application, ALEX. Jackbox Games launched our first Party Pack in 2014.


Matt: You bill yourselves… “Think of us as the child of classic social games like ‘charades’…” – why did you go in that direction? Allard: You Don’t Know Jack prompted a new behaviour in video games. A lot of games at the time were single player, and multiplayer LAN games like DOOM and Marathon were only beginning to emerge. It was one of the first local co-op games that brought players together, quite literally, by making them crowd around the keyboard using the keys Q, B, and P.


Murder Party. It includes a wide range of themed trivia questions, a dark and silly plot, and a range of mini games for some diversity.


Matt: “My Arms Are Longer Now” is the first new title of Jackbox’s new publishing… arm (pun intended!) – what can you tell us about this? Belia: My Arms Are Longer Now is the absurdist brainchild of Melbourne-based developers, Toot Games. Jackbox met with them at PAX Australia and their wacky sense of humour clicked with our own comedic roots. We are so excited to be Toot’s publishing partner for this title, and we think that fans are going to really enjoy playing it once it’s out later this year.


Matt: Could you also tell us a little about the partnership with Netflix and what this means for Jackbox’s future roadmap? Belia: Our roadmap hasn’t changed much; we’re still developing and publishing games including Party Pack 12 this year. Jackbox games have released on a variety of platforms, including streaming services, which helps meet people where they are even if they aren’t traditional console or PC gamers. Having some of our titles on Netflix is a comfortable fit.


At the time, we had no evidence it would work for the


mainstream. We included an image on the back of the box showing three players comfortably sitting in front of the screen, smiling and laughing. It seemed to work better than we could have imagined. Players regularly sent us notes about the healing power of our game, and over the years we got hundreds of testimonials about how we brought family members together under the neutral umbrella of our make-believe, goofy gameshows. This history informed our mission as we regrouped as Jackbox


Games, Inc. in 2013. Our superpower seems to be bringing people together, breaking down inhibitions, and celebrating dumb jokes and laughs. We see ourselves picking up the mantle of the modern parlor game, bringing friends and family together to experience some human connection (and fart jokes).


Matt: What can you tell us about the people behind Jackbox? Allard: Jackbox is a collective of talented artists, writers, musicians, devs, biz folks and improv performers, but the original (and main) location for Jackbox has had an enormous influence on the tone, the humour, and the scrappiness of how we make games. Jackbox Games would not exist if not for the great city of Chicago, Illinois. Our location has afforded us a diverse community of talented creators and developers while insulating us from the tech-driven cynicism of the coasts.


Matt: If you had to pick one game that encapsulates the best of what Jackbox is about, which would you select and why? Belia: Quiplash has been synonymous with Jackbox for a long time, but the game that really shows Jackbox at its most versatile is Trivia


Matt: Can you share any details about the recently-announced Party Pack 12? Allard: We want to keep some of this a surprise, so what we can share is still limited. What we can say is that this is another all-new game pack. We loved making Pack 11, especially because it gave us the chance to build five all-new games. Without the “tentpole game”, we were forced to focus on giving each game its own spotlight. We may bring back some popular sequels in the future, but for this pack, we love the energy that “flying without a net” brings to each game.


Matt: What else can we expect from you in the next 24 months? Belia: So much! We’re also launching Trivia Murder Party 3 in early access on Steam and Epic. This is a standalone sequel to one of our most popular titles and our first time working in a 3D environment. We’ll be sharing updates on all of the games that we’ve announced for the year, and anything that’s upcoming as we go.


May/June 2026 MCV/DEVELOP | 25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56