'Goat Simulator 3' Was Announced Back in August — There Has Never Been a 'Goat Simulator 2'

Upon its initial 2014 release, Goat Simulator became something of a cult classic. The game is an open-world title in which players control a goat named Pilgor. The main objective in the game is to guide Pilgor as he wreaks havoc on an entire city using physics-based environmental mayhem.

The game received middling reviews upon its launch but is fondly remembered as a simple, chaotic, and hysterically good time.

The first game received plenty of DLC in the years since its release, and it would later arrive on the Nintendo Switch in 2019. Now more than eight years since the game first launched, a second game was officially unveiled. In August 2022, the developers at Coffee Stain North announced Goat Simulator 3 for next-gen consoles.

No, you're not miscounting. The second game in the series is Goat Simulator 3. So let's get the obvious question out of the way. What happened to Goat Simulator 2?

Like its sole predecessor, Goat Simulator 3 allows players to take control of a goat whose objective is to destroy its surroundings. Gameplay trailers reveal multiple goats armed with jetpacks, lasers, and armor that can be used to cause even more destruction at once. According to Digital Trends, the new environment will be "18 times" larger than the size of the original game. The game will also feature a story mode, a first for the series.

But fans of Goat Simulator are likely asking where the heck Goat Simulator 2 is. This numbered sequel has never been released or even announced, and yet Goat Simulator 3 is set to release this month. Well, given how absurdly meme-worthy the game tends to be, calling the second game in the series "Goat Simulator 3" was apparently Coffee Stain's way of committing to the game's identity and sense of humor.

In an exclusive report from Dot Esports, creative director Santiago Ferrero confirmed that while the name "Goat Simulator 2" was discussed during development, the team wanted to go above and beyond.

"Half of the team [wanted] to name it Goat Simulator 2, [but] the other half wanted Goat Simulator 4," he revealed.

The team was reportedly split between both options, so they settled on the game's current title.

"It was a compromise," Santiago continued. "And it was Goat Simulator 3 that landed."

Goat Simulator has become well-known for its off-kilter cheekiness, satire, and laugh-out-loud antics. If you've ever played the game before, you'd know that calling the second game "Goat Simulator 3" is just par for the course. At least it's not like the Kingdom Hearts franchise where Kingdom Hearts III is the thirteenth game in the series.

Goat Simulator 3 comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on Nov. 17.