SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah band Spirit Machines is making waves in the music and video game industry this year after beating out 7,800 entrants from around the world to get their original song featured in an upcoming expansion for the popular video game, Cyberpunk 2077.

The game has already sold 20 million copies worldwide, giving the band significant exposure to new audiences. The band’s song “Candy Shell” will be featured in the game.

The expansion to the best-selling video game, which is to be released later this year, features renowned actors Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba with the title Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

“We basically wrote [“Candy Shell”] in the studio in one day,” remarks Spirit Machines drummer Michael Collins. “We made changes really quickly and submitted pretty much last minute… Then the notification came last month and just blew our minds that we won.”

While many are still discovering Spirit Machines, the band went viral in 2020 when they introduced the song titled “Zober” — a mashup of “Sober” by Tool and “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin — and received a share via social media from Tool themselves.

“A very tasty tribute of Led Zeppelin and Tool,” said Tool in the Instagram post spotlighting Spirit Machines’ cover.

Spirit Machines consists of four members: lead singer Pepper Rose, guitarist Dave Crespo, bassist Sergio Marticorena, and drummer Michael Collins. Together for about five years, Spirit Machines has independently sold thousands of CDs to fans and is continuing to grow a loyal following on streaming platforms. The band is currently at work on their second album.

According to vocalist Pepper Rose: “We’re nerds… Normal avenues, sometimes I feel like people don’t get us. I’m hoping this is a way to really find our tribe and fans that would be interested in our music that connect with us.”

The release date for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is yet to be announced by CD Projekt RED, the video game’s development studio. When it does release, gamers can rock out to “Candy Shell” while they play as the song will be part of Cyberpunk 2077’s in-game radio tracks.