> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://darylbaxter.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Jackbox Party Pack 12: inside the next generation of Jackbox - URL: https://darylbaxter.com/posts/jackbox-party-pack-12-preview-interview/ - Published: 2026-09-17T13:01:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-17T13:01:56.000Z - Description: "No, Party Pack 12 wasn't made with AI. Humans make the standard." - Author: Daryl Baxter - Tags: Gaming, Interview The *Jackbox Party Pack* is something I've had years of experience with. It's been an ideal way to bring friends together and unearth some completely dodgy ideas that can never be talked about outside of a WhatsApp group chat. From *Bidiots* to *Fibbage 3*, there have been plenty of good times, and we had a similar time with 2025's [*Party Pack 11*](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3364070/The%5FJackbox%5FParty%5FPack%5F11/?ref=darylbaxter.com), despite there not being any returning games. The same is true for the upcoming [*Party Pack 12*](https://www.jackboxgames.com/games/packs/the-jackbox-party-pack-12?ref=darylbaxter.com), out October 15\. But there's also a sequel called [*Trivia Murder Party III*](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3048060/Trivia%5FMurder%5FParty%5F3/?ref=darylbaxter.com)*,* out today (September 17), which seems to hint at the next stage of *Party Pack*, due to a new engine and online matchmaking. At Gamescom, I tried out *Party Pack 12*, as well as *Trivia Murder Party III*, and during this, I spoke to Chief Creative Officer Allard Laban about how *Trivia Murder Party III* came to be, and what it could mean for *Party Pack* in the future. --- ## Impressions ![](https://darylbaxter.com/content/images/2026/09/Partypack.jpeg) Playing *Jackbox Party Pack* 12 felt like playing previous entries from the series, but with some fun extras. It includes: - *Idol Factions* - *We Forgot a Card!* - *Debate and Switch* - *MegaPals* - *Hyperface* I got to play *Hyperface*, a brand-new game that takes advantage of your phone's camera, with Allard Laban and Senior Marketing Manager Belia Portillo. You're given a couple of prompts each where you can pose for the camera, and then use the controls to twist, bulge, draw, and distort your face to better suit the prompt. I found it fun, and I'm curious if we'll be able to do custom prompts. We ran out of time to try the others, but they all seemed like fun, fresh games that will create some stories amongst friends. But the highlight was [*Trivia Murder Party III*,](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3048060/Trivia%5FMurder%5FParty%5F3/?ref=darylbaxter.com) which is the first to feature online matchmaking, and the first built in Unreal Engine 5, and you can see it. Everything here feels like a step-up from previous Party Pack games, with great animations and fantastic graphics. You answer various questions, and getting them right is crucial — otherwise, your character will die. The way the camera pans around when the scores are being shown, or even the intro, is impressive, but the online matchmaking will elevate this further, bringing the franchise into uncharted waters. After playing *Hyperface,* followed by *Trivia Murder Party III*, I spoke to Chief Creative Officer Allard Laban all about it and what it could mean for the future of *Jackbox Party Pack* as a whole. ## Chat with Allard Laban ![](https://darylbaxter.com/content/images/2026/09/MM3.jpeg) ***How long has Party Pack 12 been in development?*** Allard Laban: It's probably been in development earnestly for about a year and a half. But before that, we were experimenting with how we could start to translate our engine into Unreal, and that took some time to get our heads around. But once we assembled the team, it's been amazing. And it's all internal. I've been really super happy with how it's turned out. We embraced the vision from the original, re-translated it into three dimensions and camera moves, and the whole thing. Things that we never used to think about. But with the right people, you can achieve your dreams. That's what we've been working on. **It feels like there were some aims you wanted to achieve for this release, to make it memorable, and to set the foundation for future releases*, *too.** Laban: Absolutely. This whole engine has opened our eyes to, well, what other things can we do that we want to take to a sort of standalone state? Either classic games that we've made in the past, or do we want to develop entirely new IP? And this is one of the things that we sort of thought about that I never dreamed we could build. I always say, I don't think we'll run out of ideas for Party Pack, because what the real product is, is the phones as controllers. That is at the heart of everything that we do. And if there's anything that we can translate into a minigame in some fashion... so adding photos and things like that is really going to open things up. We go into brainstorming on game jam mode in September and October, and already on the list are a number of games that we could be exploring. ***A group of friends and I use Jackbox every few months. We get together, have a few games, and it's great. Some of the games people go back to are Fibbage 3, Quiplash, things like that. Is it challenging when you're looking at new games or returning to old ones?