Imagine Dragons' Last Flag is a Funky 5v5 Love Letter to Backyard Chaos

Have you ever played capture the flag at night in the woods, sprinting barefoot like a maniac, dodging branches, feeling like you're in some kind of real-life stealth mission? That’s the kind of nostalgic energy Last Flag is aiming for—but with vacuum tubes, radar towers, and a retro-futuristic game show host named Victor Fex shouting into the void.

This isn’t a half-baked minigame mode. It’s a full-on 5v5 third-person multiplayer game that’s all about hiding, hunting, and hauling. You hide your team’s flag, control zones to figure out where the enemy stashed theirs, steal it, and hold it for one intense minute. And if you get taken out? You're not dead—you get yeeted into a green room and pop back in later. The vibe is chaos, but with tight design.

“Dan and I grew up in Boy Scouts... we used to play capture the flag in the woods at night. It’s kind of a quintessential childhood experience... and nobody’s ever really built something that scratches that itch... which is real hiding, real finding, the thrill of nature, being a hero, sneaking around.”—Mac Reynolds, Night Street Games co-founder

Last Flag comes from Night Street Games, a new indie studio founded by Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds and his brother Mac, who also manages the band. Their goal? Bring the childhood thrill of CTF to a stylized game show set in a psychedelic 1970s future.

The presentation leans into camp and style, from the game’s colorful aesthetic to the fact that matches last under 20 minutes and never eliminate you for long. Every time you respawn, it’s not a setback—it’s just part of the show. There are 10 characters to pick from, each with their own quirks, and every match is broadcast in-universe like a televised sport.

What sets this game apart, aside from the game show backdrop, is how much of it revolves around the moment-to-moment fun. Whether you're winning or losing, the devs want you to have a good time. Even defeat has its perks.

“When you lose a match, there’s a song that plays. It only plays when you’re on the defeat screen, and it is maybe the best song we have in the game... the winning team doesn’t get it.”—Matthew Berger, Game Director

Musically, the game is just as weird and wonderful as its premise. Dan Reynolds teamed up with JT Daly and Dave Lowmiller to build a soundtrack using authentic 1970s instruments. Everything from the flag-hiding phase to the defeat screen has custom music, with dynamic sound choices that reflect what's happening in the match.

Gameplay-wise, this isn’t just a shooter with a CTF twist. The goal from the ground up was to make capture the flag the core of the experience, not an afterthought. According to the developers, they spent years prototyping, playtesting, and adjusting systems to hit that exact moment of tension and triumph you get when sprinting with the enemy flag while your team screams over voice chat.

This is a game where competition is important, but fun still takes top billing. It’s not trying to be an esport; it’s trying to be a legendary party game that still rewards tactical play.

Last Flag is launching in 2026 on Steam and the Epic Games Store for PC, with console ports on the horizon. No monetization details yet, but with the Imagine Dragons name attached, there’s already a lot of buzz.

It’s too early to tell if Last Flag will crack GOTY lists when it arrives, but it’s got that unmistakable indie energy—something new, personal, and polished. It’s made by people who clearly care more about capturing a vibe than chasing trends.

Whether or not it ends up redefining party shooters, it’s at least doing something very few games are even trying. It’s a rare crossover of music, memory, and mayhem—and it might just work.

Watch the trailer. Bookmark the name. Last Flag might be the weird little game everyone’s still talking about at the end of next year.