Investor briefing · October 2026

A darkly comic active idle game with roguelite progression.

Convicts push a giant millstone to make electricity for the Company. The player is the unseen hand above the yard, and the mouse cursor is the tip of a whip. Meet a quota that rises every midnight, keep thirty prisoners alive, and one day dig them all out through a tunnel under the beds.

Watch the trailer Press kit

Fact sheet

Genre: Active idle · roguelite · management
Platform: Windows PC, Steam (App ID 5502120)
Engine: Unity 6 (URP)
Session: ~100-minute runs, 8-minute in-game days
Languages: 10 at launch
Status: Core game built, in polish
Release: Early December 2026 (target)
Developer: Barsplay

01 · Summary

A whip, a quota and a way out

BARSPLAYExecutive summary

The hook

Idle games usually ask you to watch. Overspin asks you to crack the whip. The mill turns on its own, the whip makes it turn faster, and every lash costs a prisoner a little health. It reads in a single GIF: a striped convict, a brass gauge in the red, a whole crew thrown off its feet.

Why now

Idle and incremental games became one of Steam's top-five genres among real hits in 2025 (27 of the 608 games that passed 1,000 reviews). Paid idlers selling an estimated 100k+ copies doubled from 12 in 2024 to 24 in 2025. The genre is crowded at the bottom and thin at the top, where production value and a clear hook win.

What makes it different

Three of Steam's strongest genres in one loop: idle, roguelite and management.
A painted 3D steampunk look and a ragtime score, against a 2D and pixel-art majority.
A clear win condition: every run is won by an escape tunnel, so idling has a destination.
Thirty written characters with crimes, traits and record notes, in ten languages from day one.

Where we are

The core game is built and playable end to end: 27 upgrade lines with 213 hand-built model tiers, a 156-node meta tree, the escape, the Great Escape finale and Endless Mode, 33 Steam achievements and Steam Cloud. The remaining work is polish, balance from play-tests and the Steam launch.

Launch and partners

Overspin targets an early-December 2026 launch on Steam. We are open to investment and publishing partnerships for the launch and beyond.

30prisoners with crimes, traits and bios

213hand-built 3D model tiers

27upgrade lines

156Company Archive meta nodes

~100minutes per run

10languages at launch

33Steam achievements

14ragtime tracks, public domain

02 · The game

Save the day. Win the run. Finish the game.

Save the day

Meet the Company's electricity quota before midnight. Miss it once and tomorrow is a penalty day; miss that too and the executioner walks in.

Win the run

Dig a tunnel under the beds after every shift. The run is won the moment the prisoners get past the outer wall.

Finish the game

After five escapes, the Company Archive unlocks the Great Escape: a final run in which the whole surviving crew walks out.

Player fantasy

Start with one prisoner pushing one stone. Grow it into a sprawling steam-and-electric plant with wind vanes, batteries, hamster wheels, pedal dynamos, rowing machines and steam pistons. Then shut it all down and lead everyone to freedom.

Who the player is

Not a guard, not a prisoner, not the Company. An invisible will looking down on the yard. Prisoners die, are executed or escape; the player stays. That is the story reason progress carries from run to run.

Tone

The humour comes from corporate politeness colliding with crude slang. The Company's director, J. Bounderby, writes polite, emotionless letters. The black-market dealer at the other end of the pipe is rude and brief. The executioner never speaks.

“Dear valued employee Blind Dork, it has been determined that you slept during working hours. Thank you for your understanding.”

Crude language is allowed. Nothing in the game demeans any ethnic, religious or other group.

03 · Core loop

Four clocks, one stone

Overspin runs on four time scales at once. Each one has its own decisions and its own payoff.

Seconds

Crack and push

Click near a prisoner and he takes steps on his push arm. Ten steps make one turn of the stone, and every turn is electricity. Push too fast and the pressure needle climbs toward Overspin.

8 minutes

A day

A directive in the morning, a 6-minute shift, meals and an evening task at 20:00, and the quota count at midnight.

~100 minutes

A run

The quota climbs every day. Hire, upgrade, smuggle and dig. Escape wins the run; a dead main prisoner or an execution ends it.

Across runs

The Company Archive

Every run pays commendations for a 156-node meta tree. Each escape makes the next tunnel longer, until the Great Escape and Endless Mode.

One day in the yard

One game hour is 30 real seconds at 1× speed. Speed controls run at 1×, 2× and 3×, and the game saves at the start of every night.

MorningPlayer-paced

Weather report, a capsule with three Company directives (pick one), job applications and mail.

Shift08:00–20:00

Whip, build, assign prisoners, turn the smuggling valve. Passing the quota pays an instant +25% bonus.

