Hoplon kicks off open beta for car combat title Heavy Metal Machines

Hoplon has launched the open beta for its rock-and-roll racing game Heavy Metal Machines on the PC.

The title is a hard rock vehicular action combat multiplayer game, and it’s kind of a cross between Mad Max and a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game.

The game from Florianópolis, Brazil-based Hoplon takes place in a post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by its own inhabitants. Society has been reforged through metal and madness. A new breed of gladiators engages in visceral vehicular combat. The rules are simple: two teams enter, one team leaves. The four-player team that manages to decimate the enemy’s base first wins.

Heavy Metal Machines is a MOBA-like car combat game.
Heavy Metal Machines is a MOBA-like car combat game.

The open beta introduces a number of significant upgrades, including an all new character named Photon, a tech-savvy character who provides support.

The beta also ha a new player game guide, voice chat, and Russian localization. The title comes from Hoplon, which was founded in 2000 and worked in the past on titles like APB: Reloaded. The company has 100 employees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usKQHN3RKUc

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.