As Whisker Squadron

In November 2020, Polygon's Charlie Hall covered the game when it was simply known as Whisker Squadron. By April 2021, the game appeared as a Kickstarter crowdfunding project. Flippfly sought to raise $30,000, but the goal nearly doubled topping off at over 1,300 backers pledging a total of $57,693. It was originally slated for release in 2022 for Windows and home consoles, specifically the Nintendo Switch first with PlayStation and Xbox consoles soon afterward.

As Whisker Squadron: Survivor

Whisker Squadron: Survivor was announced in December 2022, alongside a playable demo, as the first entry in the Whisker Squadron franchise. The game entered early access in August 2023. In January 2024, lead programmer Aaron San Filippo took to X that "[Flippfly] is not going to use f***ing AI [for voice-overs]" and "I will find the money to pay humans". This was mostly in response to the deal made by SAG-AFTRA and AI-based tech company Replica Studios. A fully-fledged "Campaign" mode was added in June the same year.