“Routbound”: “Gothic” developer’s new game

Piranha Bites named Germany for more than 25 years stood for sports that played the role of a world. It may happen soon in the same tradition “Rootbound“Throw. This means a new adventure game of the former” Gothic “- and” Alex “developers, which were declared on 10 March 2025.

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The “rootbound” has been developed by the Brainalag Studio. Piranha Bites are four former employees behind the young studio with Maki Dieffenbach, Andreè Hotz, Markus Klo and and Amadeus Weidmann. In the beginning of 2024, everyone lost their jobs due to the failure of the studio.

The team uses newly obtained freedom to get away from Piranha-Bights Formula. A huge open game does not offer the world like “Routebound” “Alex 2”. Instead, you want to focus on the strength of the small team. The game world should be more compact and dialogue than the Piranha-Bights Games. Players also see the world of sports from an isometric camera perspective.

Attractive graphics reminiscent of Zelda

Players in “rootbound” control a vibrant tree system, which together with his backpack investigates a partially open game world, compete with opponents and resolves the puzzle. Special feature: Backpack serving as an inventory is alive and sometimes has its own desire.

Heise was able to look at an early version of “rootbound” on the online site. The attractive presentation, which combines 3D and pixel graphics, spoke to us especially. Unexpectedly, the team “The Legend of Zelda” is one of his inspiration: we realized that the isometric camera reminded the ninthndo series by the perspective and physics simulation used for the puzzle.

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Unity is used as a technical structure. The team saves the wide growth of its own engine as before in Piranha Bites. The “rootbound” should be a modular, the gameplay programmer Marcus Cloe. Its purpose is to prevent the size of the sports world from crossing the team’s capabilities.

There is also a practical aspect in the graphic style, the team has a 2D artist deficiency. So “there are no textures,” Creative Director tells Amedus Wademan. Sports world and figures include Monochrome 3D Aries. “The rest of the filters, effects and good animations to hide it.”

Publication planned for 2026

As per the current schedule, “rootbound” should be visible to PC and later in the console in 2026. So far, the game has been declared for steamDevelopers do not exclude an early access phase, but currently it plans to publish a finished game with about 10 to 15 hours.

This development will be funded for game developers at the beginning of the 2025 scholarship. For over 18 months, three founders of the Brainian Games receive 2,750 euros in addition to advisory coaching, which dedicate themselves to “rootbound” full -time.

The Brainlag Games is not the only new company that emerges under the brief name of Piranha Bites. It was only on 25 February that two other early rocks of Piranha Bites announced a new game with björn and Jennifer Pankratz. Under the new company name Pithhed Games, they work on “Callon”.

A detailed portrait of the construction of the Brainian Games was read in Hise Plus. In this, the founders talk about the sudden termination with their previous employers, the bureaucracy in the installation and the role of business development for the sports industry.

(Dzi)