Pacific Drive: Best of the Summer 2026 AMA
Good afternoon drivers, breachers, and anomaly-hunting hopefuls! Ironwood has had a lot of fun doing community events like streams, devlogs, and Reddit AMAs. We also know that it’s hard to catch them live with all the real life everyone has going on - so we’ve curated a few of ou
Good afternoon drivers, breachers, and anomaly-hunting hopefuls!
Ironwood has had a lot of fun doing community events like streams, devlogs, and Reddit AMAs. We also know that it’s hard to catch them live with all the real life everyone has going on - so we’ve curated a few of our favorite questions from the Summer 2026 AMA here for your enjoyment (and we might have snuck in something special towards the end.)
Stormraughtz asked: I had an awesome time in the OEZ with our dearly beloved [wagon] - I have to ask though, do you all still forget to set the car into park? And which sick individual came up with that idea?
"We forgot often enough ourselves that we put in an upgrade that auto-parks the car! Also, the inverse - where you get in the car and slam the gas, despite still being in park - happened enough that we got ample testing across the team for the achievement to forget putting the car in drive, 20 separate times. (I got some very funny reactions from team members who hadn't realized that achievement had been implemented, then accidentally unlocked it while testing the game.)"
Kai, Designer
"To build on top of Kai's response, a long long time ago the parking brake was actually on the left side of the wheel. We put it in to prevent the car rolling down the hill and it turned into one of the most iconic ways of emergent storytelling in Pacific Drive. It was so influential we actually changed the entire nature of the narrative to be more personal and focused and "a story from the zone" instead of "the story of the zone"."
Cassandra Dracott, CEO and Creative Director
Greyelephantbear asked: How much did it cost the government to build the walls around the OEZ?
"After internal debate we have concluded the answer is at least $3. Maybe more.
Wait, now it's at least $4 because someone consumed a banana while contributing to the wall."
The entire Ironwood Studios team
Consistentmedicine64 asked: This is the most beautiful game I've played by a mile. I've tried and failed in the last 2 years to find another that captures its raw thrill, fear and excitement in equal measures. My question is, within the cosmetics I've fought for in these hundreds of runs, I think I've noticed lots of little inside jokes in the descriptions for each one. Is the whole game similarly sprinkled with little jokes and nods amongst the developers?
"Cosmetics for the station wagon were a great place for us to put a lot of nods to the members on the team! There are a lot of cosmetics that are specific requests from members on the team that are meaningful to them. My personal nod was the 2 dogs bumper stickers which are my 2 favorite pups Dante and Mango! You can also see them in photos hidden around the game like in the calendars and some photographs scattered out in the zone.
That being said there are so many puns/nods/jokes throughout the whole game across the items, names, descriptions of things, texts, faxes and more!"
Jacob, Lead Foreground Artist
Opening_ad3054 asked: Amazing game! Loved every moment! Oh, one question though, did Tobias and Francis take any inspiration from Click and Clack? I get heavy car talk vibes from them.
"Thank you for the kind words! As for more questions, ask away and hopefully we can get to them.
For Tobias and Francis, there 100% is some inspiration there for both them and actually many of the different unique things that can happen in the game to your car. It was strangely quite a few months of working together on the project before Seth, PD's Game Director and I realized we had both listened to a ton of Click and Clack growing up.
I have one particular memory about a question that they answered about a dog that had puked into an air conditioner and totaled the car... Memorable!"
Cassandra Dracott, CEO and Creative Director
Bloubigalb asked: Thank you for making the game, and congratulations for what you've all crafted. It's so good! While all aspects are just as amazing, I got especially fixated on the writing, narrative and themes of the game (so much so that I made the quote bot on bluesky, wink wink). Editors note: it’s very cool and good.
"So about that, how much has the story/characters changed through development? Were there story beats from the original drafts that didn't end up in the game, or different endings planned at one time earlier in the making?
Change is pretty constant through development which is natural and healthy for a game! Oppy and the OEZ as a whole was there very very early on but not as early as the concept of a station wagon in the woods believe it or not. Tobias, Francis, and the rest of the cast and beats came later as the script started getting fleshed out.
One of the biggest changes the story went through was quite early on in development. We found ourselves writing THE story of the zone. One plot to summarize all that happened and all that was important and we found it both made out world to small and our story to big (as well as having the effect of removing the mystery of the world).
We pivoted to telling a single story set within the zone. It is am important one and involves key characters in the world (Oppy after all discovered LIM tech) but if you removed the wagon and the player the world would exist. It really unlocked a lot of world building opportunity and helped keep us focused on making what eventually went into PD great!"
