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Mouse: P.I. for Hire

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Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a 2026 first-person shooter game developed by Fumi Games and published by PlaySide Studios.[1][2] The game was released 16 April 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S platforms.[1][2][3][4] Set in a world inhabited with anthropomorphic mice in the 1930s, players control Jack Pepper (Troy Baker) who must investigate a mysterious case across the fictional town of Mouseburg. The game received generally favorable reviews.

Mouse: P.I. for Hire
DeveloperFumi Games
PublisherPlaySide Studios
DirectorMichał Rostek
ProducerMaciej Krzemień
DesignerŁukasz Błaszczyk
ProgrammersHubert Mattusch
Artur Sołek
Radosław Walaszczyk
ArtistsMateusz Kozela
Grzegorz Pamuła
ComposerPatryk Scelina
EngineUnity
Platforms
Release16 April 2026
GenreFirst-person shooter
ModeSingle-player

Gameplay

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Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a first-person shooter. Gameplay includes both investigative sections where Jack has to find clues and solve puzzles, and combat sections where he engages in arena shootouts wielding a variety of guns, melee weapons, and gadgets.[5][6][7]

Plot

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Setting

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Mouse: P.I. for Hire takes place in a city called Mouseburg in 1934 after a war in the Old World over an event called ''The Quite Big Affair''. The city is mostly inhabited by anthropomorphic mice, as well as other rodents such as rats and shrews, with the latter being seen as a lesser kind of rodent due to their short nature. They used to have their own town called Shrewthicket, but rising tensions led to it being destroyed.

The city mimics a 1930s styled New York, with cheese prohibitions, film industries, and city corruption. Mouseburg is not shy of crime rates, as there are many criminal operations involved, such as shrew violence, organized crime, and "cheeselegging." While cheese can be eaten as normal, it can also be consumed in a melted state like liquor, and blue cheese and powdered cheese are considered to be the same as drugs.

Characters

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Mouse: P.I. for Hire is centered around a series of cases being investigated by Jack Pepper (voiced by Troy Baker),[8] an anthropomorphic, hardboiled mouse detective, as well as a former war hero and police officer. His office resides next to a bar called "Little & Big," owned by John Brown, a hard-working shrew who used to live in Shrewthicket before it was destroyed. Also residing nearby is Tammy Tumbler, a young female mouse mechanic who usually helps Jack upgrade his weapons. Jack has looked after Tammy ever since he arrested her step-father during his cop years when she was 13. Due to Jack's gambling, he has to work on small and cheap cases, usually depending on journalist Wanda Fuller for any intel and leads.

Steve Bandel served with Jack in the war and became a stage magician after the war's end. Jack has some anger towards Steve, as he caught him in some illegal activity during his cop years, but looked the other way, which was one of the reasons why Jack left the force. Steve's former stage assistant, mouse actress Betty Lynch, died recently. The police ruled out foul play, but Vivian McCarthy, another mouse actress and a friend of Betty, believes someone was involved in her death. In addition, Jack and Steve's former commander-now politician Cornelius Stilton runs against Milford Soyer, the leader of a new and rising political party called the Big Mouse Party, to become mayor.

Story

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Wanda summons Jack to investigate Steve's recent disappearance during his latest performance. While investigating, Jack saves Cornelius from an attempted assassination. Out of gratitude, Cornelius gives Jack Steve's address as to where his lab might be. Inside, Jack finds it overrun by cultists and notes about sidestepping a project to "The Unknown" after his former show assistant Betty's resignation and death. Jack uncovers Steve's ties to an Old World scientist called Ze Professor.

Cornelius goes back to Jack's office and requests his aid uncovering a recent rumor of missing shrews, the minority populace of Mouseburg, and how the police might be involved. Jack soon uncovers corrupt cops gathering shrews and transporting them underground using old cheeselegging routes. Digging deeper, he finds out that actual cheeseleggers were involved and working with the cops.

In between cases, Vivian has requested Jack's services in uncovering Betty's death, to which she believes foul play was involved by her old studio Tinsel Bros. While investigating the studio she used to work, Jack finds Betty's trailer emptied, but finds a photo of her next to Milford. Jack believes that the two got close thanks to BMP spokesperson Miles Curd. Upon questioning Miles, he has Jack suspect he was once close to Betty as well, but is confused why he now thinks little of her. After investigating, Jack concludes that Betty was a socialite who acquired sensitive information and inadvertently spread it to the public. This attracted the attention of the mob, who ended up killing Betty.

In the Curdsville Nuthouse, Jack finds shrews being held captive and is exposed to a gas that makes him hallucinate. Jack encounters a talking brain named Jar-Head, who orders Jack to "fuel" him with rodent blood. Jack complies and discovers a portal to the Unknown, a dream-like dimension. Deep inside, he finds Steve, who made himself disappear to hide from the mob and Ze Scientists. Steve reveals he had been searching for the Unknown after the war, and through Betty's connections teamed up with Ze Scientists after learning they shared the same goals. Upon realizing ink was needed for the portal, Ze Professor suggested shrews and Steve, initially agreed with this, hiring the cultists to help. However, he soon realized the brutality the shrews faced for his plans and, unable to turn from Ze Scientists, decided to hide in the Unknown. When Jack reveals Ze Scientists are trying to reopen the portal, he begs Jack to stop them and destroy Ze Professor's U-boat. Jack agrees and, with Steve wanting to stay in the Unknown, part ways.

