Hooded Horse Signs Drill Keeper From ShoulderByte in Hamburg

The first game from Hamburg-based ShoulderByte will be published by Hooded Horse. The US publisher now has a total of six games from Germany in its portfolio. Dennis Strümpel is the solo developer behind ShoulderByte.

US publisher Hooded Horse has signed another game from a German company: Drill Keeper, the debut title from ShoulderByte in Hamburg. The game combines roguelike mechanics, deckbuilding and tower defense RTS gameplay, and is coming to PC next year via Steam Early Access.

First announced last year and in development since April 2021, Drill Keeper is the brainchild of solo developer Dennis Strümpel. "I had just submitted my PhD thesis and had some time to test different concepts for a video game I would like myself. During that time I had played a lot of roguelike deckbuilders in particular, which were a great source of inspiration for combining card games with other genres," Strümpel said. Just over two years after development began, the project was announced under the name Drill Keeper.

"Teaming up with Hooded Horse marks an exciting chapter for my little studio," says Strümpel. "Their commitment to innovation and quality perfectly aligns with my creative vision, and together, we will drill down to the core of what makes a great strategy game."

"I love Dungeon Keeper, Slay the Spire, and Dwarves (in any game, movie, or form)," says Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender. "The existence of this game will significantly hurt my productivity here at Hooded Horse, so might as well make it part of the portfolio so I have some loose business justification for the hours I'm going to spend."

Hooded Horse is a publisher of strategic and tactical games with partners around the world. Starting with a single title in 2019, Hooded Horse's portfolio has grown to 31 games and counting. Six of the games in the company's portfolio are from German studios: Fata Deum from 42 Bits Entertainment, Super Fantasy Kingdom from Feryas Beer, Menace from Overhype Studios, Sons of Valhalla from Pixel Chest, Hexxen: Hunters from Ulisses Spiele Digital and last but not least Drill Keeper from ShoulderByte.

Hooded Horse made a splash a few weeks ago with the release of Manor Lords, but also has popular titles such as Against the Storm and Terra Invicta in its back catalogue. GamesMarkt recently published a background story about Hooded Horse.

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