Cassandra Dracott, CEO and Creative Director
Rathic asked: Do tourists feel sad when we run them over? I feel bad about accidently hitting them, especially when they give me valuable stuff.
"Hm? Why would they feel sad? They're not alive, they're just stationary static mannequins. How could they possibly give you stuff? You're not seeing things, are you Driver?"
Kai, Designer
"I theorize that the emotion of "explosion" is a pretty clear indicator on their opinion of being run over..."
Charlie, Producer
"Their main goal in life is to blow up and act like they don't know nobody."
Zak Blystone, Engineer
"I hope they feel sad, they popped my damn tire."
Jake, QA Tester
"They can feel my tires 😄"
Westley, QA Tester
"Oh I'm sure they know it's not your fault, and you didn't do it on purpose - though, on the other hand - sometimes I've accidentally bumped my dog off the couch and he looks at me like I'm a criminal.
So maybe it's fine, or they're getting ready to write a strongly worded letter or hiring an Etsy witch to curse you. Probably going to be alright. Maybe."
Blake, Comms and Marketing Specialist
Xcypher36 asked: How did you find those amazing songs to put in the game?
"Hey! I did the sound track collecting for the amazingly talented artists you hear in the game. In a pinch, the answer here is just listening to loads of music. Online streaming tools and local communities were critical in finding the artists. But beyond that, there was a good deal of thought that went into genre, music type, and even tempo.
If the music was too fast or slow it wouldn't fit with the wide range of things you might be doing in the game. We also talked to quite a few other devs and artists. Many of those songs are right from the recommendations of other artists in the game and quite a few are other developers from the greater gaming industry!"
We were incredibly fortunate to work with so many wonderful folks for Pacific Drive and are so glad you enjoyed them! For those unaware you can also find the various radio soundtracks below:
Volume 1: https://open.spotify.com/album/2tBP1dwFaPhamQJOuqo3nv
Volume 2: https://open.spotify.com/album/4nkGpiGkW5MbEHlr6iG90i
Volume 3: https://open.spotify.com/album/3nKlwu9MMgSyzLUfcn4Npq
Cassandra Dracott, CEO & Creative Director
Luskita asked: I loved the game, everything was top notch and it's my favorite game from 2024! About the questions... What were your inspirations? Games, movies, books?
"Hm. The PNW is rich with inspiration. I'll have to mull this one over with a cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie."
Charlie, Producer
"I'd have to say vibes were more of an inspiration than anything specific like a movie. The intrigue of real world disasters and abandoned projects like Chernobyl, the reality of something like that, the people it affects and the lasting impacts centuries later.
The feeling of a good roadtrip, especially along the coast of the PNW. The relationship you develop with your car, how it can be a refuge, a source of comfort and freedom, how much of a pain it can be when you close a door and the radio turns off. And how frustrating and fun it can be to fix that!"
Nicole, Designer
"Every few months Jacob and I would queue up the movie Twister while we worked.
It got us into the zone. The Suck Zone."
Scott, Lead Engineer
Beeftechnology asked: If the station wagon existed in real life (be it actually a Remnant or built by a fan of the game), would you guys want to own it?
"As the proud owner of a 1989 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon, I have no comment on Remnants or how they impact my day to day life at all."
Cassandra Dracott, CEO and Creative Director
"For me there is no greater honor than to have a fan dedicated enough to recreate anything I've made and turning it into a real life thing."
Jacob, Lead Foreground Artist
"Yes, but preferably in a late-game style covered in gold decals, and outfitted with Jump Jacks."
(I MUST JUMP)
Charlie, Producer
"Absolutely, I mean I already talk to my car like it's a people so if it could emote back that'd just be a bonus. The Quirks are just added adventure."
Westley, QA Tester
Kennon02 asked: Loved Pacific Drive! Such a unique take on the genre! I’d love to know if any future content or a potential sequel is being worked on?
"Hello! We're so glad to hear the game and the idea resonated with you. Generally, our stance is that we don't talk about what we're up to until we are ready to share something, and then we will definitely share that information with the community.
What I will say though is this: We are indeed working on a new project.
We don't have much to say yet, but it is something that every single person at Ironwood Studios is excited about. I also will add that it fits firmly into the kind of games we want to make here. Games where the actual game mechanics help tell stories and that are set in rich compelling worlds, created with the aid of smart technology (not AI).
I am so excited and can't wait to tell you all more when we can."
Cassandra Dracott, CEO and Creative Director
We hope you’ve enjoyed this curated list of extremely important questions we couldn’t wait to answer! If you’d like to check out the AMA in its entirety, you can view it here on the r/gaming subreddit.
If you’d like to follow along with our studio activities or upcoming community events, make sure you check out our Discord or follow us on Bluesky, X, or Instagram.
