PSBlog Feed: How John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando came to life, out March 12

[Commander Fury]

Hey, everyone! We’re excited to finally share a gameplay overview for Toxic Commando and announce that the game launches on March 12. We’ve been working hard on this one, and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on it.

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For those just catching up, Toxic Commando is our take on the co-op shooter genre, blending intense horde combat with vehicle-based gameplay in open environments. We wanted to give you a deeper look at how this project came together and what makes it tick.

From concept to chaos

The whole thing started with a pitch from Saber Interactive’s CEO, Matt Karch: World War Z meets Mudrunner. Picture enormous hordes of enemies swarming players who need to use a variety of vehicles to survive. We thought it was a cool concept that played to our strengths at Saber, so we dove into research and prototyping. What emerged was something we’re really proud of—a unique blend of vehicle-based gameplay in open environments combined with action-packed fights against massive enemy hordes.

Striking the balance: Wheels vs. boots

One question we get a lot is how we balanced the driving and FPS aspects. The answer? We didn’t want to force you into one playstyle or the other. Our game design encourages exploration, and it’s up to you how much you want to lean on vehicles to tackle missions. There are obvious benefits to driving—mobility, protection, mounted weapons—but we never want you to feel locked behind the wheel.

Our goal was simple: make vehicles fun and beneficial for players who want to use them, then let you decide how much time you spend driving versus on foot. Both approaches should feel viable and, most importantly, fun to play.

Co-op that puts strategy in your hands

Most missions in Toxic Commando are nonlinear. You’ll have multiple subobjectives that can be completed in any order, which means you and your squad can choose to stick together or split up to tackle objectives in parallel. The choice is yours.

Each playthrough also shakes things up with different vehicle spawns and class/loadout selections, so you’ll need to communicate with your team and plan accordingly to create good synergy. We wanted to encourage real player coordination and strategic thinking, adding a fresh layer to the classic co-op shooter experience.

Building a world that feels real (and ridiculous)

When it came to crafting the lore and universe of Toxic Commando, we had a few guiding principles. First, we wanted a world that felt recognizable but was set in the near future—just advanced enough to have some cool tech without feeling like a massive leap from our own reality.

Second, we wanted our characters to be aware of the tropes they’re living through. They’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, dealing with completely over-the-top situations that are both terrifying and—let’s be honest—a bit ridiculous. We lean into that with the dialogue and scenarios, which create some really memorable interactions.

But here’s the thing: while we embrace comedic elements and want players to have a blast, we’re not interested in making fun of the games and movies that inspired us. We approach this with earnestness because we genuinely love this stuff.

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Our love letter to ’80s action horror

Speaking of influences, we drew heavily from ’80s films and television. The path to John Carpenter was a natural one: which great director or movies fit into that kind of sphere? John Carpenter’s Escape from New York is probably the most obvious reference, but you’ll also find DNA from Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, They Live, and Prince of Darkness woven throughout. John Carpenter’s involvement went beyond guidance, feedback, and direction on the story—he also composed Toxic Commando’s music. The team also looked at Dan O’Bannon’s Return of the Living Dead, Lamberto Bava’s Demons, Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator, and even a bit of The A-Team. 

What we love about those properties is the big energy and bombastic tone. It wasn’t about copying specific set pieces or scenes—it was about capturing that feeling. There’s a lack of self-consciousness in a lot of late ’70s to early ’90s action and action-horror cinema that we really appreciated. Those characters aren’t winking at the camera; they’re in over their heads and rolling with it. Our characters know what zombies are, but when faced with a horde, they’re not stopping to break the fourth wall or crack wise about clichés—they’re fighting for survival.

The past fifty years of cinema have given us wonderful examples of ragtag groups of underdog heroes—from Star Wars to Goonies to Guardians of the Galaxy—alongside true masterpieces of horror. We wanted to blend those ideas: what happens when you drop a bickering found family of action-adventure heroes into a horror movie? That’s the core of what we’re exploring with Toxic Commando.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is scheduled to be released on March 12. We can’t wait for you to experience this new co-op zombie shooter with a vehicle twist. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you out there!

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