[3] Unpacking was developed by Witch Beam, an independent game studio based in Brisbane, Australia.

The studio was founded in 2013 and had previously released Assault Android Cactus, a twin-stick shooter, in 2015.

The game was first conceptualized by Wren Brier when she moved in with her partner, Witch Beam co-director Tim Dawson, in early 2018.

She found that unpacking unlabelled boxes, not knowing what is stored inside, was an experience that could be translated into a video game.

[6] While Witch Beam managed most of the game's social media channels, the team recruited Victoria Tran, the community director of Among Us, to help operate Unpacking's Discord server and TikTok account.

[11][12][13][14] The game received positive reviews from Rock Paper Shotgun,[24] GameSpot,[2] Eurogamer,[25] Nintendo Life,[18] IGN,[17] Kotaku,[26] and TouchArcade.