The highly anticipated Kiss avatar show is officially gearing up for a 2028 debut in Las Vegas. In a new cover story for the May 2026 issue of Pollstar magazine, band leaders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons offered fresh details on the virtual experience, which promises to expand the legendary rock band’s universe with unreleased music.
The upcoming production marks the first major American venture for Pophouse Entertainment. The Swedish music investment firm, famously co-founded by ABBA‘s Björn Ulvaeus and the driving force behind the massive “ABBA Voyage” show, recently closed its debut fund, raising over $1.3 billion for IP investments. Pophouse acquired the Kiss song catalog, master recordings, publishing rights, and their iconic name, image, and likeness rights, including the trademarked face paint designs, in a massive deal reportedly valued at over $300 million.
When asked by Pollstar‘s Katherine Turman which specific era or lineup of the band would be represented in the virtual concert, the bassist kept things open-ended.
“It’s going to be the iconic face personas, The Demon, the Starchild, and so on. Who you want to place into that lineup is up to you,” Gene Simmons explained.
Regarding the setlist, Paul Stanley confirmed that fans can expect the staples. “We will have all the classics through the years and some surprises.”
However, Simmons quickly added a massive revelation: “You’re gonna get all that stuff, and also new songs.”
Pressed for clarification on the “new” material, he confirmed: “Exactly what that means, written by us. We have songs done.”
Unlike the hyper-realistic 1970s concert recreation of “ABBA Voyage,” the Kiss experience will lean heavily into the supernatural. When early prototypes of the avatars were previewed at the band’s final concert at Madison Square Garden in December 2023, the digital replicas appeared as eight-foot-tall, floating, fire-breathing superheroes.
Pophouse CEO Jessica Koravos told Pollstar that the technology and the vision have only grown since that initial MSG tease.
“What the crowd got to see at MSG was an early prototype of the Kiss avatar concept. A lot has evolved since then — both in terms of creative concept for the show and avatar technology. We are now deep in development with a top-flight creative team headed by Thierry Coup — the team was on set last week testing out pyro effects against a new generation of LED screens to make sure we max out the Kiss signature flame throwing. The show concept is a crazy 4D roller coaster ride through the hits, the comic book worlds and personas of Kiss.”
With this launch, Kiss is positioned to become the first major American act to fully transition into a virtual, touring avatar entity. According to previous statements from Simmons, roughly $200 million is being invested directly into the production of the show.
