Overhype Studios
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2014
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 1
About Overhype Studios
Overhype Studios is an independent video game developer based in Hamburg, Germany. Founded in 2014, the studio creates turn-based tactical role-playing games and strategy simulations built around complex systems, procedural generation and player-driven stories. Its games emphasize difficult decisions, squad management and lasting consequences, including permadeath.
The studio draws inspiration from classic strategy games such as the original X-COM, Jagged Alliance and Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat. Its approach combines tactical battles with broader management systems, giving players responsibility for both individual encounters and the long-term survival of their forces.
From medieval mercenaries to science-fiction tactics
Its debut game, Battle Brothers, puts players in command of a mercenary company in a gritty medieval world. The game entered Steam Early Access in 2015 and reached full release on March 24, 2017. It combines turn-based combat with recruitment, equipment and company management, using a distinctive 2D tabletop aesthetic.
Overhype continued developing the game through the expansions Beasts & Exploration in 2018, Warriors of the North in 2019 and Blazing Deserts in 2020, followed by the free Of Flesh and Faith DLC in 2022. The game also reached Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox, extending its audience beyond PC.
MENACE, announced at Gamescom in 2023, takes the studio's tactical design into a detailed 3D science-fiction setting. Players command a strike force operating in an isolated border system, combining combat with broader force-management decisions. Published by Hooded Horse, it entered PC Early Access on February 5, 2026 across Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store and PC Game Pass.
Overhype's development capabilities span game design, systems balancing, programming, narrative writing, visual art, interface design and animation. Across its projects, the studio maintains a focus on demanding tactical play and interconnected management systems while moving between different settings and visual approaches.
More about Overhype Studios
People and collaborators
- Jan Justus Taaks is the managing director, with responsibilities spanning business, marketing and PR.
- The founding team included Paul / Crabcakes in art and visual direction and Christof / Rap in core programming and engineering. Lead writer Casey Hollingshead and musical collaborators Breakdown Epiphanies joined later.
Technology and working model
- The studio's engineering experience includes C++ and custom-engine development; MENACE uses Unity for its 3D production.
- Recruitment materials describe a core team based primarily in Hamburg, supplemented by selected remote team members.
Publishing collaboration
Hooded Horse's relationship with the studio extends beyond publishing MENACE: it also became a PC co-publisher of Battle Brothers in 2025.
Notable credits
6 creditsOffices
Where Overhype Studios is based
- Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg offices
HeadquartersAbout this office
**Office** Status: active Headquarters Address: Waterloohain 9, 22769 Hamburg, Germany Current registered headquarters and primary studio. --- **Office** Status: inactive / historical Address: Margaretenstraße 29a, 20357 Hamburg, Germany Former studio address; the report does not establish when use of these premises ended.
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