Carmageddon: Rogue Shift revealed, hits PC and consoles early 2026

• Carmageddon: Rogue Shift announced for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2
• Coming in early 2026
• A roguelite spin-off with no restarts and permanent upgrades

Carmageddon is making a surprise comeback.

Revealed during the 2025 PC Gaming Show following last month’s teaser, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a reimagined take on the classic car combat series, introducing roguelite elements.

As you try to survive chaotic races with opponents attempting to destroy you, each campaign features branching paths, increasing difficulties and changing weather conditions, meaning “no two runs are the same.”

If you wreck your car, you’ll restart the campaign as a new driver with permanent upgrades, unlocked by collecting ‘Beatcoins.’ Each of the game’s 15 upgradable vehicles can be equipped with weapons across 13 classes to annihilate rivals, from machine guns to missiles. Taking cues from Twisted Metal and Death Race, these weapons will be a new addition to Carmageddon.

As the teaser trailer hinted at, the new entry is set in 2050, with races taking place in a dystopian city overrun by zombies that can be run over, replacing pedestrians from previous games. Boss battles also see you take on “war‑rigs, corrupted Enforcers and endless zombie hordes.”

Showcased in the game’s announcement trailer, an extensive damage model is promised, with bonnets, doors and bumpers bending and detaching. 

Whereas Stainless Games developed every previous Carmageddon game since the 1997 original, 34BigThings, best known for the Redout futuristic racing series, is helming the roguelite spin-off. It’s a surprising departure for the Italian studio.

“We are bringing something fresh to the franchise and the racing genre,” said Game Director Giuseppe Enrico Franchi.

“Carmageddon means explore, experiment, paint the streets red and crumple up opponents. We want our players to adapt, upgrade, and unleash destruction on zombie hordes with glee behind the wheel of a killing machine.

“Rogue Shift will hit with those who fondly remember the legendary series, and those who are discovering it for the first time – reignited, reinvented and more thrilling than ever.”

Rogue Shift will mark the first new entry since 2016’s Carmageddon: Max Damage, though the series had a surprise crossover in Wreckfest in 2021 after THQ Nordic acquired the license, featuring Max Damage’s Eagle R car and two tracks from the original Carmageddon.

While there’s no release date yet, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift hits PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 in early 2026. With Wreckfest 2 possibly leaving early access and arriving on consoles next year, 2026 looks promising for destruction racing fans.