When the year began I brought you news of what was correct at the time of Game Pass games coming in 2023. Though we aren’t even out of March and we have news of a game coming to Game Pass in 2024. Yes, we have one to add to next year’s list before some are even dated for 2023. So this game in question is available to wish list on Steam right now and is called Dead Static Drive. Chances are this is the first time you’ve heard of the game.
Steam described Dead Static Drive as a “horror survival adventure. You’re on the road. The world begins to fall apart in front of you. Your friendships will make every bit of difference as order collapses and the people you meet fight for their own survival”. Looking at the official website, we see a bit more about what the game is about. This is what the official game description says
Dead Static Drive is Grand Theft Cthulhu. An indie survival-horror game following a nightmarish road trip across a 1980s Americana, Dead Static Drive blends weird fiction and uncanny Eldritch themes with a spooky unease underlying this small-town life.
Heavily influenced by the work of weird fiction authors T. E. D. Klein, Gene Wolfe, & Ramsey Campbell, filmmaker David Lynch, and photographer William Eggleston, Dead Static Drive hopes to invoke images of an America now lost, where with the right car and enough gas, anything felt possible.
At its core a survival game, Dead Static Drive sees the player needing to scavenge, fight, sneak, and explore in order to stop the continuing violence of an estranged father, who has fast-spiralled into a paranoid recluse convinced technology will ruin us all.
Prevent the deadly consequences of his delusions. Evade police. Equip yourself and those close to you, and follow your own moral code. Learn how—and who—to trust. And learn it fast, the monsters are gaining on you.
Dead Static Drive Gameplay And Release Information
Let’s start with the games release information We only see 2024 on the Steam listing though the Game Pass announcement says Q3 2024.
The official website also gives us an early teaser video. This can be seen below. Now the reason it was named Grand Theft Cthulhu makes sense.
It certainly looks original, and coming to Game Pass will definitely help people who see it get a chance to play something new. Also if we look at the development history this has been in development for some time.
Mike Blackney began development on Dead Static Drive in 2014, before leaving his role teaching game development to work on the game full time in 2017. Mike continued to bring his vision to life with the help of a small team of superstars including Kalonica Quigley, Trevor Dikes, Troy Ferguson, Gabe Castro, and a bunch of other irritatingly gifted developers. Leena van Deventer came onto the project as Creative Producer in 2019, and now also collaborates with Mike as writer and designer.
Dead Static Drive is made using the Unreal Engine, and our own bespoke narrative engine, Novella. Novella works behind the scenes to schedule and coordinate story scenes simultaneously throughout the game world. We use Novella to stage character behaviour and conversations that are fully interactive, enabling the player to impact branching storylines and change their outcomes.
As yet, no mention is given to a release on PlayStation or Switch. We don’t even see any mention of whether it’s coming to Xbox One as well as Xbox Series X/S. All we know is the game is coming to Xbox, Game Pass as well as PC next year. The official website also provided a series of screenshots which are found below.
