Former Piranha Bytes Members Form Brainlag Games and Announce Rootbound

Four former Piranha Bytes employees have founded a new studio in Essen: Brainlag Games. Their first project is Rootbound, an action adventure with a living backpack. We spoke with Creative Director Amadeus Weidmann.

Four former core members of Piranha Bytes have founded Brainlag Games in Essen: Maki Dieffenbach, André Hotz, Markus Kloß, and Amadeus Weidmann have over 50 years of combined experience working on the Gothic, Risen and Elex series - and now they are developing their first own game called Rootbound. The team at Brainlag Games received a Press Start Stipend (Gründungsstipendium Games) and funding until Q2 2026. The studio has also received funding from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

GamesMarkt: What motivated you and your colleagues to set up Brainlag Games?

Amadeus Weidmann: "Since we started in the games industry, all of us have spent the majority of our careers at Piranha Bytes, with some of us having been there even since Gothic 1. After the end of Piranha Bytes, we all knew we didn't want to work for another studio and wanted to create something ourselves. This was our main reason. On top of that, as you probably know, the games industry is in trouble right now. Not many people are hiring; this was just another reason for us to start something completely new and fresh. We want to make games that might be a bit riskier than those bigger studios are willing to create."

GamesMarkt: What are some of the challenges you are currently facing at Brainlag Games?

Amadeus Weidmann: Right now, we're facing the challenge of marketing our game, building a social media following, and letting people know that we exist. It's not easy for a small independent studio without a marketing budget to get eyes on their product. The company itself is already founded and, through the Press Start Stipend, we even got funding until Q2 next year. So, we're good on that part for now. And, of course, we're also working on bringing the game to a state where it can be playtested by others. We want feedback early and often to make the best game we possibly can.

Their first game is Rootbound, an action-adventure with a living backpack. It is scheduled for release on PC and consoles in 2026. In the game, players take on the role of a mystical plantling, tasked with saving their home from the 'Call of the Void'. Equipped with a living backpack, they will explore a decaying world, solve puzzles, battle monsters and uncover the secrets of a forgotten civilisation.

Weidmann: "An additional challenge for small studios in general is gathering wishlists on Steam. Without them, we don't get promoted by Steam, and the more wishlists we have, the more opportunities we can pursue for additional funding." The Steam page for Rootbound is now live and the game can be added to wishlists.

"We're infusing Rootbound with the quality we were known for at Piranha Bytes - complex side quests, immersive dialogue, and a rich atmosphere", says Amadeus Weidmann, Creative Director at Brainlag Games. However, this won't be a classic Piranha Bytes RPG. "We aim to fully unleash our creativity and deliver an experience unlike anything players have seen before." The player's backpack is their most important companion. More than just a place to store things, it becomes a character with a mind of its own: it gets hungry, "eats" items from the environment, and helps players reach inaccessible areas. The backpack will also simply spit out some items.

The world of Rootbound follows the rules of physics. Almost anything can be used as a weapon, stored or manipulated - as long as it's not too heavy. "The world should feel tangible, whether you're throwing a rock or shoving a boulder", says André Hotz, Art Director at Brainlag Games. Even a nearby fence can become a weapon if the player is unarmed. A dynamic day/night cycle heightens the stakes: nighttime brings danger, and only the light of magical torches shields players from the gaze of the worm gods.

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