Key Takeaways:
- Supergiant Games and Game Music Festival have released Hades: Ballads of the Underworld — the full orchestral concert from London’s Royal Festival Hall — free to watch on YouTube, in 4K.
- The show features live performances of music from both Hades and Hades II, with composer Darren Korb, vocalist Ashley Barrett, and voice actors Judy Alice Lee, Erin Yvette, and Colin Ryan all performing live.
- The concert was conducted by Austin Wintory (Hades II co-composer, BAFTA-winning conductor) with the London Mozart Players as the orchestra.
- The release coincides with the sixth anniversary of Hades and the one-year anniversary of Hades II’s full launch.
- A Ballads of the Underworld album is also in the works, set to be available to buy or stream free on music platforms soon.
- Noclip has launched Developing Hell II — a new multi-part documentary series following the making of Hades II. Episode 1 is live for Patreon supporters now.
- Supergiant is still figuring out what comes next after Hades 2 — nothing has been announced.
If you missed the Hades orchestral concert when it happened live in London back in June, good news: you no longer need to feel bad about it. Supergiant Games and Game Music Festival have made the entire thing available for free on YouTube, in 4K, and it’s genuinely something special.
Watch Hades: Ballads of the Underworld Free on YouTube
The concert — titled Ballads of the Underworld — was originally performed on June 27, 2026 at London’s prestigious Royal Festival Hall, as part of Game Music Festival 2026. It was a sold-out, one-off event at the time. Now, as part of celebrating the sixth anniversary of the original Hades and the one-year anniversary of Hades II’s full launch (which dropped September 25, 2025), Supergiant and Game Music Festival have released the entire filmed concert on YouTube for everyone to watch for free.
The video is fully segmented with a setlist in the description, so you can jump straight to specific songs rather than scrubbing around. The setlist covers music from both games, including some of the most beloved vocal pieces from Hades and Hades II — and there’s a good amount of ground to cover, because both soundtracks are stacked.
The Performers and Highlights
The production brought together essentially the entire Hades musical family for one stage. Darren Korb, Supergiant’s composer and audio director (and the voice behind several characters across both games), performed live alongside vocalist Ashley Barrett, who voices Eurydice and has sung on Supergiant’s soundtracks since Bastion. They were joined by three voice actors who also performed — Judy Alice Lee (Melinoë in Hades II), Erin Yvette (Scylla and Dora), and Colin Ryan (Apollo). The full orchestra was the London Mozart Players, conducted by co-composer and BAFTA-winner Austin Wintory.
Personal highlights from the show that are worth jumping to directly: Moonlight Guide Us opens the concert and sets the tone immediately; I Am Gonna Claw (Out Your Eyes Then Drown You to Death) at 16:48 is exactly as unhinged and brilliant as it sounds; Colin Ryan’s performance of Fated Glory at 46:00 showcases a vocal range that does not feel real; and Darren Korb’s falsetto during the final stretch of the show is genuinely one of those “wait, he can do that?” moments. The setlist has something for fans of both games across the full runtime.
It’s worth watching even if you’ve never played either game, honestly — Korb’s compositions blend heavy metal, prog rock, and orchestral elements into something that doesn’t really sound like anything else in gaming, and hearing those arrangements performed live with full orchestra lands differently than the game versions.
Ballads of the Underworld Album Coming to Streaming Platforms
The concert film isn’t the only thing Supergiant dropped around the anniversary. The studio also confirmed that a Ballads of the Underworld album is on the way, and it’ll be available both to purchase and to stream for free across the same music platforms that already carry Supergiant’s catalogue. No specific release date has been confirmed yet, but the announcement strongly suggests it’s coming soon. For anyone who wants the concert’s arrangements in audio form to add to a playlist, it’s something worth watching for.
Noclip’s Developing Hell II: The Hades 2 Documentary Series
Alongside the concert release, Supergiant also announced something that’s going to keep Hades fans busy for a while: Noclip, the crowdfunded video game documentary team, has launched Developing Hell II — a sequel to their acclaimed Developing Hell series that documented the making of the original Hades from 2018 through 2021. That original series has been described by Supergiant as the definitive record of how the first game came together, and it’s available on Blu-ray through Fangamer for those who want a physical copy.
Now Noclip is back to do the same thing for Hades II — following the development of what Supergiant has called their team’s biggest project to date. Episode 1 of Developing Hell II is already available for Noclip’s Patreon supporters, with public episodes to follow. Noclip’s work is crowdfunded and free of sponsored content, so supporting the Patreon is what makes these documentaries happen in the first place — and given how well the original Developing Hell series turned out, there’s every reason to expect the sequel to be worth the wait.
What’s Next for Supergiant After Hades 2?
The honest answer right now is: nobody knows, including Supergiant. The studio has stated they’re currently working out what comes next after Hades 2, and nothing has been announced. This tracks with how Supergiant has always operated — they don’t plan the next game until the current one is done, and Hades 2’s full launch was only a year ago. Given the pattern of their previous releases (Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades, Hades 2), each game has been a meaningful departure in some respects while still carrying Supergiant’s distinct identity forward.
For now, the Ballads of the Underworld concert on YouTube and the Developing Hell II documentary series are more than enough to keep fans engaged — and if you’re one of the many people who played either game for the music alone, the concert film is essential viewing. Head to the Supergiant Games YouTube channel to watch Ballads of the Underworld in full, for free.
For more on what’s happening in gaming right now, check out our breakdown of the Witcher 3 Remastered smashing its all-time Steam player record and grab the free Disney Dreamlight Valley Moonstone promo code before it expires.
