Stupid Never Dies will launch in the fall of 2026 as the first game from NetEase’ studio GPTRACK50. It’s a wacky game with an eclectic cast of characters including the main character, a zombie named Davy.
I met with leaders of the Osaka, Japan-based team and played a small part of Stupid Never Dies during Summer Game Fest week. The game comes from a team of veterans. The NetEase part throws me off, since this is the craziest game I’ve seen from a big corporation.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi started GPTRACK50. Before that, he spent 27 years at Capcom and worked on the first Resident Evil game as a programmer. He also worked on Resident Evil 2, Dino Crisis and became a producer on Dino Crisis 2. He later produced or supervised major game franchises including Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Dino Crisis, Sengoku Basara, Dragon’s Dogma and Mega Man 11. Kobayashi left in 2022 and started GPTRACK50 as a part of NetEase.
Davy, the protagonist and the weakest zombie in the monster world, embarks on his adventure by mastering and utilizing the abilities of 10 different monsters in addition to his zombie form, thanks to the game’s unique battle system, Style Eat – a combat system that allows Davy to devour monsters and steal their abilities.
The newly revealed key visual showcases all 11 of Davy’s Styles in dynamic fashion: his standard Zombie Style, along with Werewolf, Harpy, Golem, Vampire, Will-o’-the-Wisp, Cyclops, Snow Fairy, Merfolk, Lich, and Demon.
Stupid Never Dies is a 3D action RPG defined by its memorable characters (OK, they’re crazy characters) and highly original art style. The newly released second trailer introduces the colorful cast of companions who support Davy throughout his journey.
Davy is not only considered the weakest among zombies—the lowest-ranked creatures in the monster world—but is also known as a complete coward. His goal is simple: to revive Julia, the frozen woman he fell in love with at first sight, and finally take her on a date. It’s kind of an emotional love story at the center of a crazy game.
As Davy’s feelings for Julia intertwine with the motivations of his eccentric companions, the story gradually unfolds into an adventure where they must confront a common enemy together.
This second trailer also offers a deeper look at the game’s progression systems, including Body Hack, which allows Davy to modify his body, as well as the first reveal of several boss characters. It provides a broader glimpse into the game’s signature Funky Zombie Action gameplay.
For the latest information about Stupid Never Dies, visit the Steam store page below. We encourage you to add the game to your wishlist and follow the page: .
As a game development studio, GPTRACK50 will continue to focus on creating new entertainment IPs through the development of consumer video games for players around the world.
Character list
The characters include Davy—the timid zombie protagonist, and Julia—the frozen woman he falls in love with at first sight. There’s also Dr. Frank, a self-proclaimed “supreme intellect of humanity.”
Access Frank’s Database at “Jupiter Target” to check out your acquired styles, defeated enemies, and explored layers. Plus, claim Enemy Statues, Pins, Badges, Stickers, and more, depending on your kills and chomped cores.
Then there’s Bessie, a tomboyish biker zombie. Tough personality, never tolerating anyone who got in the way of her driving, whether they were the police or the mafia. She is tasked with bringing Davy back to the surface from the dungeon on her bike.
“Bessie Burger” is a burger joint where you can unlock Zombie Skills and boost rarity levels. This will give you new options for the Zombie Skills that you gain when reaching certain levels inside the dungeon.
Goyle is a stone statue monster unable to move even a step on his own. Possessing clairvoyance and clairaudience, he becomes a researcher who relays information about the dungeon to Davy.
Talk to Goyle in the “Security Room” to access his analytics and see details about your last dungeon dive, materials needed for Bessie Burger orders, Frank’s Database rewards, etc.
Acelino is a chihuahua man, not a werewolf. With a sharp mind, he serves as the doctor’s right-hand assistant. He’s also a playboy and is responsible for Davy’s Body Hack.
Go to “Ink on the Brain,” the tattoo shop where Acelino hangs out, whenever you need to develop and manage your OT (Overtech) Gear, or embed it into Davy.
Boss Battles Revealed
In order to delve deeper into the dungeon, Davy will need to defeat increasingly challenging bosses:
Afleet. Said to have proven their loyalty to ultimate boss KOM (King Of Monsters) by drinking the flames of hell itself, afreets now burn with internal heat that fuels them endlessly. Their fearlessness has earned them high ranks and access to cutting-edge Overtech—such as an enhanced gravity control system that torments foes and even doubles as an exercise machine.
