Carmageddon Races Back in 2026 as Rogue Shift
The notoriously violent car-combat series Carmageddon is scheduled to return in early 2026. Developer 34BigThings revealed its new entry, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, describing the title as a reinvention of the franchise that blends modern roguelite systems with polished, arcade-style driving.
“We’re injecting fresh ideas into both the franchise and the racing genre,” said Giuseppe Enrico Franchi, game director for Carmageddon: Rogue Shift. “Carmageddon has always been about experimentation, chaos and theatrical destruction. With Rogue Shift, players will adapt and evolve between runs, upgrade their machines, and gleefully unleash mayhem on zombie hordes and rival racers.”
Carmageddon: Rogue Shift will offer a roguelite campaign built around branching event maps and shifting challenges, while preserving the series’ signature blend of vehicular combat and over-the-top carnage. Progression carries across individual runs, and the studio says players can expect a deep mix of options to keep each playthrough feeling distinct.
- 15 upgradeable vehicles
- 13 weapon classes
- More than 80 stackable perks with synergistic effects
As in earlier entries, races pit drivers against foes and waves of undead — this time including supermutated boss variants and deadly mechanical war machines. The designers emphasize variety and replayability, with underground circuits and lethal events forming the core of the roguelite structure.
The original Carmageddon launched for PC in 1997 and became infamous for its controversial mechanics that allowed players to run over pedestrians; in some regions humans were replaced with robots or zombies to comply with local content rules. Stainless Games developed multiple follow-ups over the decades, including 2015’s mainline return Carmageddon: Reincarnation and the mobile spinoff Carmageddon: Crashers. The new installment is handled by 34BigThings — part of the Embracer Group and best known for the high-speed Redout series.
Platforms and timing: Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is planned for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), and Xbox Series X, with a release window in early 2026.
Source: Polygon
