Super Meat Boy 3D Launches Early 2026

Super Meat Boy makes his visceral return in all his crimson splendor with today's reveal of Super Meat Boy 3D at the Xbox Games Showcase. As the name implies, this new entry transforms the formula into a fully three-dimensional experience, slated for release on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC in early 2026.

The debut trailer delivers precisely what fans would expect: blisteringly fast and gruesome gameplay across compact, intense obstacle courses filled with machinery designed to shred our fleshy hero. Meat Boy ricochets through the chaos, leaving a trail of, well, meaty residue with every landing, showcasing a slick wall-sliding mechanic and demanding split-second jumps. The core shift to a 3D environment, however, promises to fundamentally reshape the platforming dynamics, expanding exploration possibilities and introducing fresh challenges.

The franchise originated with a 2008 Flash game from creators Edmund McMillen and Jonathan McEntee, which exploded in popularity with the release of Super Meat Boy. That title became a benchmark for ultra-hard platforming, celebrated for its razor-sharp controls, instant respawns, and compact levels that encourage relentless, rapid-fire attempts. The series' signature gore is a natural fit, given a protagonist composed entirely of meat who constantly confronts blenders and saws.

A follow-up, Super Meat Boy Forever, launched in 2020 without McMillen's direct involvement. It's currently unconfirmed whether he is contributing to this new 3D interpretation.

Curiously, the trailer opened with a distinctive green Super Mario warp pipe, despite no current announcement for a Nintendo platform and the reveal taking place at an Xbox event. This odd cameo remains unexplained for now.

You can review all the announcements from today's Xbox Games Showcase here and follow the continuous stream of news throughout the weekend at IGN Live here.