Beethoven and Dinosaur, alongside publisher Annapurna Interactive, has announced that its upcoming title Mixtape will be coming to PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 on May 7th. The announcement was made with a new trailer which you can check out below.
The trailer comes in at just shy of a minute in length, and focuses on the main characters—three high school friends looking for the “ultimate teenage experience”. We get to see the trio go through several surreal experiences, be it flying over their neighborhoods and over creeks, or skateboarding through an exploding car.
The story of Mixtape will revolve around the three friends setting off on one final adventure together, with its core themes revolving around a variety of songs that have been described as “the soundtrack of a generation”. The narrative will focus on how each song culminates in dreamlike reenactments of the time they spent together.
Mixtape was announced all the way back in June 2024, with Beethoven and Dinosaur confirming that its soundtrack would include music by Iggy Pop, Joy Division, The Smashing Pumpkins, DEVO, Roxy Magic, Lush, Sioxsie and the Banshees, and the Cure, among others.
The first trailer for Mixtape gave us a good look at the kind of setting we will get to experience, with portable CD players, open downhill streets that players can skate down, and a general vibe of whimsy that is often associated with teenage life. Paired with other, more realistic activities, the trailer also showed off how the kids are able to partake in more outlandish ones, like floating in the air above one of their roofs, and creating fireworks just by pointing at the sky while driving over a bridge.
The title was originally announced for release in 2025. However, it would get pushed back to a 2026 window. The studio hasn’t revealed too many details about the game yet, likely in its efforts to preserve the sense of surprise when it finally comes out.
The previous game by the studio, The Artful Escape, was released all the way back in 2021. The title, available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch, revolves around Francis Vendetti and his struggles on the night of his first live performance. Since he has to contend with the legacy of his uncle – a dead folk legend – Francis sets off on a psychedelic journey to create an entirely new stage persona for himself.
Alongside gameplay that can often have players engage with a variety of gameplay genres, the storytelling is helped by the fact that it features voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers.
In our review of The Artful Escape from back when it first came out, we gave it a score of 8 out of 10 thanks to its striking art style, strong writing, excellent voice and musical performance, and great gameplay. However, we criticized some of the game’s performance issues, as well as how basic the platforming sections would often feel.