*** Laban: We really liked the challenge of coming up with five new games, which was our own parameter that we set for *Party Pack 11*. But we don't feel like we need to do that for *Party Pack 13*. In fact, there are a couple of things that we want to try out with some classic games. So you might see another sequel coming back for *Party Pack 13*. I know the fans have lots of opinions on what games we should readdress, but we have some unusual takes. So stay tuned, because we'll decide everything probably in November in terms of what we're going to do, and then in February and March, we'll start to release clues on what we're actually building. ![](https://darylbaxter.com/content/images/2026/09/Hyperface.jpeg) ***There's amazing art here in the graphics and the engine that Party Pack 12 has. Was AI used in any of this?*** Laban: No, *Party Pack 12* wasn't made with AI. Humans make the standard. ***And what are your thoughts on AI in game development?*** Laban: I don't really think about it too much, because we've got a way of making games and it works well for us. So I don't think we'll need to use any kind of AI for development purposes. If it's used at all, it's for boring stuff like spreadsheets and that kind of stuff. That doesn't really affect it. 📱 **Join Springboard on* [***Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/dbspringboard?ref=darylbaxter.com)**,* [***TikTok**](https://www.tiktok.com/@dbspringboard?ref=darylbaxter.com)**, and* [***YouTube**](https://www.youtube.com/@dbspringboard?ref=darylbaxter.com) *for short-form videos that summarise features like this one!* ***With this new engine and the camera, I imagine you're already thinking about other games, new games that could take advantage of these.*** Laban: Exactly. And every year, we're always updating the heart of what the game is. So you're going to see a lot more improvements in terms of latency and that kind of stuff. We're putting a big focus on making more fast-moving games as well, so it's not just text entry. It'll be a little bit more twitchy, potentially. We're just going to try and push it all forward. It was a bit of a transition for us because we've had this engine that we've been working with for over a decade. And we moved to UE5, meaning we really had to find some talented people to help us build [*Trivia Murder Party III*](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3048060/Trivia%5FMurder%5FParty%5F3/?ref=darylbaxter.com). So we built up our staff to sort of support this with 3D animators, concept artists, and the whole thing to really build it up. ***It's looking like the next generation of Jackbox, if that makes sense.*** Laban: Yeah, for sure. And I think *Party Pack 11* was a part of that too, because we really pushed ourselves to make the best games possible. And that same spirit was pushed through for *Party Pack 12* as well. I think people were a little concerned. Are they getting a little long in the tooth at *Party Pack 10*? And we hated that. We've been trying to rage against that idea. The teams are super committed. The executive team is also super committed to staying on top of this franchise and joining another ten years of *Party Packs*. Why not? They're fun to make. They make money for us. ***It always helps.*** Laban: Exactly. **With all this new groundwork you've set, and with how devices are evolving, foldables and everything else, I suppose everything you use and see is encouraging the ideas you're putting into these games*, *too.** Laban: Oh, absolutely. Anything the phone can do, we will try to get it to do. In terms of foldables and whatnot, I guess we'll have more drawings and things like that. But we always try to play to the most common denominator as well, and make sure that you can still play out. I don't know if it actually works on a Nintendo DS, but at one point, you could still use a stylus to play *Drawful*. So we'll always try to bring the most people into our games, because we always think of our games as mass entertainment, much in the way that Seinfeld, as a TV show, appealed to a super broad audience. That's kind of how we take it. Gamers love us, and gamers' families love us, and we try to bring everybody in. ***What's the highlight that stuck out to you when it all came together?*** Laban: Well, it's funny. We didn't get a chance to dig into *Debate and Switch*, but I feel like that is, for me, the funniest game that we've created. It's a presentation game, but with most *Jackbox* presentation games, you don't feel the pressure of having to say anything or do anything. It's really driven by people's stupid ideas and humour and whatnot. I love it. And in terms of innovation, I think *MegaPals* for me is a more unusual game, because it's a mind-matching game. And I'm not a fast typer, so when I'm playing with super fast writers, I can still win, because I'm just thinking about what somebody else would think. It's a great, almost social deduction game, because you're trying to match what people are going to think and say. So it's a really well-balanced game, along with all of them. And *Idol Factions* is super pretty. It's a trivia tower defense game, and it's the noisiest game that we have, because you're going to be yelling at your friends, answering the right calls, and things like that. So it's super fun. *Trivia Murder Party III is* [*available now*](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3048060/Trivia%5FMurder%5FParty%5F3/?ref=darylbaxter.com)*, whilst Jackbox Party Pack 12 is* [*out from October 15*](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4199960/The%5FJackbox%5FParty%5FPack%5F12/?ref=darylbaxter.com)*.* ## Springboard: The stories behind the games, apps, and more. I'm Daryl. I write about games and technology - the people who make them and why preservation matters. Send me Springboard Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam, no slop, no AI. Leave whenever you like.