We are a small team of industry veterans with over 50 years of experience, who worked on titles like Gothic, Risen and Elex. We are based in Essen, Germany.
We strive to create games that people will have nostalgic memories of, even if they played it years ago.
Brainlag Games was born after the closure of Piranha Bytes in the year 2024. Founded by Maki Dieffenbach, Markus Kloß, Amadeus Weidmann and André Hotz.
We wanted to create a gaming studio with no boundaries in creativity and provide a fair revenue share between all team members.
Team:
Markus Kloß
Production, Gameplay Programming
During and after his computer science studies, he gained several years of programming experience in the IT services industry before contributing as a gameplay programmer at Piranha Bytes.
Maki Dieffenbach
Tech Direction, Graphics Programming
After completing her computer science studies, Maki specialized in games and gained initial experience in the indie scene. Later, at Piranha Bytes, she worked on graphics, engine, tools, and consoles.
Amadeus Weidmann
Creative Direction, Game Design
After completing his studies, he released Sniperboy with his own company before joining Piranha Bytes as a story writer and game designer.
André Hotz
Art Direction, 3D Modelling, Animation
After graduating from the SAE Institute, he joined Piranha Bytes in 2000 and worked as an animator and tech artist on Gothic 1–3, Risen 1–3, and ELEX 1&2.
