Legendary video game DOOM is now available to play worldwide on Husqvarna robotic lawn mowers.
Husqvarna, a maker of high-end sewing machines and other industry equipment as well as robotic lawn mowers, will make the seminal 1993 video game DOOM available to play on the company’s robotic mowers this spring.
The DOOM installed lawn mowers have already made waves across the globe, after being showcased at DreamHack Winter 2023, where Husqvarna organized the world’s first multiplayer DOOM tournament on a non-gaming device.
“This is one hell of an update,” says Björn Mannefred, robotics software engineer at Husqvarna.
The original shareware episode of DOOM (1993) will be released as a free update for owners of Husqvarna’s robotic lawn mower range Husqvarna Automower NERA.
This means that approximately 30,000 end-users will be able to play the game during a limited time between April to September 2024. Watch the trailer here.
Mannefred says: “The original team at id Software boasted some of the greatest developers ever. What they created in 1993 with DOOM was world class and set the stage for many of today’s great games.
“They are also a big inspiration for us at Husqvarna. This is one hell of an update that both highlights the pioneering spirit that characterize the engineers at Husqvarna and serves as a tribute to the originators of DOOM.”
Marty Stratton, studio director at id Software, says: “Over the past 30 years, we’ve continually been amazed by the passion and ingenuity of the DOOM community.
“The list of ‘things that run DOOM’ is absolutely incredible, and we’re thrilled to see robotic lawn mowers finally added to the list. The engineers at Husqvarna have done a terrific job and we appreciate the inventive and fun tribute.”
Great interest in playing DOOM on lawn mowers Husqvarna showcased the unexpected collaboration with DOOM, at DreamHack Winter, which took place November 23-26 last year.
The collaboration attracted a lot of attention from visitors eager for a chance to play id Software’s DOOM (1993) on the lawn mowers.
By playing the game visitors also competed for a place in the finals on the main stage, were Husqvarna hosted the DOOM LA(w)N Party, the world’s first multiplayer championship on a non-gaming device.
The collaboration sparked global interest in more than 20 countries and Husqvarna was awarded “Best Booth Activation 2023” at the event.
Mannefred says: “We are overwhelmed by the positive response to this innovation. When we showcased the update at DreamHack, people were really excited.
“Since then, we have been looking at how we can make the update available to more people. We are happy to announce that we will release DOOM on our Automower, in the spring of 2024.”
How to play The game is played using the robotic lawn mowers onboard display and controls. Players navigate the game with the control knob to turn left and right, and pressing the START button will make you run forward, and the STOP button is used to strafe and open doors.
To fire, the user presses the control knob, says the company.
