KnuckleBonz has announced an official collaboration with DEATH and the estate of the band's late founder, Chuck Schuldiner, to build a dedicated "Death Experience" inside KnuckleBonz360, a new immersive 3D digital collectibles platform launching this summer.
KnuckleBonz360 is built around what the company calls its "BackStage Experience," offering fans 3D environments constructed from iconic band imagery, alongside mini-games, social features and exclusive digital and physical collectibles across more than 20 branded worlds rolling out through 2026. The Death Experience will let fans explore the band's discography, from 1987's "Scream Bloody Gore" through 1998's "The Sound Of Perseverance," with 1990's "Leprosy" album rendered as the centerpiece of the world in 3D.
"As a kid, I would stare at album covers for hours and wonder what existed beyond those four corners, wondering what world was living just outside the frame," said KnuckleBonz CEO and creative director Tony Simerman. "In building KnuckleBonz360, we got an opportunity to imagine this world using DEATH's 'Leprosy' album. Chuck Schuldiner's vision, his artistry, and his legacy deserve to be experienced, not just remembered."
Chris Steele, Schuldiner's nephew, offered a similarly personal take on the project: "Whether you're sitting on a throne and toasting with the goblet of gore or climbing a fiery red mountain with the sound of perseverance helping you reach the summit, this experience is immersive and something my imagination has been starving for."
The Death Experience will fold in KnuckleBonz's existing line of limited-edition DEATH and Schuldiner collectibles, letting fans encounter those physical pieces within the explorable digital world alongside new exclusive digital and physical merchandise available at launch. The multiplayer format is designed to let DEATH's global fanbase gather and interact inside the space together rather than simply browse it individually.
Schuldiner, widely regarded as the father of death metal, founded DEATH in Florida in 1983 and led the band through its evolution from raw, foundational death metal into increasingly progressive and technical territory before his death from brain cancer in 2001. The KnuckleBonz360 partnership marks one of the more ambitious digital efforts yet to formalize DEATH's legacy for a new generation, joining a wider wave of extreme metal estates and labels experimenting with immersive, collector-driven digital platforms this year.
A waitlist for KnuckleBonz360, including the Death Experience, is open now at knucklebonz360.com, with a full launch planned for later this summer.