LIFTED, Former Disney Imagineer's Cinematic Puzzle-Platformer, Announces July 22 Release Date
Cinematic puzzle-platforming adventure LIFTED, from former Disney Imagineer Jeffrey Ashbrook and his studio Adventure Works, finally has a release date. The game launches on PC via Steam on Wednesday, July 22, with Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 versions following at a later date. The reveal dropped yesterday during The MIX Summer Game Showcase, paired with a brand-new trailer showing off overhauled visuals that make the game look noticeably more polished.
The studio initially was targeting an early 2026 window. That got pushed back by a little bit, but the result of the delay includes a significant visual upgrade, so it's hard to argue the extra time wasn't well spent. The character animation, lighting work, and environmental detail in the new footage hit a tier above what was shown last year.
A Tiara, A Time Machine, And Extra Credit
The setup is as charming as everything else about this game. One minute, Ari Buktu is begging Professor Lionel Raventhorpe for extra credit. The next, the unlikely pair are hurtling across time and space, chasing a legendary tiara - the perfect gift for Miss Barton, Professor Raventhorpe's great love down the hall. From there, players platform through awe-inspiring historical locations spanning from 1818 Egypt to ancient Mayan civilizations, solving puzzles, pulling off incredible feats, and evading some of history's most legendary troublemakers along the way. The story is written by Austin Film Festival winner Nick Gambino, bringing in his '80s blockbuster cinema experience with him.
The Disney Imagineer Behind the Game
LIFTED is created by former Disney Imagineer Jeffrey Ashbrook. With the Imagineers, he worked on theme park attractions, including the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run ride at Galaxy's Edge. This experience gave him a knack for interactive storytelling, which led him to found Adventure Works.
"I grew up loving movies and games that made the world feel bigger than my living room. LIFTED is the closest I've gotten to making one," says Ashbrook. "I wanted it to be a game kids could love on their own, and that parents could hand to them feeling like they were passing along a little of what they grew up on." That mission statement maps cleanly to what the trailer shows: a game with all of the escapades of '80s adventure cinema and none of the violence. It's pitched explicitly as something parents can comfortably hand to their kids - which is increasingly rare in this genre.
LIFTED launches on July 22 on PC via Steam, with Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 versions coming later.
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:31 AM.