Dead Static Drive

Dead Static Drive is a top-down driving meets survival horror video game developed and published by Reuben Games. It was released on Windows and Xbox One on 5 November 2025.^[1] The game has a "retro Americana" graphical style, and involves a road trip that takes a turn into Lovecraftian horror.^[2]

Dead Static Drive
Developer	Reuben Games
Publisher	Reuben Games
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Platforms	Windows Xbox One
Release	5 November 2025
Genres	Action-adventure, survival horror
Mode	Single-player

Plot

The main character of the game goes on a road trip to reconnect with their estranged family members, traveling between towns and doing quests in each town where they can freely walk around outside their car.^[2] The player realizes that the apocalypse is happening and must fight Lovecraftian monsters and potentially stop the end of the world.^[3]

Development

The game's creator, Mike Blackney, started development in 2014, and 6 months later, in 2015, received a $15,000 Unreal Dev Grant for the game's development.^[3][4] Later, he also received funding from the Australian government that enabled him to quit his job as a teacher and continue developing the game, as well as hire an artist and musician.^[3] He noted inspiration for the game from the 1981 film The Evil Dead, and horror set in the suburbs and mundane settings, and has described the game as "Grand Theft Cthulhu".^[2] Leena van Deventer came onto the project in 2019, as Creative Producer and Writer.

On 27 October 2025, Reuben Games announced via a press release that the game would launch on 5 November 2025.^[5]

Reception

Stephanie Chan of VentureBeat called the game "stylish but also evocative".^[3] Adam Smith of Rock Paper Shotgun called the graphics "lovely" and the monsters "refreshingly untentacled", commenting that the game could use some folklore that is not just Lovecraft.^[6]