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Wishlist on SteamDumpster Gang Deep Dive: Raccoon Heists, Exterminator Dodging, and Co-Op Chaos
Overview
Dumpster Gang is a chaotic co-op sandbox where you play as a gang of mischievous raccoons. The fantasy is straightforward and excellent: knock over trash cans, steal shiny junk, raid snacks, commit tiny crimes, and outsmart a relentless Exterminator who wants to throw your gang behind bars. Up to four players team up for heists, or one player runs the whole operation solo.
Developer Coyote House Games (the two-dev team of Sam and Jake) describes it as a "chaotic co-op sandbox" and the tone is unapologetically silly. The game is published by Curve Games, an established indie publisher, and is coming to Steam in December 2026. A full feature set is already visible on the official site: vertical traversal, a persistent Exterminator threat, a campfire planning hub, and 4-player co-op chaos.
The core loop is heist-flavored: plan around the campfire, run the mission, steal everything you can carry, and get back before the Exterminator catches you. Loot is the score, the streets are the map, and the forest's greatest hoard is the endgame fantasy. The vertical movement system matters more than in most sandboxes because rooftops, fences, and dumpster lids are both escape routes and loot locations.
Target audience: groups who loved Untitled Goose Game, Moving Out, or Overcooked's cooperative chaos, plus anyone who has ever watched a raccoon open a trash can and thought "that is a protagonist." It is family-friendly mischief rather than stealth tension, and the Exterminator is a comedic pressure element, not a horror villain.
Why it stands out: the vertical traversal plus the campfire planning layer turns a simple steal-the-loot game into something closer to co-op heist planning. The raccoon fantasy is barely served by other games, and the 1-4 player co-op framing means it works both as a party game and a solo strolling sim.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Coyote House Games (Sam & Jake) |
| Publisher | Curve Games |
| Genre | Co-op sandbox / action simulation |
| Platform | Windows (Steam) |
| Modes | Solo or 1-4 player online co-op |
| Core loop | Plan at campfire, steal loot, dodge the Exterminator |
| Movement | Vertical traversal: rooftops, fences, walls |
| Threat | The Exterminator, relentless and trap-happy |
| Features | Campfire hub, dev blog, Discord community |
| Controller | Full controller support |
| Price | TBA (wishlist open) |
| Release | December 2026 |
Getting Started
Dumpster Gang hands you the loop in the first heist: look at the objective, find the loot, haul it out, and do not get caught. The opening sessions are about learning the rhythm of planning and execution.
- Use the campfire as your briefing room. Every good heist starts with a plan and ends around the campfire. Before a mission, talk through who grabs what and who watches for the Exterminator.
- Test the climbing early. Vertical traversal is the game's signature. Scale a wall, hop from a fence to a rooftop, and learn which handholds exist, because the Exterminator only patrols the ground.
- Steal anything shiny. Loot variety is the point of the sandbox. Trash cans, snacks, and junk all count, and the difference between big and small loot affects how you haul it.
- Watch the Exterminator's route before you commit. He is relentless but predictable when you study him. Time your dash between his patrol loops instead of sprinting blind.
- Share the carry load. Four raccoons carrying one giant object move through the Exterminator faster than one raccoon dragging it alone. The co-op layer is real, not cosmetic.
- Do not hoard everything on one raccoon. If the carrier gets caught, the whole haul goes. Spread the loot across the gang so one capture does not end the score.
- Roast marshmallows after the heist. The campfire is also the downtime system. Unwinding with the crew and sharing stolen snacks is part of the loop, and the game wants you to feel like a gang, not a task force.
Controls Reference
| Action | Input |
|---|---|
| Move | WASD / left stick |
| Jump / climb | Space / face button |
| Grab / carry | E / shoulder button |
| Toss loot | Right click / trigger |
| Interact with campfire | E / face button |
| Co-op join | Online lobby from the main menu |
Core Mechanics Explained
The Exterminator
Your public enemy number one. The Exterminator patrols the streets, sets traps, and is determined to throw your gang behind bars. He is the pressure element that keeps heists from being pure looting: every mission is a timing problem as much as a theft problem. The advertised skills are avoidance, capture-dodging, and proving a master raccoon can outsmart pest control. Expect trap spotting to matter, because the game calls out dodging traps as a core survival skill.
Vertical Traversal
The environments are built for raccoon movement. You scale rooftops, navigate fences, and use everyday human infrastructure as a personal playground. This changes the geometry of every heist: the Exterminator owns the ground level, so the vertical dimension is your home turf. Loot spawns at multiple elevations too, which means the raccoon who can climb is the raccoon who scores. The official site lists vertical traversal as one of the three key systems, alongside the Exterminator and the campfire.
The Campfire Layer
Between heists, the gang gathers around a campfire. The pitch is "every good heist starts with a plan and ends around the campfire," which makes the campfire a planning hub, a hub for unwinding, and the emotional center of the game. You share stolen snacks, roast marshmallows, and presumably plan the next job. The campfire is also where the game's community framing lives: the developers push a Discord and a dev blog with patch notes and behind-the-scenes updates.
