Ahead of the Sept. 8 launch of Halloween: The Game, those who pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe Edition were given four days of advance access to play ahead of everyone else. This window of time has already brought about multiple controversies, with concerns about the inclusion of dogs being added to the list.
Along with a multiplayer mode, Halloween: The Game also lets players recreate some of the events of the movie in a single player mode from the point of view of Michael Myers. As a nod to the film, Michael even has the ability to kill dogs. While that's not exactly unexpected for a being who's pure evil, there are many horror fans who would have rather seen the developers at IllFonic leave out that part of Michael's killing spree. For some, physically killing an animal in such a way, even in a horror video game, is just a bit too uncomfortable.
Some Players Say Adding Dogs Was Not Necessary
"I get he’s evil and would do this but why even add this," one person on X said about the feature.
"This is f**ked up I don't care that it's canon," said someone else.
"Saw some footage of the new Halloween game, it's Michael killing a dog, and it did in fact kinda ruin my day," another post reads. "[People ask] 'You care more about the dog than him killing hundreds of people?' Yeah."
As noted, Michael killing canines is lore-accurate to the original Halloween film, though it happened off-screen in those instances. In one scene, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers) discover the body of a German Shepherd which appears to have been gnawed on. Loomis memorably remarks, "He got hungry." In a later scene, a dog can be heard barking and then suddenly yelping, a sign it had been killed by Michael, but it wasn't explicitly shown.
Halloween: The Game Has Already Had Controversy
The dog situation is just one problem Halloween: The Game has had with its advance access. Another controversy relates to the inclusion of a minigame where two players can have sex by entering the same closet. Only the outside of the closet is shown, but the act is implied by both players pressing certain buttons to fill up an on-screen heart that give them both a "stronger together" buff. This was intended to be another nod to the film along with similar slasher movies of the era, but it was quickly patched out when players discovered that Loomis was able to participate.
"Players may have noticed that our latest hotfix removed the Two-Person Power-Up minigame," a statement from IllFonic noted about the removal. "This was due to an unintended issue that allowed end game reinforcement characters to engage with the minigame, which was a major oversight on our part. We have more content and minigames coming in the near future but current focus is our attention on immediate game needs. Keep an eye on our socials for updates as they become available.”
Meanwhile, cannabis use created another problem for Halloween: The Game ahead of launch. Because smoking a joint in the game can give the player a temporary advantage, it was not able to be sold in Australia. Additionally, it had its PS5 release in Japan canceled due to its problematic content, though it was still made available for PC and Xbox in the region.
Halloween: The Game officially launches on Sept. 8, 2026.
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