▶ Debut work by an indie team of AAA veterans from Mass Effect and Call of Duty
▶ 1.2 million on Demo · 300 million on TikTok · 98% Positive on Steem… Rapidly Rising on Word of Mouth
Brain Jar Games , founded by industry veterans from the Mass Effect, Call of Duty, and RIFT franchises, announced that the demo for their debut title , ‘Dead As Disco,’ has surpassed 1.2 million views.
Since its initial reveal, the game has captivated both action and rhythm game fans and is rapidly spreading word of mouth. Since the demo was first unveiled in the summer of 2025, it has garnered over 300 million views on TikTok and achieved an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam, with 98% of over 5,000 reviews being positive.
A combination of music and combat… ‘Charlie Disco’s’ revenge drama
Dead as Disco tells the story of fallen icon Charlie Disco as he confronts his former band members to regain his past glory.
Battles unfold to the beat of dazzling music, with every action—from attacks and evasions to combos—synchronized with the rhythm. Players must master the musical styles of the appearing idols and expand their combat by unlocking new skills, moves, and dances.
Neon visuals and stylish action… Establishing a unique identity
Dead as Disco features intense visual effects based on stylish 3D graphics, combining neon-lit backgrounds and comic book-style visuals.
In particular, it was inspired by Hi-Fi Rush and the Batman: Arkham series, but it stands out for its differentiated play style by adopting a structure that mixes 3D and side-scrolling combat.
In addition, by designing combat sound effects and environmental sounds to blend naturally with the music, it achieves an immersive experience akin to watching an ‘interactive music video.’
The key is ‘play my music’… the feature that drove TikTok wild.
The decisive factor in this game’s explosive response is the ‘My Music’ feature.
In January 2025, Brain Jar CEO Will Cook posted a gameplay video on TikTok, and numerous fans flooded the site with requests to play the game with their favorite music. Seeing this reaction, the development team publicly included a custom music import feature utilizing ‘Songcrafter’ technology in the demo.
The results far exceeded expectations. On TikTok, posts related to Dead As Disco averaged 89,000 views, and 10 viral clips combined surpassed 17 million views. One Steam reviewer even described the demo’s extraordinary quality by saying, “I walked into a pizza shop that was handing out free samples at the entrance, and they gave me a whole pizza.”
Less than a month after the demo was released, the Steam wishlist surged from fewer than 50,000 to over 250,000, and the Net Promoter Score (NPS), a user satisfaction survey conducted by the development team with over 8,000 respondents, recorded +86.5.
The first work by an indie studio from Mass Effect and Call of Duty
Brain Jar Games is a completely remote indie studio founded in 2024 by AAA industry veterans from BioWare, Super Evil Megacorp, and Trion Worlds.
Dead As Disco is the studio’s debut title, embodying its core philosophy of creating intense games that you want to share with others. It is also notable for its development approach that actively incorporates community feedback, having recorded an exceptional user satisfaction score (NPS) of +93.5 during early playtesting.
Fans awaiting the game should pay attention to the Triple-i Initiative Showcase on April 9, as Brain Jar Games has teased significant new announcements regarding Dead As Disco there. The full release version is expected to include content such as a single-player campaign story mode, a non-linear story, idol boss battles, Rockstar customization, and Dive Bar decorating.
The demo is currently available for free play on Steam, and further information can be found on the official page.
Dead As Disco related information
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developers and Publishers | Brain Jar Games (established in 2024, a completely remote studio) |
| Development Team History | From BioWare (Mass Effect), Super Evil Megacorp, and Trion Worlds (RIFT) |
| Genre | Rhythm Beat ‘M Up / Action Fighting |
| Release platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | Undetermined (Scheduled for official release) |
| background | Neon Disco Worldview / Music, Fame, Betrayal |
| Core mechanics | Beat Sync Battle, Custom Music Import (Songcrafter), UGC Modding |
| Demo contents | Part of single-player campaign + 13 tracks + Play my music |
| Number of demo players | Surpassed 1.2 million |
| Steam Demo Review | Overwhelmingly positive (98% positive out of over 5,000) |
| TikTok views | Over 300 million times |
| Steam Wishlist | Over 250,000 cases |
| NPS | +86.5 (Based on over 8,000 responses) |
| Next announcement | April 9 Triple-i Initiative Showcase |
| Steam Page | store.steampowered.com/app/3404260 |