Jack and Tammy confront Ze Professor head on in his submarine. After defeating Ze Professor, Jack grabs a piece of evidence stating that the BMP brought the scientists from the Old World themselves. With all the clues laid out, Jack confirms that the Big Mouse Party was involved in all three cases. They wanted to get rid of the shrews and take their homes and land for free housing, so they paid the cops to arrest and hired the old cheeseleggers to transport them. They then allowed Steve and Ze Scientists to do what they want with the captured shrews, effectively getting rid of them. Once Betty heard parts of the plan and spread it as gossip, the BMP soon heard and paid the mob to silence her and have the cops cover it up. Jack plans to release his evidence, only for it to be burned and destroyed by the BMP.

Jack goes into a drunken spiral following the loss of his office and evidence, but is contacted by Steve through a mirror. He tells Jack that he hid tape recordings of the BMP's conversations in his manor just in case, and lets Jack go to retrieve them. Jack receives the tape and broadcasts it to expose Milford and his plans. Milford attempts to escape in his blimp while taking John as hostage, but Jack with Tammy's help manage to defeat Milford and saving John. Milford is arrested, while Cornelius rises in the polls for mayor.

Release

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Mouse: P.I. for Hire game was developed by Polish company Fumi Games and published by Australian company PlaySide Studios.[9][10][11] Following its announcement in 2024, the game was originally scheduled to be released in 2025, but was delayed to 2026 due to changes in development and final polishing.[12][13][14] It was released on April 16, 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.[15]

Reception

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Mouse: P.I. for Hire received "generally favorable" reviews for the Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version while the Nintendo Switch 2 version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[16][17][18][19] OpenCritic reported that 87% of critics recommended it.[20]

The game sold 730,000 copies worldwide.[29]

References

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  1. 1 2 Troughton, James (January 2, 2024). "Forget Horror Steamboat Willie, There's A Mickey Mouse-like Boomer Shooter". TheGamer. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Randall, Harvey (September 2, 2024). "Mouse: P.I. for Hire devs share ambitions to make a game that's more than 'just a cool art project': A satirical metroidvania shooter with 'adult, deep, gripping storylines'". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  3. ↑ Romano, Sal (February 19, 2026). "MOUSE: P.I. for Hire 'Robo-Betty Boss Fight' trailer". Gematsu. Retrieved February 19, 2026. Due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, and PC via Steam on March 19.
  4. ↑ McClure, Deven (October 23, 2025). "Noir shooter Mouse: P.I. For Hire finally has a release date". Polygon. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  5. ↑ Serin, Kaan (August 24, 2024). "Brutal Mickey Mouse-ish FPS that's riding the public domain all the way to Steam has both a real name and awesome new trailer". GamesRadar+. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  6. ↑ Henley, Stacey (August 27, 2024). "Mouse: PI For Hire Is More Than Just Disney Doom". TheGamer. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ Rose, Danielle (August 20, 2024). "Mouse PI For Hire - Mouse release date estimate, trailers, and news". PCGamesN. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  8. ↑ Lewis, Claire (June 6, 2025). "Troy Baker's next starring role is a gritty mouse". Polygon.
  9. ↑ "Mouse: P.I. For Hire Review: A Competent Shooter Oozing With Cartoon Charm". CNET.com. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Successful Global Launch of MOUSE P.I. For Hire". Listcorp.com. April 20, 2026.
  11. ↑ "PlaySide's MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Debut Delivers Strong Sales and Cash Flow Boost". The Globe and Mail. April 20, 2026.
  12. ↑ "MOUSE: P.I. for Hire adds PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch versions; launches in 2025". Gematsu. October 17, 2024. Archived from the original on February 2, 2026. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  13. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (October 17, 2024). "Mouse: P.I. for Hire Coming to Xbox in 2025". IGN. Archived from the original on December 25, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  14. ↑ Barker, Sammy (October 17, 2024). "Striking 1930s Cartoon FPS MOUSE: P.I. for Hire Targets PS5, PS4 Next Year". Push Square. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  15. ↑ Glennon, Jen (March 24, 2026). "Mouse: P.I. for Hire will get a splashy physical version in July". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 25, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Mouse: P.I. for Hire for Nintendo Switch 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Mouse: P.I. for Hire for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Mouse: P.I. for Hire for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Mouse: P.I. for Hire for Xbox Series X/S Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  20. 1 2 "MOUSE: P.I. For Hire". OpenCritic. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  21. ↑ Vincent, Hadley (April 14, 2026). "Mouse: P.I. For Hire review – A cartoon wonderland (and wickedly fun bloodbath)". Destructoid. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  22. ↑ Givens, Billy (April 14, 2026). "Mouse: P.I. For Hire Review". Game Informer. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  23. ↑ Wakeling, Richard (April 14, 2026). "Mouse: P.I. For Hire Review - Rodent Noir". GameSpot. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  24. ↑ Zimmerheld, Chuck (April 14, 2026). "Mouse: P.I. For Hire Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  25. ↑ Borger, Will (April 14, 2026). "Mouse: P.I. for Hire Review". IGN. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  26. ↑ Iwaniuk, Phil (April 14, 2026). "Mouse: PI for Hire review". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  27. ↑ Croft, Liam (April 15, 2026). "Mini Review: Mouse: P.I. for Hire (PS5) - Elite Art with FPS Action to Match". Push Square. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  28. ↑ Denzer, TJ (April 14, 2026). "Mouse: P.I. For Hire review: Makin' swiss cheese out of rats". Shacknews. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  29. ↑ Clarke, Jon (May 11, 2026). "MOUSE: P.I. For Hire has Sold Over 700,000 copies". DayOne. Retrieved May 14, 2026.

Notes

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  1. ↑ Based on 149 reviews
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