If TankHead was about learning to survive, TankRat is about earning it the hard way.
Revealed during The Game Awards 2025, Alpha Channel’s next project takes everything that worked about their vehicular-action cult hit and cranks it into something meaner, heavier, and way more unhinged. Published in partnership with Kepler Interactive, TankRat is headed to PC and PlayStation 5 in Spring 2026, and it looks like a full-on glow-up rather than a simple sequel.
Good news for early adopters, too. Anyone who already owns TankHead on the Epic Games Store will receive TankRat as a free day-one upgrade, which is genuinely classy behaviour in this economy.
You Are a Mind in a Machine
TankRat drops you into the wreckage as Whitaker, a digitised human consciousness that can only exist by fusing with war machines. Flesh is out. Steel is in.
The world ended badly. Humans pushed too far, something went wrong, and now the wasteland is crawling with mechanical monstrosities that absolutely want you dead. Your job is simple in theory.
- Kill machines
- Rip them apart
- Take what still works
- Bolt it onto yourself
- Try not to die
Every encounter feeds directly into your build. The better you scavenge, the better your chances next time. Survival here is iterative, messy, and deeply mechanical.
Watch the TankRat announcement trailer below:
The Wasteland Does Not Care About You
TankRat takes place inside the Event Containment Area, a ruined stretch of land rotting under the weight of unchecked ambition. Somewhere beyond it lies Highpoint, a fabled city that may or may not hold answers.
Between you and it stand colossal enemies guarding the Dead Zone. These are not quick fights. They are resource wars.
You are encouraged to think tactically, play scrappy, and accept that every victory comes at a cost. Every fallen giant becomes a pile of potential upgrades if you live long enough to harvest them.
This is survival by attrition. You adapt, or you get dismantled.
A Clear Step Forward for Alpha Channel
Alpha Channel has always been good at atmosphere and player-driven systems, but TankRat feels like a statement piece.
The combat looks denser. The world feels more hostile. The stakes are clearer. There is a sense that TankRat is less interested in holding your hand and more interested in watching how you respond when everything is falling apart.
Being part of the Kepler Interactive family also feels like a natural fit. TankRat joins a lineup of games that trust players to figure things out, make mistakes, and sit with the consequences.
What We Know So Far
- TankRat launches Spring 2026 on PC and PlayStation 5
- Free upgrade for existing TankHead owners on Epic Games Store
- Fully customisable war machines built from enemy parts
- Player progression tied directly to scavenging and survival
- Heavy emphasis on tactical combat and adaptation
- Published by Kepler Interactive
Relevant Links
TLDR;
- TankRat is the next evolution of TankHead
- Revealed at The Game Awards 2025
- Launching Spring 2026 on PC and PS5
- Free upgrade for Epic Games Store owners
- Survival-focused vehicular combat with heavy customisation
TankRat looks brutal, smart, and unapologetically mechanical.
Exactly how we like it.
Stay unruly.
