Goat Simulator 3 announced, thinks we won't notice there wasn't a Goat Simulator 2

In a masterful bait-and-switch, Goat Simulator developer Coffee Stain North made the entire Summer Game Fest audience think they were watching a new Dead Island 2 trailer... before the script flipped. The sequel to Goat Simulator, which was something of a hit when it launched, has chosen to take the title Goat Simulator 3, which both keeps up the series habit of being quite annoying, and is quite funny.

I also like that it referred to its announcement as Geoff Keighley's "dream job" in the press release. No: that would be Goat Simulator 3: A Hideo Kojima game. Interestingly enough the numbering may be a nod to Metal Gear Solid. Kojima initially planned to call the second MGS game MGS3, but it never happened.

The game's set on the sandbox island of San Angora, and as in the original players are free to roam around and destroy stuff. "This next generation of goat simulation has it all," boasts the press release. "Goats, goats wearing hats, goats riding a goat wearing a hat." The goats are fully customisable (head, back, feet, body, horns and furs) and some gear grants new abilities.

The big news is multiplayer: You can play in a herd of up to 4 friends online (or locally), and the game comes with seven multiplayer mini-games. The world apparently contains tonnes of secrets, quests, collectables, "and the devs actually bothered to make an ending this time!" Use your own four hooves to get around, grind on your butt or buckle up for the ride of your life as all goats can drive cars.

"Since the release of the first Goat Simulator, it's come to our attention that it did not really represent reality and how it actually feels to be a goat," said Santiago Ferrero, creative director at Coffee Stain North. "So for the past couple of years, we've been doing some googling, and I am pleased to say: we've made it. Goat Simulator 3 is by far the greatest goat experience out there. Is it worth the money? Who knows. But will you regret it? Probably."

Goat Simulator 3 is coming to PC exclusively on the Epic Games Store.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."