There’s a metal festival simulator game coming out, overseen by a member of Sabaton

Thumbnail art for video game Lord Of Metal — (Image credit: Horns Up Games)

Horns Up Games, founded by Sabaton bassist/manager Pär Sundström, have announced a metal festival-themed video game called Lord Of Metal.

The new title is expected to be released on Steam in 2027, with console releases to follow. Promoted as a “Single Player Story Driven Heavy Music Festival Management Simulator”, the game will see the player “start small and go big, organizing concerts and festivals, bringing life and colors to a dystopian bleak world”. You can back the project by heading to its official Kickstarter page.

Sundström, Horns Up Games’ CEO, comments: “For the past 25 years my life has revolved around the music industry: playing live shows, managing a band, performing at and organizing festivals. I wanted to make an exciting single-player game that I myself wanted to play. Not some mobile game with tons of in-app purchases and no gimmicks... So join us on this adventure and support us on Kickstarter.”

Lord Of Metal creative director Alexey Morozov adds: “Lord Of Metal is a story-driven music festival management sim being developed for PC and consoles. We’re building our game in Unreal Engine 5 to ensure the best-in-class visual experience for our players.”

He continues: “As avid gamers with decades of experience, we appreciate it when we know exactly what we’re getting. That’s why from the very start we’ve decided that we’re going to deliver the game as a single-player ‘box’ product. No in-game purchases, no game-as-a-service mechanics and tricks. In Lord Of Metal, you get a glimpse of what’s going on ‘under the hood’ of festivals, and find out what’s happening backstage, on- and off-site of the festival grounds.”

At time of publication, the Lord Of Metal Kickstarter has far exceeded its original target. The project has raised £56,852, with the original goal being just under £19,000.

As Lord Of Metal gets developed, Sundström remains active with Sabaton. The Swedish power metal stars will tour North America in September and October. On October 11, they’re releasing their concert film The Tour To End All Tours to 600 cinemas in 24 countries.

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.