Founded in early 2025, the studio Playing Mantis announced its debut game Solstride at the German Indie Showcase. It is, in a sense, a test project for the studio builder by Thomas Rössig and Thorsten Hamdorf, which is currently in stealth mode.
First and foremost, it's the announcement of an indie game: Cologne-based studio Plaing Mantis announced its debut game Solstride at the German Indie Showcase, the prototype of which was funded by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW (Film and Media Foundation NRW). The demo for Solstide is set to be released on Steam in 2026.
"Solstride is a deeply personal game, a labor of love," says Juniper Alves, co-founder and Game Director of Playing Mantis. "It is a wholesome adventure about friendship and finding your heart. Our game adds a unique and unexpected mix of gameplay mechanics to the cozy game genre: It is highly accessible and allows cozy gamers to immerse themselves in a rich story, progress through low pressure turn-based combat and base-building where decorating unlocks upgrades for your fellowship."
The project is also interesting because Alves' co-founder of Playing Mantis, Thomas Rössig, only revealed in mid-October, together with Thorsten Hamdorf, that they were working on a kind of indie studio bulder, which is still in stealth mode and for which the two were looking for a third partner. Just a few days ago, Rössig posted that over 75 people had responded to this call and announced a kind of free co-founder matchmaking service to bring together those interested in founding a company.
It is not known whether the third founder for the planned Studio Builder was among those who applied. In any case, the circumstances make Playing Mantis and Solstride a kind of proof of concept for Rössig and Hamdorf's plans.
