Wiradjuri rapper YNG Martyr has expanded his creative work beyond music with the release of his first video game, Birds of War.
Born and raised in Townsville before living in Canberra and Naarm/Melbourne, YNG Martyr recently released his second album, 'CHALANT', following an acclaimed response to the project.
He has clocked more than 350 million streams across music platforms and has almost one million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Now, the self-proclaimed "real geek" has entered the gaming industry through Hexnest Games, the studio he founded to release Birds of War.
The game is a team-based 3v3v3 aerial player-versus-player title in which nine birds compete across three teams to steal eggs from opposing nests.
Each team must raid its opponents, defend its own nest and finish the match with the highest number of eggs.
YNG Martyr offered a simple description of the concept.
"'Birds of War' is like 'COD', but you're a bird, so that's my video game somehow," YNG Martyr told National Indigenous Times.
Players can fight beak-to-beak while flying across the map, with proximity chat active throughout each game.
The feature means opponents can hear one another as they approach, allowing players to plan attacks, issue warnings or distract rival teams.
"You are a bird. You have a nest. Other birds want your eggs," as noted in the games description on Steam.
"Your mic is always hot. Your enemies can hear you. Plan accordingly."
The game brings together two long-running parts of YNG Martyr's life, with video games forming an important part of his early development as a rapper.
"I grew up surrounded by video games, loved them, and I started rapping in 'Call of Duty' lobbies as a kid," YNG Martyr said.
"That's how I kind of sharpened the sword with music and with rap."
The idea for 'Birds of War' emerged after YNG Martyr had completed work on 'CHALANT' and was waiting for his team to prepare the album for release.
During that period, he encountered AI-generated videos showing birds attacking each other and stealing eggs.
Rather than leave the concept as a short online joke, he decided to turn it into a playable game.
YNG Martyr said the development process quickly became larger than expected.
"I realised, 'Oh, it's AI. I'm going to make it real', so I guess I stole AI's job with that one," YNG Martyr said.
"I didn't really expect how expensive and time-consuming it would be.
"We were trying to get the game done in a month, and we got humbled very, very much."
The project was created with his friend Sam, who had previously helped produce YNG Martyr's animated music videos using Unreal Engine and motion capture.
Its proximity chat was designed to recreate the atmosphere of older online multiplayer games, particularly the unpredictable conversations found in 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' lobbies.
YNG Martyr said the game marked a full-circle moment after growing up playing similar titles.
"It's been super full circle for me, just going from being a kid that played these games and now having my own," YNG Martyr said.
"It's such a weird feeling."
YNG Martyr said promoting a video game required a different approach from releasing music, where one viral clip could quickly drive listeners towards a song.
The project also reflects the message behind 'CHALANT', which encouraged people to embrace their interests rather than shape their work around others expectations.
For YNG Martyr, that includes moving freely between rap, gaming, animation and internet culture while bringing his identity into the work in a way that feels natural.
He encouraged other Indigenous creatives to pursue ideas without feeling restricted to one form of expression.
"Don't feel that you have to make a certain type of thing just because you're mob," YNG Martyr said.
"Make what you want to make, bring your culture in an honest way.
"Don't let your actions be dictated by what you think other people's expectations of you are."
'Birds of War' is available now through the Steam platform.
YNG Martyr's latest album 'CHALANT' is available on all major streaming platforms.
