MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Tops 1 Million Players as Its Steam Crowd Thins

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire has surpassed 1 million players less than three months after its April 16 launch, developer Fumi Games and publisher PlaySide Studios announced July 13. Console versions made up about half of that total, with PC sales through Steam accounting for the rest.

The milestone lands the same week Steam’s own player tracking shows a far smaller crowd still logged in than the headline number suggests. That gap puts real weight on a new physical release, a level replay feature, and a still unannounced Story DLC to keep Mouseburg’s detective business open.

Fumi Games and PlaySide Toast a Million Players

Fumi Games, the Polish studio behind the project, and PlaySide Studios, its Melbourne based publishing partner, confirmed the total in a joint announcement. The cartoon noir shooter launched digitally across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Troy Baker plays private investigator Jack Pepper, the game’s rubber hose mouse detective. Baker has voiced roles in The Last of Us and BioShock Infinite, among other games.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire reaching over 1 million players has filled the team with an immeasurable amount of gratitude and appreciation for our community.

Mateusz Michalak, chief executive and founder of Fumi Games, said in the announcement. Buyers can still find physical copies and store locations by platform on the game’s official page.

Half the Sales Came From Consoles

Console units made up roughly 50% of total sales, with PC purchases through Steam covering the other half, the companies said. Neither platform pulled away from the other, even though Fumi Games skipped Xbox Game Pass and never shipped a demo before launch.

Review scores have held up across the board. Steam users rate it 94% “Very Positive” from more than 13,000 reviews, Metacritic lists an 80 critic score against an 8.2 user score out of ten, and the game sits in the 86th percentile of critic reviewed games tracked by OpenCritic.

Those numbers have barely moved since launch, which is unusual for a game riding entirely on its own art style rather than a familiar license.

From 1.4 Million Wishlists to Seven Figures Sold

The run to a million players started well before release day. Here is how it played out:

1. March 2026: More than 1.4 million Steam users had wishlisted the game weeks ahead of launch.
2. April 16, 2026: MOUSE: P.I. For Hire launches digitally on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
3. May 12, 2026: PlaySide confirms 730,000 copies sold and says the game has recouped its development costs.
4. July 10, 2026: Standard and Deluxe “Mouseburg Edition” physical copies go on sale worldwide.
5. July 13, 2026: Fumi Games and PlaySide announce the game has passed 1 million players.

The jump from 730,000 in May to over a million by July came without a single major discount event, according to the companies’ own figures.

A Patch and a Pressing Land in the Same Week

Physical copies arrived just days after Fumi Games shipped its biggest update yet. The Deluxe “Mouseburg Edition” adds a 7 inch vinyl pressing of four soundtrack cuts from composer Patryk Scelina, including one featuring French jazz outfit Caravan Palace, plus a double sided poster mapping the city on one side and Jack Pepper’s “Micer” pistol schematic on the other.

The deluxe box does not include the Story DLC some buyers expected. Fumi Games’ official FAQ confirms the expansion stays digital only, tied instead to the Digital Deluxe Edition sold on each storefront.

The patch itself, versioned 1.2 on most platforms and 1.2.1 on PlayStation 5, went well beyond its headline feature:

• Level Revisit – lets players return to any finished level from the world map to grab missed collectibles and side quests.
• VRR support – variable refresh rate added for smoother output on compatible displays.
• Weapon wheel changes – the selection menu was reworked for faster swaps mid fight.
• Performance passes – general optimization work plus adjustments to the settings menus.

Players had been asking for level replay since launch, and its arrival alongside the physical release was clearly timed to keep both stories in the same news cycle.

Why Did IGN and GameSpot Score MOUSE So Differently?

IGN gave MOUSE: P.I. For Hire a 6 out of 10, while GameSpot scored it an 8, according to a review roundup from gaming outlet LevelUpTalk. Neither score is an outlier once the full critical spread is counted, but the gap between them shows how differently reviewers weighed the same game.

• IGN landed at 6 out of 10, with LevelUpTalk describing the outlet’s take as focused on inconsistency between the game’s noir ambitions and its shooter mechanics.
• GameSpot rated it an 8, closer to reviewers on OpenCritic who praised the combat feel and called it a slick, accomplished shooter built on more than its art style.
• Nintendo Life titled its Switch 2 review “A Bold, Risk-Taking FPS, And A Fine Achievement,” while still flagging shallow clue collecting and occasional frame stutters as rough edges.

GameSpew landed closer to GameSpot, calling the game “brimming with character and personality” in its original review, a verdict the outlet stood by when it covered the Level Revisit patch this month.

A New Case Is Bought, Just Not Dated

A first Story DLC is already listed for pre-purchase on Steam, bundled into the Digital Deluxe Edition alongside the digital soundtrack and comic book. Fumi Games describes it only as a brand new adventure for Jack Pepper, built as a separate expansion rather than a continuation tacked onto the base campaign.

The expansion is confirmed for the same four platforms as the main game: PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S. Fumi Games has not set a release date beyond calling it a later addition.

Steam community threads have pointed to uniforms and a mention of Germany in the DLC’s store art as hints the story dips into Jack’s wartime past, though Fumi Games has not confirmed any plot details.

Why Has the Steam Player Count Cooled Off Since Launch?

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire’s Steam crowd has thinned out fast since launch. The game hit an all-time concurrent peak above 13,700 players, according to Steam tracking sites, but recent data puts the live count near 1,200, a pattern common for narrative driven single-player games once most buyers finish the campaign.

Steam statistics tracker Show My Items put the game’s live count at 1,200 players this week, with a 24 hour peak of 1,358 and an all-time high of 13,730 concurrent players recorded separately by Tracker Network. That places the game around 573rd among the most-played titles on Steam.

None of that is unusual for a linear shooter most players finish and set aside. It does mean Level Revisit and the still-dateless Story DLC are the two levers Fumi Games has left to turn a sales number into a returning audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MOUSE: P.I. For Hire on Xbox Game Pass?

No. Fumi Games confirmed ahead of launch that MOUSE: P.I. For Hire would skip Xbox Game Pass entirely, despite supporting Xbox Play Anywhere so owners can move saves and purchases between Xbox and PC.

Does the Mouseburg Edition Include the Story DLC?

No. Fumi Games’ official FAQ states the physical Mouseburg Edition does not include access to the Story DLC, which stays tied to the Digital Deluxe Edition sold through each platform’s own storefront.

How Many Difficulty Modes Does the Game Have?

Three: Rookie, Detective, which is the default setting, and Supersleuth for players who want to engage with the weapon-switching and barrel mechanics on purpose. None of the game’s trophies or achievements are locked to a specific difficulty.

What Else Changed in the Level Revisit Update?

Beyond letting players replay finished levels for missed collectibles, the update added variable refresh rate support, reworked the weapon wheel for faster mid-fight swaps, and applied general performance optimizations across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

How Much Does MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Cost?

The base game lists for $29.99 and was selling for $23.99, a 20% discount, as of mid-July, based on Steam pricing data. Deluxe and physical editions are priced separately by platform and retailer.