Evening20:00–24:00

Prisoners walk to eat and drink, then rest, work overtime, dig the tunnel or roll cigarettes.

Midnight00:00

Quota count, penalty or execution, promotions, and smuggled power paid out in cigarettes.

NightPlayer-paced

The Night Ledger: orders, perk choices and a game of dice for cigarettes.

04 · Systems

Everything the yard runs on

Millstone and push arms

One stone and one arm at the start. Arms are bought one by one up to six; gearbox, dynamo and pressure valve are bought, placed and wired to the mill.

1 → 6 arms

The whip

Ten rigged 3D whips follow the cursor with simulated lash physics, from a plain leather whip to the Company Tesla whip. Every crack costs energy and a little health.

10 whip tiers

Overspin pressure

Spin faster and a steam gauge climbs. A bonus band just below the red pays +50% per turn; at the end of the scale the whole crew falls off the arms.

+50% bonus band

Quota and the Company

The quota follows the player's pace and ratchets to at least 80% of yesterday's delivery. Meeting it early pays a bonus; missing it twice brings the executioner.

Shown on a split-flap board

Needs and health

Energy, hunger, thirst and health. Prisoners walk to the food and water you build, sleep in your beds (or on the sand), limp to the infirmary when hurt and die if neglected.

4 needs, daily rations

Weather and wear

Five weather types change wind, thirst and visibility. Storms throw lightning at the machinery; parts wear down and need oil or a paid repair.

5 weather types

The Company Catalog

A 1900s mail-order book with eleven tabs. Every line climbs through hand-built model tiers; promotions open new pages.

27 lines · 213 tiers

Yard building

Structures are placed on the yard grid and can be moved any time except during the midnight count. Power cables route themselves around them.

Instant construction

Generator stations

Hamster wheel, pedal dynamo, rowing machine and steam piston. Each archetype works its matched machine at ×1.5; prisoners pedal, row and crank with full-body IK.

4 machines

Wind and batteries

Wind vanes on the walls produce with the weather. Batteries store the surplus and can cover a missed quota at midnight.

4 wall slots

Black market

A rusty smuggling valve siphons power off the Company line. At midnight it pays out in cigarettes, which buy contraband, stolen gear and a game of dice.

29 contraband items

The escape tunnel

Under the beds, six layers of earth, rock, groundwater and sewer down to the wall foundation. Tools go from a rusty spoon to a bootleg steam drill.

6 layers · 110 m

Hiring and the registry

Three applicants every morning, in a fixed encounter order, so every run introduces someone new. The Prisoner Registry persists between runs.

3 applicants a day

Perks

Prisoners gain experience by working. At levels 3, 6 and 9 the player picks one of two perk cards, or pays to redraw.

32 perks

Directives

Each morning management offers three directive cards, each with a benefit and a cost. One must be chosen.

20 directives

Equipment

Every prisoner owns shoes, gloves and a belt, each with four tiers: faster pushing, Overspin tolerance and less fatigue.

3 slots × 4 tiers

Great Escape and Endless

The finale is a special run in which every living prisoner escapes. After it, Endless Mode removes the tunnel and lets the quota climb forever.

Record day tracked

Onboarding

An 11-step orientation teaches whipping, building, smuggling and digging. New players understand the escape loop within about 15 minutes.

~15 minutes

Directive	Benefit	Cost
Efficiency Week	Coupon reward tripled	Quota +30%
Long Shift	Bonus coupons (20% of today's quota)	The shift runs to 22:00; free time is shorter
Water Restriction	Prisoner hiring at half price	Water facilities do not run today
Overturned Truck	Black market and Escape prices −30%	Food facility gives 30% less
Company Picnic	Food and water facilities give 50% more	Quota +15%
Gentle Whip Week	Whipping costs half the energy	Push arm speed −15%
Zero Tolerance	Coupon bonus (30% of today's quota)	Missed-quota penalty 25% heavier
Wind Sold	Coupons +15%	Wind vanes produce nothing today

Eight of the twenty directives, with their in-game text.

05 · The prisoners

Thirty convicts, five archetypes

Every prisoner has an inmate number, a crime, five stats from 1 to 5, a trait of his own and a record note. They arrive in a fixed encounter order that rotates through the archetypes, so every run introduces someone new.

BruteHeavy-set personnel. High power, high appetite. Meal costs should be planned accordingly.

RuntLight-framed personnel. Low power, low consumption. Runs for long on minimal upkeep.

GeezerSenior personnel. Weak on his own; his contribution to the crew is noteworthy.

EngineerTechnical personnel. Adds value to the company in machinery and efficiency.

