Press Kit: Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing

Fact Sheet

Developer:
Active Fungus Studios GmbH, München

Release Date:

07.04.2025

Platform:
PC

Languages: DE/EN

Website | Steam Page

Logos

Description

In this detective RPG, you untangle a thick web of intrigues, lies, and secrets that surround a mysterious death. Find the origin of eerie telegraph signals, question the villagers, decipher the strange symbols that are suddenly appearing all over town – and hide from the danger lurking in the moor.

The sudden death of Bente Hansen shakes the picturesque seaside town of Havstedt. The townspeople are in turmoil: Who murdered him? What is the story behind the mysterious symbols in the town and – is there really a brutal beast lurking in the moor?

Uncover the truth behind the sea of lies and reveal the dark secrets of the inhabitants of Havstedt – without being targeted yourself.

Gameplay

Explore the open world: Move freely around a coastal town in 1870 and search for clues.

Lead exciting dialogues: Use the dialogue mechanic to question the residents, gather compelling information and find out who is hiding something.

Start a confrontation: Question the suspects and catch the perpetrators

Search for clues: Use your detective sense to find hidden evidence.

Crack exciting puzzles: Use hidden clues and, above all, your wits to find important information.

Evade detedction: Slip into forbidden areas and survive the dangers of the moor – getting caught is not an option!

Pass the skill checks: Use your abilities in classic pen and paper skill checks (dice rolls).

Level up: Develop your character and decide which skills you want to improve.

Craft useful items: Gather resources and build items and consumables to improve your skills.

Make difficult decisions: Your actions affect the course of the story. Decide for yourself how you want to succeed: Through charisma, diplomacy, … the mission is clear: crack the case!

Setting

The year is 1870 and the first functioning transatlantic telegraph cable has just been put into operation, heralding a new era of communication between the USA and Germany. Industrialisation and social movements are gaining momentum – and with it, critical discourse and conflict among the population. And then there is the Franco-Prussian War which worries people: nobody wants to be drafted.

Story

Valentin Schmidt, a young civil servant, just wants to spend his well-deserved holiday on the North Sea. After an eventful boat voyage, he finally arrives in picturesque Havstedt – but then events take a turn for the worse: Bente Hansen’s body is found at the telegraph station.

Valentin’s holiday seems to be over … unless he uncovers the culprit and ensures safety in Havstedt again. However, he soon realises that every faction of the idyllic little town harbours its own dark, strange secrets. Who – or what – has Bente Hansen on their conscience?

Will you be able to get to the bottom of the sinister happenings in Havstedt?

Gameplay-GIFs

Screenshots

Coverage of Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing

About Active Fungus

Active Fungus Studios is an indie game developer studio from Munich founded in 2020. Under the direction of Jakob Braun, founder and CEO, the small but powerful team of 20 employees develops first and third-person games and focuses on these core competences:

Realistic graphic style
In-depth stories and branching narratives with player agency
Construction, simulation and management gameplay in a first-person perspective
Survival mechanics
Serious games
Historical settings
Unreal Engine 5

Active Fungus Studios develops computer games as experiences that not only entertain players, but also immerse them in the subject matter and provoke thought. The games enable players to take on different perspectives and to experience and understand conflicts from different angles.

One of Active Fungus Studios’ aims is to use computer games to draw attention to social issues. The focus is on historical events whose effects can still be felt today.

As a remote company, Active Fungus Studios values flexible working conditions that make it possible to integrate talented professionals regardless of their location. The company values that all team members encourage each other to contribute ideas, feedback and improvements and participate in the decision-making process.

Active Fungus Studios released the game ‘Inspector Schmidt – A Bavarian Tale’ in February 2023 and made a first impression in the German gaming community: the game won the GDD Indie Award 2024 for ‘Best Story’. The release with 83% positive reviews on Steam opened doors for new projects and enabled a strong expansion of the team from 3 developers in 2020 to 20 team members until today.

Currently Active Fungus Studios is working on three projects:

Inspector Schmidt – The Ebbing

A playable mystery thriller. In this story-driven third-person RPG, you solve a murder case on the North Sea coast in 1870, where the first telegraph cable between the North American and European continents has just been installed. It is the second title in the ‘Inspector Schmidt’ series.

Medieval Frontiers

A first-person survival and village-building simulator set in the Middle Ages.

STRESS

A serious game designed to train medical personnel in high-stress triage situations such as disasters and terrorist attacks, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Contact

Do you have questions, requests or ideas for your reporting? Our PR contacts Jakob Braun and Julia Bencker are there for you and will be happy to put you in touch with the right people from our team for your topic. If you report about us, we would be delighted to receive a link or a digital specimen copy.

Jakob Braun
CEO

Mail: presse@activefungus-studios.de

Julia Bencker
Communication

Mail: presse@activefungus-studios.de

Credits

Jakob Braun
Executive Producer, Creative Lead, Game Design, Programming

Sebastian Theuerkorn
Technical Director

Emil Richters
Programming, User Interface / User Experience

Sarah Roth
Gameplay, Narrative & Quest Design, Story Writing

Cory Call
Story & Dialogue Writer, Editor

Lars Brockob
Quest Design, Story Writing, Voice Recording

Julia Bencker
Story Outline & Writing, Communication, Voice Recording & Editing

Olivia Falke
Narrative Design, 2D & 3D Art

Hanna Metelmann
Lead Character Design, 2D Art

Sina Herzberg
Character Design, 2D & 3D Art

Joe Eder
Character Design

Katharina Borgs
Key Art & 2D Art

Helena Nollau
2D & 3D Art

Mark Meltser
3D Art

Dominik Teichert
Animation

Bastian Zechmeister
Animation

Paul Becker
Programming

Tristan Blaukat
Tech-Art, Environment & Level Design

Yasmin Ottenheimer
Tech-Art, 3D Art

Alexander Büttner
Environment Design

Christian Kuchta
Environment Design

Emilio Albrecht
Environment Design

Sonja Hansig
Environment Design

Marvin J. Seymour
Sound Design, Field & Foley Recording, Voice Recording & Editing

Maru
Music Composer

Ludwig Drexler
Music Composer

Niko Gindler
Voice Recording & Editing

Voice Actors (Demo)

Cory Call: Nils Hansen, Crowd People

Hanna Metelmann: Kirsten van Groot

Heike U./schmorfiosi: Crowd People

Jakob Braun: Arvid Harms

Julia Bencker: Narrator

Kirsty Romanek: Crowd People

Lotta Braun: Marje Hansen

Mathias Förster: Bente Hansen

Sara Ann Troxell: Leevke Hansen

Sebastian Theuerkorn: Joost Schepler