The Guardian previews Stupid Never Dies, a debut action RPG from GPTrack50, a new studio founded by former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi. The game follows Davy, the weakest zombie in a monster-filled society, who falls in love with the frozen corpse of a woman named Julia and sets out to revive her, inadvertently having to defeat the tyrannical King of Monsters and save what remains of humanity along the way. Free from the expectations tied to established franchises such as Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, on which Kobayashi previously worked, the studio has embraced a stranger, darker sense of humour it says it could not have used before.

Combat emphasises relentless offence over defence, reflecting Davy's status as already dead, and is built around two systems: consuming defeated monsters to steal their abilities and transform into creatures such as werewolves or harpies, and a "body hack" mechanic letting players swap Davy's head, arms and legs for equipment like swords or guns. GPTrack50 began with programmers and designers but no artists, relying on bought-in assets for an early prototype before around 20 external companies joined the three-year production. The roughly 30-strong team, many recruited from Capcom, Konami and Square Enix, describe the tone as "funky zombie action," with the underdog story ultimately driven by Davy's simple wish to take Julia on a date.