Shrek is swapping his swamp for the arena. Brawlhalla, the free-to-play platform fighting game, announced a crossover with DreamWorks Animation's Shrek franchise on July 24, 2026, bringing four of the films' best-known characters into the game as playable fighters (Brawlhalla).

Shrek, Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey are the characters joining the roster, according to the announcement trailer posted on Brawlhalla's social channels (Instagram). The crossover launches on July 29, tied to Patch 10.09 — a scheduled content update that adds new items and balance changes to the game (Brawlhalla; Ubisoft).

The reveal landed during Brawlhalla's Midseason event, an in-game promotional period that sits between the game's regular competitive seasons (Impulse Gamer). The timing also lines up with the 25th anniversary of the first Shrek film, which premiered in 2001 (Impulse Gamer).

Brawlhalla, developed by Blue Mammoth Games and published by Ubisoft, is a platform fighter — a genre where characters battle on floating stages, trying to knock each other off the edges rather than drain a health bar. Think of it as a cartoon brawl: last one standing wins. The game runs on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and mobile, and has built a reputation for crossover events that import characters from other franchises, from cartoon series to wrestling stars.

Shrek, the green ogre at the centre of a four-film animated series that has grossed billions at the global box office, is one of DreamWorks' most recognisable properties. Puss in Boots, originally a supporting character, later headlined his own spin-off films. Fiona, Shrek's wife, and Donkey, his fast-talking companion, round out the crossover lineup.

For Brawlhalla players, the crossover means new character skins to purchase and play, likely arriving alongside themed items and a limited-time game mode, as is typical for the game's crossover patches. The full details of what each character brings to the arena — their weapons, signature moves, and pricing — were not specified in the announcement.

Crossover events have become a reliable strategy for live-service games like Brawlhalla, which keep players engaged between major updates by dropping fresh, often unexpected content. A Shrek tie-in is eye-catching precisely because the franchise is not a video game brand: it is a 25-year-old animated film series whose characters are now stepping into a competitive fighting arena. That breadth of appeal is the point — it brings in fans of the films who might not otherwise open the game, and gives existing players something they did not expect.

The Brawlhalla x Shrek crossover goes live on July 29.