Wyvern. Vanguards of KOM’s army, wyverns fly ahead for recon, but often forget their orders and unleash surprise aerial attacks instead. Allies sometimes wonder if their skulls are hollow to help them fly. Regardless, their ferocity earns them respect and awe, and humans often use their image in heraldry. Classic beasts at heart, wyverns initially resisted Overtech for fear of being labeled “hypebeasts,” but progress soars on.
Other Characters Who Color Davy’s Adventure
Bob Dullahan. A wanderer who’s lived and breathed freedom since time immemorial—one of the very few who dared fight back when KOM seized power. In the end, his head and the glowing core within were devoured. He often sings of liberty, and his style is emphatic, bold, and plainly declares, “I don’t care what the listener wants to hear.” Anyone who objects to his performances he quickly brands as an “enemy of freedom,” and so most have learned to shut up and put up.
Phoenix Zaza Hotfeathers. His grand cosmic duty is to discharge the waste generated by mother earth Gaia’s metabolism; his vibe is someone who doesn’t give a shit. Maybe because next to Gaia’s vastness, individual worries seem too tiny. Or maybe he’s just a moron.
Stupid Never Dies will be available for PC via Steam and PlayStation 5 in Fall 2026. The company aims to expand its original IPs beyond games, exploring cross-media opportunities such as live-action films, animation, and more.
The major past works of our staff include the Devil May Cry series, the Dragon’s Dogma series, the Resident Evil series, and more.
The back story
In this game, there was an apocalyptic war and 98% of humans were gone. The monsters rule the world. Zombies are portagonists. And there’s a dead girl in a freezer. Davy falls in love with her and he wants to bring her back to life, or at least zombie status. To do that, Davy has to beat the King of Monsters, the final boss in a dungeon. It’s an underdog story.
Davy has to fight his way to the King of Monsters, and he has to level up by eating the characters that he defeats. It’s sounds gross, but Davy eats the defeated in a discrete way. As he eats others, he gains what the team calls “a funky zombie action.”
If you eat a harpy or a vampire, you gain their skills, such as faster mobility. You can also customize your body by attaching a sword or a gun to you hand. I found this all to be a bit hilarious but none of the Japanese developers was laughing when they told me this.
The internal studio has about 30 people, but there were about 150 more contractors who helped with production.
The studio loves action games, and Eiichiro Sasaki, the game director, said the only requirement he had was for the studio to make a zombie game.
“So we decided to do something that was really outside of the box as a zombie game, and that’s how we arrived here,” he said. “I always wanted to make a game like this. We wanted to make something that really stood out.”
The girl in the freezer
There are things in the game like vomit beams. The main character goes to the toilet a lot. There are characters like werewolves and cyclops.
Asked why the game is so crazy, game director Eiichiro Sasaki said, “I always loved zombies, and I’ve seen all the old zombie films. So I wanted to look at zombies from this slanted angle, and coming from a place of pure love for zombies, we created something different.
It’s not every day you hear a story about a dead zombie falling in love with a dead girl. She plays a role in that he uncovers more information about her through the data on her smartphone, and so he gets to see her smile and social media posts, and also gets to learn her name, Julia. And then he gets to see a video that shows how she ended up in the freezer, he said.
Davy goes through all of the levels and fights the bosses in order to save his love. That’s his core intention, Kobayashi said. And so the game has an emotional core.
Who likes crazy games?
I noted there are some crazy games out there, like Suda51’s Lollipop Chainsaw and Romeo is a Dead Man.
“I would say yes, that’s true. The market is increasing, and I think each of them, though, really focuses on different kind of experiences,” Kobayashi said.
What differentiates this game is its dense time limit experience, which focuses on the growth and the deck improvements that happen in a short time. Normally, in an RPG, that could take hours to experience. I also asked what kind of gamer likes a crazy game.
“The world view is over-the-top and crazy, but the gameplay is somewhat difficult, so it’s harder and I would say it really appeals to a wide range of players,” Kobayashi said.