Crowdfunding game development doesn’t guarantee coverage in the way it did when the concept was fairly new, but it’s still an option for studios. As shown by the Kickstarter launched for car combat game Mad Metal.
It’s a single-player vehicle shooter with ‘a roguelite twist’ developed and published by Mad Mechs, and there’s a demo currently available to download on Steam. But the goal of £7,256 which needs to be met by October 1st will help fund further development and console posts, alongside language localisation, custom artwork and an original soundtrack with Scarlet Moon. A further $80,000 CAD stretch goal includes local and online multiplayer.
Rewards range from getting your name in the credits for $1 CAD, to the $1500 Executive Director level which includes a 1:36 scale car model, a t-shirt and mouse pad, plus a custom character vehicle, weapon and environment in the game.
“Our goal is to bring back the golden era of vehicle combat games,” notes Mad Mechs developer Hakim Elayday. “Despite the fond memories we’ve had growing up with these games from the ’90s to the mid-2010s, we haven’t seen much buzz around the vehicle combat genre for several decades. After announcing Mad Metal in March 2025, we felt that nostalgic spark reignite once more in the tangible excitement from our fans. This is what drives us to revitalize the essence of old school vehicle shooters with our own high-tech, modern, and gritty twist.”
The Mad Metal game includes an infinite procedural open-world to explore, with the various seasons impacting car performance and whether you can find secret locations, and permanent impacts from your actions.
Along with customising your vehicles and weapons, you can use bullet-time and a precision targeting system for combat, and choose to join your rivals or take them on. And if you’re interested in backing the project, then the Kickstarter is here.
Vehicle combat games always seem like an odd choice for developers. While we’ve seen a regular stream of new releases (and recently covered Cargo as another twist on the format), and titles like Crossout seem to have been sustainable for a longtime now, it’s hard to think of a breakout hit. Could Mad Metal be the one that breaks out?
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