Google search results claim that a Bugsnax 2 is coming next month. But there's a small problem: its developers aren't creating one.

It's difficult to get your game noticed when there are more than 10,000 Steam games released each year. Young Horses, developer of Bugsnax, Octodad and other games, has found itself in a more difficult situation: thanks to Google, people expect a Bugsnax 2 that doesn't even exist.

Philip Tibitoski, co-founder of Young Horses and president of the company, tweeted earlier today: "We aren't working on a Bugsnax 2 right now. I need AI bs stop telling kids that we are based off a fanfic wiki." Google's featured snippets, which are based on algorithmic search results curation, have been telling people that Bugsnax 2 is coming out in October 2024. This is despite the fact neither Young Horses nor any other developer has made it.

I checked it myself and, sure enough, searching "Bugsnax 2 Release Date" or "is a bugsnax 2 Coming Out" gives me the helpful information "Bugsnax 2 the City" is an American puzzle developed by Young Horses, and will be released on October 15, 2024." It's not. There is no Bugsnax 2 currently in development.

Google cites a page on Idea Wiki that someone wrote for Bugsnax 2, a fan wiki dedicated to ideas. The home page of Idea Wiki states, "This is a fanon-wiki, and like fan-fiction wikis this one has a wide variety of fan-created ideas." These include potential sequels and series that are yet to be created. It's a wiki that allows people to post whatever hypothetical media they may have in their heads. It's just a wiki where people can dump whatever hypothetical piece of media they might dream up.

Because there are many people who don't expect that Google will scoop up information about fake video games and present them as facts--because this shouldn't happen--they have no immediate reason to question the truth of what's at the top of the search results. We've all been taught to recognize the most important information by looking at it first. Why would the text appear slightly larger if not to show its authority?

In a subsequent tweet, Tibitoski shared a screenshot from a Google review of Bugsnax by a player. The player wrote, "I started playing when I was 6 November 24 2023, and now I'm 7," and, after describing the game they played with their father, "I might speak to you soon, when Bugsnax 2 The City comes out."

"This is really sweet," Tibitosky replied. "But also...what?"

It's not as absurd as when Google's AI overview told people to eat pizza with glue, but it's hard to not see it as a bad omen that the company, which has been a portal to the sum of all human knowledge, has accidentally poisoned the pool of information. At least the kids are excited.

Bugsnax 2 the City will not be released on October 15, 2024.