Menace, developed by Hamburg-based studio Overhype and published by Hooded Horse, was released in Early Access yesterday. At the time of release, the game was on over 600,000 Steam wishlists, which resulted in the publisher's second-best launch ever.
The turn-based tactical game Menace, developed by Overhype Studios and published by Hooded Horse, is now out in Early Access for PC. It is available on Steam, GOG, the Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store for $39.99 / £34.99 / €39.99 / ¥3,980. A 25% launch discount is available until 19 February 2026. It is also available via PC Game Pass (Game Preview).
The first launch day was a huge success. On Steam alone, the game reached 16,199 concurrent players - Hooded Horse's second-highest CCU to date - just below Manor Lords, not including the Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era demo – and well above the CCU record set by Battle Brothers (8,060), Overhype's previous game.
In this turn-based tactical sci-fi game, which is comparable to XCOM, Jagged Alliance or Battle Brothers, players lead a strike force of marines, misfits and malcontents to a lawless frontier and establish order. Hooded Horse: "Cut off from the core worlds, players must utilize whatever resources they can buy or scrounge, with a vast array of equipment, weapons, and vehicles to choose from when assembling their squads. Travelling from planet to planet, players will need to plan out multi-staged operations, ensuring there is enough manpower and equipment to meet all challenges as they fight against pirates, xenos, and the unrelenting, unknowable constructs of the Menace."
Menace © Overhype Studios & Hooded Horse
The initial Early Access offering provides over 50 mission types across several planets, with more biomes, mission types and equipment planned throughout the Early Access period. The team will also develop the storyline and endgame scenarios, responding to player feedback as they go. They plan to keep the game in Early Access for a year, but this could change depending on how the design evolves in response to player feedback.
Overhype Studios is an independent game development studio based in Hamburg, Germany. Its debut title, Battle Brothers, was released to great success in 2017. "We are devoted to making great games that we want to play ourselves. With Battle Brothers we strive to reflect the creativity, complexity and originality from the old days when game developers were passionate gamers, not corporate businessmen," the company said in a self-description. Despite its reduced graphics and legless characters, Battle Brothers — a turn-based tactical RPG set in the Middle Ages — was very well received by players for its deep tactical combat, strong progression and emergent storytelling, and received three content expansions. Menace is the second game from the Hamburg studio, with 13 Overhype Studios employees and composer Scott Buckley credited. The project received funding of €1,073,555 from the German government's Games Funding Programme. The three-year funding period ended at the end of 2024. At gamescom 2023, Overhype Studios announced that they would be partnering with publisher Hooded Horse on Menace. In early December 2025, this collaboration was extended to include Battle Brothers.
Hooded Horse is a publisher of strategic and tactical games, including Manor Lords, Against the Storm, Endless Legend 2, Old World, Norland and 9 Kings. The US-based company has a catalogue of over 50 titles and has plenty planned for 2026, including the Early Access release of Mars Tactics in May and, of course, the Early Access release of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era. The latter is on over a million wish lists.
