Toxic Commando looks like John Carpenter's Left 4 Dead

The horror legend himself is getting into the video game world, as Summer Game Fest has just lifted the veil on John Carpenter's Toxic Commando.

Store pages for the game went live alongside today's announcement, and they confirm that this is a co-op action game where you choose a class and unload a whole lot of bullets into undead enemies that originate from something called the Sludge God. The trailer shows off some carnage with Mad Max-appropriate vehicles, too.

As the official description puts it, you'll "take control of one of the commandos, team up with your friends and send the Sludge God and its horde of things-that-should-never-be back to the underworld. Choose the class that matches your playstyle, pile into your favorite ride, and unload an array of gunfire, grenades, special abilities, and freaking katanas as you save the planet."

This is described as being "inspired by the legendary John Carpenter," so it's unclear exactly how much the legendary director was involved in the game's creation. The trailer is certainly trading on nostalgia for the era of the director's most iconic films, with the tones of Bon Jovi's Shot Through the Heart playing throughout.

Toxic Commando is in development at Saber Interactive, which is now a prolific developer with numerous substudios. Their previous games include everything from SnowRunner to World War Z and Space Marine 2, so it's tough to tell exactly what the pedigree here is.

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is set to launch in 2024.

The E3 2023 schedule is rolling strong even without the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Check out our Summer Game Fest liveblog for everything from today's show.

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.