following:

Poppy Playtime NFT Controversy

NFTs are Non-Fungible-Tokens, which are non-exchangeable cryptographic currencies or assets. They are used to attain ownership of online arts, videos, jpeg forms, etc. The NFTs are secured by blockchains, which makes trading efficient. 

The mob entertainment introduced non-fungible tokens in December 2021 in partnership with Sweet.io, using them as a paywall for extra lore, which led to a Poppy Playtime company controversy. The backlash received upon this statement was just as expected by some employees. 

This statement led to outrage among the players and investors, with many of them forwarding a statement of withdrawing their investments. Mob Entertainment soon retracted its statement, apologized publicly, and cleared the controversy by saying it would donate all the earnings to Clean Air Task Force.

Poppy Playtime Creator Controversy

The creators of Poppy Playtime had failed to develop a game of the top tier of success due to many shortcomings, which led to creator controversies, and these shortcomings include plagiarism issues. 

Ekscoaste, the developer of the game Venge, publicly stated that Poppy Playtime was a copied version of his game. He made this statement around the time of the release of Poppy Playtime. 

The other Poppy Playtime controversy was about bullying a YouTuber. Ethan, a young man who owned a YouTube channel and uploaded animations, claimed that the Mob had bullied him by pointing out mistakes in his animations. 

He also said that sexualized portraits of Minecraft characters were sent to him by the Mob Company when he was a minor. This bullying made Ethan so uncomfortable that he had to visit a psychiatrist. The Poppy Playtime creators faced severe backlash after this matter was disclosed. 

Poppy Playtime Dev Controversy

The developers of Poppy Playtime were accused of creating sexualized content. The creators had sexualized the character of Five Nights at Freddy’s Circus Baby. The viewers and players of Poppy Playtime were outrageous at this act.

Chapter 2 Controversy

Chapter one of Poppy Playtime received a good response from the public, and many people praised the newly launched horror game. 

In contrast, chapter 2 received mixed reviews, with a significant chunk of them being negative. This was due to several reasons, the first being the pricing, which the players could have been happier with. The next reason was the quality of the game and its speed. Many users complained that the game contained bugs, errors, and glitches. 

Some said that the game does not open after they proceed with all the funding. Others say that despite an excellent start to the game, there are several glitches, so the player cannot continue playing it. There are sound problems after the player dies, and a berry-stuck glitch limits the player’s progress in the game. 

A bug that causes dysfunctional usage of GrabPack also exists, leading to a faulty game. All these problems make the players lose interest in the game and go for refunding.

Poppy Playtime Baby Controversy

One of the most notable controversies is the baby/child controversy of Poppy Playtime. This controversy is because this game is based on a horror mode and can be dangerous for kids’ mental health. 

It contains content that can prove to be sensitive for kids. Further, if a parent wants to block access to this game by their children, the game and its clips do not filter from the parental filters, and they are accessible despite many controlling factors. 

Many complaints from areas were received regarding the sensitivity of this game for children. 

People noted that children were trying to copy the scenes of the game and were being affected by the horrific characters, which made them unable to achieve full-time sleep at night. There was a case where a child jumped from a building after being inspired by a character in the game. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Wrap Up

Poppy Playtime is a horror game that includes many puzzles and mysteries to be solved by the player. It has entertained its users through quality content but has faced backlash and controversies. 

It received backlash due to the faults of creators, developers, the Company, and some ill decisions. The creators have responded to all the debates and have taken back their wrong choices and statements.