- The debut title of the American four-person indie developer Hitbox Entertainment
- A 4-player cooperative game where you navigate an obstacle course without letting the balloon fall to the ground.
The number of demo downloads for ‘Keep It Up!’, a cooperative party game co-developed and serviced by UK publisher Alibi Games and US four-person indie developer Hitbox Entertainment, has surpassed 500,000.
To celebrate this success, the development team unveiled a new trailer video featuring the game’s new appeal at ‘The Mix Fall Showcase’ held on the same day.
‘Keep It Up!’ is a game that expands the ‘don’t drop the balloon’ game, which everyone played at least once as a child, into an extraordinary obstacle course. Up to four people form a team and move around, and the moment the balloon touches the ground, it pops immediately.
In particular, it is attracting attention with a spicy twist where the entire team is incinerated as the last balloon explodes when the team runs out of lives.
Pass through a trap-filled course while protecting the balloon
The gameplay is intuitive. You simply need to use your whole body—including your hands and head—to bounce the balloon and advance to the destination. However, the path ahead is treacherous. From sharp spikes to fans spewing strong winds and deadly laser traps, tricky obstacles stand in your way through every narrow corridor.
Adding to this is the concept of experiments taking place at a secret research facility called ‘The Facility,’ and the developer’s unique, quirky atmosphere of shamelessly calling these arduous trials ‘science.’
The highlight is the ‘friendship-destroying’ element. While close cooperation is the foundation, you can also clear a path by satisfyingly knocking out teammates who get in your way. In a game designed for cooperation, the humorous chaos of kicking teammates away and the realistic skirmishes between friends trying to find the culprit who dropped the balloon are the game’s greatest sources of laughter.
15 rooms, Physics Playground lobby, in-game voice chat
There are a total of 15 rooms designed to stimulate a sense of challenge, boasting increasingly difficult difficulty levels as you progress. The game features sophisticated level design that appeals not only to gamers who want to take their time reaching the ending but also to speedrunners who tolerate no margin of error.
It is quite fun to cooperate while screaming using the built-in voice chat. The waiting room is also far from ordinary. You can rest while thrashing around with friends in the physics-engine-enabled lobby, and there is certainly enjoyment in customizing your character with items collected while playing.
The character called ‘Dumm-E’ can be created by precisely carving out not only hair and clothing but also the facial structure using over 25 sliders, which is expected to help users express their individuality.
The debut work of a four-member American development team formerly active in a band
The development team’s background is just as interesting as its unique gameplay. The American indie team Hitbox Entertainment is a group of four close friends: Andrew, Ben, Billy, and Mitch.
They are veterans with careers in art, audio, technology, and design within the industry, and were also former members of a ‘touring band’ that once dominated the stage. These musicians joined forces for a game, and the first work they began creating in February 2026 is ‘Keep It Up!’.
London-based publisher Alibi Games introduced the game by summarizing its identity with the cheerful title ‘FriendSLAP’.
‘Keep It Up!’ captures the essence of a party game that simultaneously evokes fierce blame games and thrilling cheers among friends, all built upon simple rules that anyone can easily understand.
With the demo downloads surpassing 500,000 in just eight months since development began, expectations are high that the official version of Mayhem Heaven will bring a breath of fresh air to the party game market.
Information regarding ‘Keep It Up!’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Hitbox Entertainment (USA) |
| Publisher | Alibi Games (London, UK) |
| Genre | 4-Player Co-op Obstacle Action (Balloon Launching) |
| platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | Unconfirmed |
| price | Unconfirmed |
| Player count | Up to 4 players co-op |
| Key Achievements | Demo downloads surpass 500,000 (as of October 16, 2026) |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
