exDream GmbH
| GmbH | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Video game industry |
| Founded 📆 | 2000 |
| Founder 👔 | |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , , |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | Video games |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | exdream.com |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
exDream GmbH is a German video game developer based in Hanover, Germany. The company is best known for developing the real-time strategy games Arena Wars and Arena Wars Reloaded. Founders Benjamin Nitschke, Leif Griga, Boje Holtz and Karsten Wysk had worked together on computer games since the 1990s. In 2000 they established exDream Entertainment GbR, which was later reorganized as exDream GmbH in 2008.[1]
In 2009, members of the exDream team also founded MobileBits GmbH, a German developer focused on mobile and cross-platform games.[2]
History
Early years
The future founders of exDream had been developing computer games together since approximately 1994.[2]
Among their early projects was the platform game Twork, developed during the mid-1990s. The team subsequently worked on multimedia applications and smaller game projects.[1]
In 2000, exDream Entertainment GbR was founded by Benjamin Nitschke, Leif Griga, Boje Holtz and Karsten Wysk.[1]
The members of the core team specialized in different areas of game production, including programming, graphics, project management and visual effects. Credits for Arena Wars, for example, list Nitschke as a programmer and Griga and Holtz in visual-development roles.[3]
WebWars and WebWars Arena
One of exDream's early projects was WebWars, a two-dimensional online multiplayer game.
In the early 2000s, exDream began developing a three-dimensional successor originally titled WebWars Arena.[1]
A public beta version was released in September 2002. Contemporary reports described the project as an action-oriented 3D multiplayer game using a graphics engine developed by exDream.[4]
The game combined elements of traditional real-time strategy with objective-based modes associated with multiplayer action games, including Capture the Flag, Bombing Run and Double Domination.[5]
Arena Wars
During development, WebWars Arena was renamed Arena Wars.[6]
Arena Wars was released for Microsoft Windows in 2004. The game was developed by exDream and distributed internationally through publishing partners.[3]
Unlike many traditional real-time strategy games, Arena Wars largely eliminated base construction and extensive resource management. Instead, gameplay focused on direct tactical control of a small number of units and objective-based multiplayer matches.[5]
A notable technical feature of the game was its extensive use of C# and Microsoft's .NET Framework. The trade magazine Game Developer discussed Arena Wars in 2004 as an early example of a commercial game developed primarily using C#.[7]
Another innovative feature was the in-game use of a webcam, allowing players to display live video during matches. At the time, this was a highly unusual and forward-thinking feature, and it remains a notable novelty even by today's standards.
Lead programmer Benjamin Nitschke developed technology for the game's graphics and game systems. Game Developer highlighted the relatively compact engine architecture and the use of managed-code technologies at a time when C++ remained dominant in commercial game development.[7]
Awards
Arena Wars received recognition at the German Developer Awards (Deutscher Entwicklerpreis) in 2004.
The game received recognition in categories including:
- Innovation
- Mid-Price Game
The game's combination of real-time strategy mechanics and multiplayer action-game concepts was among its distinctive design characteristics.
Arena Wars Reloaded
In 2007, exDream released Arena Wars Reloaded, an expanded and revised version of the original game.
Credits for the project list Boje Holtz in project management, Benjamin Nitschke as lead programmer and Leif Griga in art development, alongside additional programmers and artists.[8]
Arena Wars Reloaded retained the original game's emphasis on short tactical battles while updating its graphics, maps and other gameplay elements.
Arena Wars 2
The game is the sequel to Arena Wars and combines real-time strategy with elements of action games and role-playing games. Unlike traditional strategy games, the focus is less on base building or resource gathering and more on short battles involving a limited number of units.[9][10]
Public game development project
At the Games Convention in 2007, exDream participated in a public game-development demonstration described as a "transparent development studio".
The team planned to produce a complete small video game during the four days of the convention while visitors observed the development process. Attendees were able to follow stages of production and test intermediate versions of the game.[11]
The project was intended to demonstrate the different disciplines and workflows involved in professional video game development.
Other projects
Following Arena Wars Reloaded, exDream worked on additional video game projects.
One announced project was the vehicular action game Fireburst. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 3 and was planned for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[12]
The company also became involved in mobile and cross-platform game development.
MobileBits
In 2009, Karsten Wysk, Benjamin Nitschke, Leif Griga and Boje Holtz founded MobileBits GmbH.[2]
MobileBits focused more heavily on mobile and cross-platform game development. Its early projects included iSkat and other iPhone applications. The company later developed the Delta Engine and the action role-playing game series SoulCraft.[2]
exDream and MobileBits subsequently operated within the same development environment, with the companies sharing founders, personnel and technology.
Technology
exDream developed proprietary game and graphics technology throughout its history.
WebWars Arena already used an internally developed 3D graphics engine.[4]
For Arena Wars, exDream developed a game engine based extensively on C# and the .NET Framework. The use of managed code for a commercial 3D game was unusual during the early 2000s.[7]
Technology developed by the founders was later continued within MobileBits. This included the Delta Engine, a .NET-based cross-platform game-development framework intended to support multiple desktop and mobile operating systems.
Founders
The original exDream core team consisted of:
- Benjamin Nitschke – programming
- Leif Griga – art and graphics
- Boje Holtz – art and project management
- Karsten Wysk – visual effects, web development and management
The four developers had worked together on games since the 1990s and later jointly founded MobileBits.[2]
See also
- Arena Wars
- Arena Wars Reloaded
- MobileBits GmbH
- SoulCraft
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "exDream company". IndieDB. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "iVentureCapital investiert in Spieleschmiede MobileBits". Deutsche Startups. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Arena Wars". MobyGames. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "WebWars Arena – Beta zum Antesten". Gameswelt. 8 September 2002. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Web Wars Arena – Ascaron vertreibt Echtzeit-Strategiespiel". GameStar. 7 May 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "Arena Wars – So sieht das Cover aus". Gameswelt. 14 June 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "The Future is Smaller in C#" (PDF). Game Developer. September 2004. p. 6. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "Arena Wars Reloaded credits". MobyGames. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSteam - ↑ "Arena Wars 2". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "exDream als gläsernes Entwicklerstudio". Gameswelt. 3 August 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ "exDream Entertainment". 4Gamer. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
Category:Video game companies established in 2000 Category:Video game development companies Category:Video game companies of Germany Category:Companies based in Hanover Category:German companies established in 2000
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