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Cyberwave, also known as DoubleBee, is a small independent game development studio based in Essen, Germany. Cyberwave is the developer of Solarpunk and works with rokaplay as publisher. The team is notably compact, described as consisting of just one or two core developers.

Team

The studio operates with a very small headcount. One of the team members, an artist known as Ben, has been identified in development communications. The description of the studio as "one of two developers" suggests that Solarpunk is largely the work of a couple of people, though they may contract additional help for specific tasks. This small-team approach is consistent with the indie development model used for their other projects.

Technology

Cyberwave builds their games using Unreal Engine 5. Solarpunk uses UE5 for its floating island environments, weather systems, and first-person gameplay. The engine choice enables the visual quality visible in the Steam Next Fest demo, which impressed players enough to reach the top 5 most-downloaded demos during the February 2025 event.

Other games

Before Solarpunk, Cyberwave developed A Game About Digging A Hole, a straightforward game about, as the title states, digging a hole. Key facts about this title:

• Sold over 1 million copies

• Topped the Steam top sellers list

• Was developed in approximately 14 days during a holiday period

• Priced at $5

The success of A Game About Digging A Hole demonstrated Cyberwave's ability to find a large audience with a simple, well-executed concept. Solarpunk represents a significantly more ambitious project in scope, with its multi-island world, energy systems, multiplayer, and years-long development timeline.

Solarpunk milestones

Development approach

Cyberwave communicates regularly with the player community through rokaplay's social media channels. Development updates cover progress on specific systems like animal AI rewrites, drone reworks, and multiplayer stability. The studio's approach to delayed multiplayer (pushing it back from November 2025 to a January 2026 closed beta) indicates a preference for stability over meeting arbitrary deadlines.