Co-Op Roles in Practice
Four raccoons are one gang, and the sandbox gives you room to specialize. One raccoon scouts from the rooftops while others work the ground. One carries, one distracts the Exterminator, one hoards the shiny stuff. The game supports online co-op for up to four players, plus full solo play, and the solo mode trades the division of labor for pure stealth pacing. The missions are described as "ridiculous," which is the design brief: the objectives are comedically petty, but the execution is proper heist structure.
Loot and the Hoard
The endgame fantasy is "the greatest hoard the forest has ever known." Loot is the score and the identity: shiny junk, trash cans, and snacks all feed the hoard. Carrying capacity and carry speed create the tension, because bigger hauls are slower hauls. The sandbox framing means the loot rules are loose, but the hoard fantasy gives every session a goal.
Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | Why It Hurts | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sprinting at the Exterminator | He is relentless and trap-happy; blind dashes end the haul | Learn his patrol route and time your dash |
| Ignoring the rooftops | The Exterminator owns the ground; the height is yours | Climb early and make vertical movement a habit |
| Piling loot on one raccoon | One capture ends the whole score | Spread the carry across the gang |
| Skipping the campfire planning | Unplanned heists trigger the Exterminator unprepared | Brief before you run, debrief after |
| Treating it as a stealth game | The tone is comedy chaos, not tension | Lean into the mischief; loud is fine if you are fast |
| Hoarding instead of hauling | Loot you cannot carry does not reach the hoard | Prioritize what you can move, not what glitters most |
| Solo players forgetting the Exterminator | No partner to distract means your route must be clean | Use vertical patrol routes and time your movement |
Advanced Tips and Strategies
The Rooftop Runner
Use the vertical dimension as your default lane. The Exterminator patrols the ground, so a gang that operates from the rooftops sees his route before he sees them. Assign one raccoon as the rooftop scout whose job is surveillance and target marking while the ground crew executes. On maps with rooftop loot, the scout doubles as the carrier for the high-value haul.
The Distraction Rotation
With a full gang, rotate the Exterminator distraction. One raccoon baits him into a corner while the other three clear the ground floor. The rotation matters because the same raccoon taking every bait run slows the entire gang. A clean rotation keeps the ground crew moving and the Exterminator permanently annoyed at the wrong raccoon.
The Campfire Checklist
Ritualize the campfire. Every heist gets a checklist: who carries, who scouts, who distracts, what we leave behind. The checklist turns a chaotic sandbox into a working gang, and it is the difference between a night of comedy and a night of getting the whole haul thrown behind bars. The campfire was designed as the planning layer, so use it as one.
The Solo Stealth Pacing
Solo play needs a different cadence than co-op. Without partners, every capture is total, so the solo raccoon should trade speed for clean routes. Use the vertical lanes, wait out the Exterminator's loops, and make single-objective runs instead of trying to empty a map in one pass. Slow, clean, and layered beats fast and caught.
FAQ
Q: When does Dumpster Gang release? A: December 2026 on Steam. The date is announced on Steam and the official site.
Q: Is there a demo? A: Not announced yet. The wishlist is open and the dev blog and Discord share updates.
Q: How much will it cost? A: Price TBA. The Steam page lists no price yet.
Q: What platforms are supported? A: Windows on Steam. No console or Mac announcements yet.
Q: Is it co-op? A: Yes, online co-op for up to 4 players, plus full solo play.
Q: Can I play alone? A: Yes. Solo is supported and plays with a stealthier pacing.
Q: Does it have controller support? A: Yes, full controller support is listed on the Steam page.
Q: What kind of game is it? A: A chaotic co-op sandbox mixing heist planning, stealing, and vertical traversal.
Q: Who is the developer? A: Coyote House Games, the two-person team of Sam and Jake, published by Curve Games.
Q: Is there a game community? A: Yes, an official Discord and a dev blog with development updates and patch notes.
Q: What is the goal of the game? A: Amass the greatest hoard the forest has ever known by outsmarting the Exterminator.
Q: Does it have a trailer? A: Yes, an announcement trailer debuted alongside the December 2026 release date announcement.
Final Tip and Verdict
The final tip: learn the vertical lanes before you learn the loot routes. The rooftops are your safety, your scouting position, and your escape path all at once, and the Exterminator has no answer for a raccoon that lives above street level.
Verdict: 4/5 for co-op groups and raccoon fanatics. The heist-plus-campfire loop, the vertical traversal, and the sheer comedy of the premise make it an easy recommendation for party game nights. If you want a serious stealth sim, look elsewhere, but for chaotic cooperative mischief with up to three friends, December 2026 cannot come soon enough. Wishlist it and get into the Discord while you wait.
Last reviewed by Game How To Editorial. We play each game, verify controls against official sources, and update guides when game mechanics change.
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