Besides creating many iconic cult movies like Halloween, The Thing, and Escape From New York, you may also be aware that filmmaker John Carpenter is an ardent fan of video games. Has he then finally decided to make one? Well, yes and no. Toxic Commando may bear his name in the title, but the real credit goes to developer and publisher Saber Interactive. Still, after playing this apocalyptic co-op first-person shooter for the first time at Gamescom 2025, I see how it bears his influence. This isn’t just a cynical marketing stunt to put his name on the box.
„We wanted to kind of tap into those ’80s horror and over-the-top action films like Big Trouble in Little China, so we reached out to Carpenter, who was like, ‚Yeah, this is great,'“ said Saber’s chief creative officer, Tim Willits. „He’s played the game with us, he’s helped with some concepts, he’s been good about saying, ‚Focus on these types of things when you tell this type of story.'“
It may be more accurate to describe Carpenter as having more of a consulting role rather than being deeply involved in development. But his role is also more hands-on at least in some areas: The director famously composed some of the themes for his own influential movies, and has written music that will be incorporated into the game.