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25 Sep 2026
posted by System 3
Our shape-shifting blue hero is back, bringing the imagination and playful humour of classic 1990s platforming to Nintendo Switch 2.
Last weekend, we brought an early playable technology demo of Putty World 35th Anniversary to Tokyo Game Show, giving Japanese journalists a hands-on introduction to Putty’s next adventure.
System 3 founder and CEO Mark Cale and members of our team are now returning from the show, where journalists had the opportunity to meet the team, experience the demo and discover the ideas behind Putty’s return. The reaction has been incredible, and we would like to thank everyone who played the game, interviewed us and shared their impressions.
The version shown was an early playable technology and graphics demo, rather than a finished game. Its graphics, controls and other elements will continue to be refined during development. Even at this stage, it has been especially rewarding to see Putty’s personality, visual style and nostalgic appeal making such a strong impression.
What if Nintendo Switch 2 had existed in the mid-1990s?
That simple question is at the heart of Putty World.
We want to recapture the feeling of switching on your Super Nintendo and discovering a colourful world full of personality, unexpected ideas and characters that are fun simply to move around. Putty World is our homage to that era, combining its distinctive rendered visual style with the expressive animation and responsiveness we can achieve today.
Bringing together the worlds and ideas of Putty, Super Putty and Putty Squad, this is a new, unified adventure rather than a menu of separate older games. Putty’s ability to stretch, squash, inflate and reshape himself remains at the heart of the experience, alongside the mischievous humour that makes his world unlike anywhere else.
Whether you remember the original games or are discovering our strange blue hero for the first time, we want Putty World to capture that excitement of finding something familiar in spirit, but full of new possibilities.
Tokyo Game Show: First Hands-on Coverage
The first Japanese hands-on reports explore both the playable demo and the thinking behind Putty World. We wanted to share some of their encouraging comments, together with links to the full articles and accompanying posts.
Famitsu: Recapturing the Enjoyment of the Super Nintendo Era
Famitsu, one of Japan’s leading gaming publications and websites, published a hands-on preview and interview with Mark. According to figures published in KADOKAWA’s media guide, its website averages approximately 11 million monthly unique users and 30 million monthly page views.
The writer was particularly enthusiastic about how enjoyable the demo felt to play, praising its smooth movement and intuitive controls. He describes how simply moving Putty around brought back the excitement and warmth of playing Super Nintendo games, with nostalgia so strong that it almost brought him to tears. He also connected with our central idea of imagining what developers in the mid-1990s could have created with Nintendo Switch 2 hardware.
That is exactly the feeling we are working to recapture, so it was especially rewarding to see it recognised.
Read Famitsu’s preview and interview
Game*Spark: Quirky Charm That Draws You Back
Among the positive comments in Game*Spark’s sponsored hands-on report, the writer highlights Putty World’s distinctive, glossy visuals and nostalgic 1990s feel. He found Putty’s expressions and movements so entertaining that he kept repeating actions simply for the fun of it. He also describes the unusual world as having a peculiar charm that makes him want to return and play again.
It is lovely to see Putty’s humour and personality making an impression, alongside the work that has gone into his new appearance and animation.
Read Game*Spark’s hands-on report
DenFami: A Distinctive World with Familiar Retro Appeal
DenFami (Denfaminicogamer) also published a hands-on preview and interview with Mark. The writer was particularly struck by the combination of Putty World’s individuality and the familiar nostalgia of classic 2D action games. He explores Putty’s shape-changing abilities and lively world, and says he is already looking forward to next year’s release and seeing how the game develops.
The interview also gave us the opportunity to explain why we are revisiting Putty and what we want this new adventure to bring to both returning players and those discovering him for the first time.
Read DenFami’s preview and interview
More Coverage from Around the World
Alongside these Japanese hands-on reports, you can read more about Putty World’s announcement, development approach and planned features on:
- Gematsu: Putty World announced for Switch 2
- Nintendo Everything: Putty World announced for Nintendo Switch 2
- Multiplayer.it: Putty World reimagines a System 3 classic for Switch 2
- GAMERS ZONE: System 3 introduces Putty World and its Tokyo Game Show demo
- GameHack: System 3 reimagines a platforming classic with Putty World
Created by Our Artists, with Absolutely No Generative AI
Putty World contains absolutely no AI-generated content.
The game is being developed by System 3’s own internal studio. Our artists build and animate the characters in 3ds Max, then render their movements into individual frames that become the game’s 2D sprites. This is a traditional, hands-on approach to creating the artwork, character by character and frame by frame.
The result combines detailed, three-dimensional character modelling with the deliberate presentation and feel of a 2D platform game. Putty must still play, feel and look like Putty, with all the expressive movement and playful character that players remember.
Below, you can see sample 3ds Max character renders and wireframe imagery from development, showing the modelling and artistry behind the characters you will meet in the game.
Development imagery showing original character models created by System 3’s internal art team.
More to Come Shortly
Putty World celebrates 35 years of Putty in 2027, with release planned for Nintendo Switch 2 as part of the many System 3 45-year anniversary events we are planning in 2027.
We will be sharing more details about the game, its characters, levels and gameplay features shortly, along with further screenshots, animation samples and a closer look behind the scenes.
Thank you for the fantastic welcome at Tokyo Game Show, and to everyone who has supported Putty over the years. We are looking forward to showing you much more.
