[2] The game was developed using Unreal Engine 3 and funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which nearly doubled its fundraising goals within its first two days.

[3] The game was self-published for macOS and Windows in October 2017, and by Humble Bundle for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles two months later.

[6] The game centers around Hat Kid, an alien girl trying to get back to her home by recovering lost "Time Pieces", an in-game collectible.

The gameplay consists of running through an open world environment by platforming, dodging obstacles, and obtaining collectibles.

A Hat in Time is a platform game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective.

Hat Kid lands in Mafia Town and meets Mustache Girl, a local troublemaker who hates "bad guys".

These include DJ Grooves and the Conductor, two rival bird directors competing for a movie award; the Nomads, a group of mountain villagers infected by a dangerous plague; and the Snatcher, a malevolent spirit who steals her soul to force her to do his bidding and defeat his former lover, the featureless witch Vanessa.

The game's DLC adds new scenarios in which Hat Kid searches for Time Pieces: in "Seal the Deal", Hat Kid works for the Walrus Captain on the Arctic Cruise ocean liner, while in "Nyakuza Metro", she is pressed into service by the Nyakuza crime boss Empress, who later places a bounty on her head.

Mustache Girl exploits Hat Kid's absence to break into her ship and steals the collected Time Pieces, using them to turn the planet into a fiery inferno where her word is law.

Hat Kid finally defeats Mustache Girl and uses the Time Pieces to reset the timeline, restoring the planet to normal and reviving all those who were lost.

Though her former foes are sad to see her leave, Hat Kid restores the Time Pieces to her vault and resumes her voyage home.

[16][17] The initial idea for A Hat in Time was started by director Jonas Kærlev, who graduated with a master's degree in computer science at Aalborg University in Denmark.

In an interview with Polygon, Kærlev revealed that he and Gears for Breakfast initially did not expect the Kickstarter success A Hat in Time eventually received.

Kærlev thought that there would be little demand for the game due to Donkey Kong 64's effects on the genre, which he perceived as overwhelming the player with too much collecting.

[27] Its new, titular chapter is set in a Japan-inspired underground city, where Hat Kid becomes a member of a cat-themed street gang.

[29][30] In November 2020, Gears for Breakfast announced on Twitter that both Seal the Deal and Nyakuza Metro would be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Q1 2021.

[31] On March 31, 2021, both DLC packs were released on those platforms,[32] with support for 60 FPS when playing on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S using backwards compatibility.

[47] Chris Carter from Destructoid gave the game an 8.5 out of 10, calling it an "impressive effort with a few noticeable problems holding it back.