Mowing down demons: DOOM comes to Husqvarna smart lawnmowers

Image: Midjourney

If you ever wanted to play DOOM on a lawnmower, you will soon have your chance with a new software update coming to Husqvarna's robotic line of lawnmowers this spring.

The lawnmower company announced last week that owners of the Automower NERA series can now sign up for the new update coming in April, right in time to start mowing the lawn.

"The legendary 1993 video game DOOM® will be playable on Husqvarna Automower® NERA robotic lawnmower models from April this year," reads a news release on Husqvarna's site.

"In what we call "one hell of an update", the software update will be released for download via the Husqvarna Automower® Connect App"

After the immensely popular first-person shooter DOOM was first released in 1993, it has become a tradition for hackers and tech enthusiasts to play the game on the most unlikely devices.

These devices include Texas Instruments calculators, a printer, ATM machines, and even a digital pregnancy test! 

After signing up for the new Automower NERA software update, it will be installed on your lawnmower on April 9th, 2024, via the Automower Connect App.

Owners will then be able to play the game through the lawnmower's onboard display and controls, with the marine controlled using the control knob on the device.

On September 9th, 2024, a new software update automatically removes DOOM from your lawnmower.

Unfortunately, if you live in the United States, you wont be able to play, as DOOM will only be available in United Kingdom,Ireland, Malta, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey, Moldova, Republic of Serbia, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland.

However, let's be honest - while playing the game on these devices may be fun for a few minutes, it can't be as good of an experience as playing it on your computer or console.

If you really want to play DOOM, you can get the full game off of Steam or on your console, where playing will be much more fun.