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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing
Active Fungus Studios · Published by Active Fungus Studios · Official site ↗
Content notice: Alcohol, Fistfights, Explicit Language, Blood, Death.
Very Positive — 88% positive (95 reviews) · 49 achievements
Last updated 27 Sept 2026
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.
£16.99
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Price history
Adventure, RPG · 2025 · More £15 - £30 games
Explore a town shrouded in secrets as you investigate a mysterious death and uncover eerie telegraph signals. Navigate the complex web of lies and hidden dangers with each step in this immersive adventure-RPG from Active Fungus Studios.
About this game
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 detection: 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?
What's new in The Ebbing compared to its predecessor, A Bavarian Tale?
More detective work
With the revised Detective Sweep, you can make sure that you haven't overlooked anything in a room. You can now also inspect elements and examine them for hidden clues, just as you can find important clues inside furniture.
Combination and number puzzles
Some information is hidden behind tricky combination and number puzzles. In The Ebbing, it's no longer just your interpersonal skills that are required in dialogs with NPCs, but also your deduction skills.
Improved stealth mechanics
We've completely overhauled our stealth mechanics for The Ebbing and developed some very nice quests around them that will hopefully keep you on the edge of your seat.
Tailor your game experience to your needs
There are different modes in The Ebbing that allow you to experience the game exactly the way you want to.
In story mode, the quest log will give you plenty of clues as to what you need to do next to solve the case. It is ideal for people who simply want to immerse themselves in the story and solve exciting puzzles. You can now significantly simplify our dice skill checks or even switch them off completely to get even more involved in the story.
The detective mode gives you fewer clues in the quest log and you are responsible for writing down your findings and not losing track of them. Who have you already questioned? What information are you missing? This mode is for hardcore detectives.
If you have to sneak past enemies, you can also adjust the stealth difficulty. This also allows you to set how thrilling these parts of the game are. If you get scared easily (and don't like it), this setting is basically your tension regulator.
Roadmap for Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing
We're continuously working on Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing and look forward to your reports via Steam and our Discord server. This is our roadmap for the following months:
Controller Support
Steamdeck Support
Improvement of the Beta Language Versions
Porting for XBox
Porting für PS 5
Platt voice overs
Upgrade to Unreal 5.5
Funded by nordmedia – Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen mbH.
funded by FFF Bayern.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: AMD 1600X / Intel i5 3rd Gen
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Radeon RX 590 / GeForce GTX 1660
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 23 GB available space
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: AMD 3600X / Intel i7 6th Gen
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Radeon 5700 XT / GeForce 2070 Super
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 23 GB available space
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Language Update CL#10408
With this update, we’re expanding language support: In addition to German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish, the game is now available in Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and Chinese. We’ve also achieved further performance improvements for an even smoother gameplay experience. The translations were machine-generated and manually corrected where possible. Unfortunately, we don’t have a native speaker for every language on our team – so we truly appreciate it if you report any translation errors. We will make sure to correct them and include fixes in future patches. Build Version 10408 This update contains various improvements and fixes. Gameplay & AI Reworked NPC and monster locomotion for smoother movement and more reliable pathfinding. Fixed guard behavior so patrols and reactions are more consistent. Improved animation system stability; refactoring for thread safety reduces hitches in busy scenes. Updated the in-game time actor for more consistent timing. UI & Navigation Improved controller/keyboard navigation in the Main Menu and Settings screens. Adjusted menu focus behavior to prevent unwanted auto-selection when opening menus. Localization Added Chinese language support. Expanded and updated Asian localizations. Filled in missing Polish translations. Restored missing Russian strings. New languages are now properly packaged and selectable. Fonts & Text Rendering Fixed missing characters in Asian fonts to ensure complete text display. General font updates and asset reorganization to improve consistency across languages. Online & Plugins Updated the online services plugin to enhance connectivity and future compatibility. Streamlined plugin structure to make future updates smoother. Disabled the Savefile Editor plugin in shipping builds. Technical Improvements Significant internal content synchronization and cleanup to support faster, more reliable releases. Improved internal plugin update tooling and developer menus. Variou...Read full article on Community Announcements (TadDancer)Patch NotesOfficial
Small after-release patch
Localization UpdateRead full article on Community Announcements (TadDancer)Patch NotesOfficial
🎉 Major Update 10338 🎉 – Controller Overhaul & Much More
Dear Community, we want to thank you all for the incredible amount of valuable feedback you’ve shared with us over the past months – and especially for your patience. We know it took us a bit longer this time to release a new update. The reason is that we’ve been working deep in the core of the game, completely overhauling essential systems. Because of this, we weren’t able to ship smaller interim updates along the way – which makes us all the more excited to finally deliver this big, polished update to you now! Highlights include a complete overhaul of controller support, noticeable performance improvements, and plenty of visual upgrades. We’ve also added a brand-new in-game feedback system: just hit F6 at any time to submit your feedback, with or without screenshots. Your input goes straight into our project management system, which helps us receive and process it faster and more efficiently than before. As always, you can find all the details in the Patch Notes: --- Build Version 10338 This patch includes various improvements and fixes. Gameplay Fixed a rare level-up bug and a save issue that could lose progress. Interactions are now correctly disabled during cutscenes, and sprinting no longer triggers interactions by accident. Death now returns you to the Main Menu. Time-of-day adjustments: game starts during the day; night lighting reduced; multiple fixes to sky/time-of-day behavior. Drinking game with Fiete and the “Twister Sisters” achievement now work reliably. Fixed an issue where the player could shrink after sleeping on a bench. Improved fall/kill volumes to reduce unintended deaths and respawns. Buff system: improved handling in skill checks; new and clearer buff/debuff icons; brightness and tinting corrected. Controls & UI Full controller support polish: inventory, trading, inspection, and dialogues are fully navigable with gamepads. Added controller deadzone setting; fixed controller drift. Navigation and focus reworked across Settings, Load/Save, Skil...Read full article on Community Announcements (TadDancer)AnnouncementsOfficial
Inspector Schmidt investigates at sea – now with 15% off!
Set on the rugged shores of the German North Sea in 1870, Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing plunges you into a tense investigation full of secrets, suspicion, and the salty sting of the sea air. Will you uncover the truth in a town that hides more than it reveals?🕵️♂️ Now 15% off during the "Games Forged in Germany" Steam Event – don’t miss out! Whether you're new to the inspector’s world or already a fan of A Bavarian Tale, this standalone story welcomes all curious minds.👉 And while you're here: explore more fantastic titles featured in the event! https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Games-Forged-in-GermanyEnjoy the mystery, Your Active Fungus TeamP. S. Our new survival settlement-builder "Medieval Frontiers" is featured in the "Games Forged in Germany" showcase. Anyone up for a journey to the Middle Ages shouldn't miss the new free playtest: Medieval Frontiers bei SteamRead full article on Community Announcements (Linnaea Borealis)AnnouncementsOfficial
An Investigation of Our Own: Your Opinion on Inspector Schmidt
"The Ebbing" is the recently released second installment in the "Inspector Schmidt" series. In this short survey, we’d like to ask you about your experience with one or both of the games ("The Ebbing" and/or "A Bavarian Tale") and hear your thoughts on various aspects. It won’t take long – and you have our sincere thanks for taking the time! Take our survey! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44357469/c1e7c2893d5390ce5f2ba04037b0fb38fb56fda7.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44357469/f93a57cf37d2f0e619518a5f0103a8868f2f72a0.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44357469/1d41a54b78dc8c1c575db0f699ba5c9e142006a9.pngRead full article on Community Announcements (Linnaea Borealis)
