The 3D switch, explained
The Escapists 3 is the series' first fully 3D game. Team17 says 3D made the sandbox physical and interactive; routines, favours, vents and crafting all return, with pixel art kept as homages.
The short version
The Escapists 3 is the first fully 3D game in the series. After two pixel-art games and a decade of fan requests, Team17 rebuilt the prison sandbox in three dimensions — same routines, same rafters of junk-crafted tools, but a world you can physically push, climb and glide through. The dev team's own framing: "this is our landmark moment."
Why 3D, in Team17's words
From the devlog Q&A with Creative Manager Matt Burnill:
"When we were thinking about what we wanted to do next with Escapists […] the expectations from a sandbox world — 3D just made sense. Like something as simple as the physics, we wanted to bring the sandbox to life, to feel tangible and interactive."
The proof he offers is a hallway moment every Escapists player will recognise: asking yourself whether you can push a guard down the stairs, trying it, and having it "just work as they expected". That kind of improvised physics is the clearest thing 2D could never do.
Side by side: Escapists 2 vs The Escapists 3
| The Escapists 2 (2017) | The Escapists 3 (2027) | |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation | 2D pixel art, top-down | Full 3D, chibi-styled characters |
| Movement | Grid-based rooms | Free 3D movement — climb, rappel, glide |
| Physics | Scripted interactions | Emergent — "push the guard down the stairs" works |
| Progression | Stats system | New Skill Tree (XP for prison actions) |
| Signature tool | Shovel, pickaxe, cutters | Those return, plus the new Hang Glider |
| Co-op | Local and online | Two-player local split-screen, four-player online |
| Cast | Dr. Rose, the crew | Jimmy Locke returns to guide you |
What the 3D switch unlocks
- Vertical escapes. Rappelling up walls and gliding from rooftops turn the perimeter into a three-dimensional puzzle rather than a wall you tunnel under.
- A sandbox that reacts. Burnill again: "the amount of permutations that unlocks will be insane."
- Bigger set pieces. Five distinct prisons, including outdoor biomes — dense forests, gusty canyons, ancient catacombs and dangerous waters — places that read very differently in 3D than a tiled map ever could.
What did not change
The team is explicit that the switch is additive, not a reboot. Routines, guard rotations, favours, job schedules and the classic hide-it-in-a-vent move all carry over. The pixel DNA survives as homages — "hopefully people notice the homages in the art style, the pixel flourishes, the callbacks in the level design" — and, by Burnill's telling, it plays exactly like Escapists felt: "even though it's 3D, everyone that's played has said: 'Yeah, this feels like Escapists.'"
Whether the transition sticks is the honest question every returning player has. The full reveal breakdown collects the material to judge it, and the prisons preview shows what the new dimension does to map design.
All guides8
IndexThe Escapists 3 guides
ReleaseThe Escapists 3 release date and platforms
RevealEverything revealed about The Escapists 3
PrisonsThe five prisons of The Escapists 3
Co-opCo-op and multiplayer in The Escapists 3
PlatformsPlatforms and wishlist links
SeriesThe Escapists series, recapped
FAQ