RookieNew personnel. Recovers fast, burns out fast. Inexperience is no excuse.

Archetype	Matched machine (×1.5)	Prisoners
Brute	Rowing Machine	Dry Ass, Drooly Dave, Breadhead, Cauliflower Carl, Dishwater, Blind Stump
Runt	Hamster Wheel	Scraps, Suck-Up, Sewer Rat, Creep, Hunger Strike, Sticky Fingers
Geezer	Pedal Dynamo	Old Fart, Blabbermouth, Moldy, Mush Mouth, Old Coot, Loony Gramps
Engineer	Steam Piston	Blind Dork, Greasy Screw, Butt Crack, Crispy, Short Circuit, Smartass
Rookie	None: ×1.0 everywhere	Snotface, Wild Calf, Tick, Peach Fuzz, Punk, Broke-Ass

Hire: 125 coupons

Dry Ass

No. 0417

BruteBest on: Rowing Machine

CrimeDrained a municipal fountain single-handedly, in one gulp.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

The strongest in the crew, but the fastest to get thirstyPower ×1.15

RECORD NOTEBorn in a salt mine; his first word was 'water', his second 'more bloody water'. A childhood hauling salt sacks left him arms like sledgehammers and a throat like a desert. The day he drained the town fountain three neighbours fainted and one never got up again. THE COMPANY has issued him a personal bucket; anyone caught pissing in it will be dealt with by him, not us.

Personal contraband: Smuggled water flask (10 cigarettes). Dry Ass's thirst doesn't drop for a whole day.

Hire: 30 coupons

Scraps

No. 0666

RuntBest on: Hamster Wheel

CrimeLived in a trash can and never paid the city rent.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

The cheapest in the crew

RECORD NOTESpent his life in a council bin and never paid a penny of rent; when the bailiffs finally tipped it out, two previous tenants came with him, in bones, whom he introduced as 'flatmates'. Stomach and muscles have both shrivelled: one potato peel lasts him three days, and he pushes with all the vigour of a corpse. THE COMPANY proudly lists him as its most cost-effective asset. The smell is extra.

Hire: 60 coupons

Old Fart

No. 0071

GeezerBest on: Pedal Dynamo

CrimeCaused a gas-leak panic at an opera gala.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Reduces the energy drain of nearby inmatesNeighbours tire ×0.8 as fast at work

RECORD NOTEAn eighty-year-old gasworks. At an opera gala he let one go during the interval and emptied the house; the fleeing tenor fell into the orchestra pit and has not sung since, or walked. He barely pushes the arm himself, but the fumes numb his neighbours so thoroughly they forget to get tired. THE COMPANY files this as 'natural anaesthesia'; the duty clerk requested a mask, then a transfer, and was refused both.

Hire: 75 coupons

Blind Dork

No. 0404

EngineerBest on: Steam Piston

CrimeFixed an elevator without glasses; it shot through the roof.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Increases electricity produced per turnElectricity per turn ×1.1

RECORD NOTEHis glasses broke on day one; he has repaired machines by smell ever since. The lift he fixed without them shot up seven floors and out through the roof with three directors aboard: two remain unaccounted for, the third was retrieved from a flagpole. Average muscle, but he can sniff out exactly where the dynamo leaks, so every turn he makes gives more juice. THE COMPANY considered promoting him, then remembered the lift.

Personal contraband: Spare glasses (12 cigarettes). Blind Dork's power bonus doubles for a day.

Hire: 100 coupons

Snotface

No. 0615

RookieBest on: Any machine (×1.0)

CrimeRuined three museum paintings with a single sneeze.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

The fastest recovery in the crewSleep recovery ×1.15

RECORD NOTENineteen, and his nose has run since birth; the midwife's first words were 'fetch a hanky'. He ruined three museum paintings with a single sneeze, and one critic called the result 'an improvement'. He's snoring the instant his head hits the pillow and fresh as a baby within the hour; nobody bounces back faster. But even sniffing all day leaves him hungry, thirsty and knackered, and the rest of us queasy.

Hire: 125 coupons

Drooly Dave

No. 1123

BruteBest on: Rowing Machine

CrimeSabotaged a butcher's window display with drool.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

After overtime, starts the next day at half energyAfter overtime, morning energy is at most 50%

RECORD NOTETwenty years hauling carcasses at the slaughterhouse; the muscle came from there, and so did the smell. Sleeps with his mouth open and wakes in a swamp of his own drool; his bunkmate has twice nearly drowned. Work him overtime and half a man turns up next morning, the other half still dribbling into the pillow. THE COMPANY calls this 'yield loss', Dave calls it 'piss off', and both are correct.

Personal contraband: Sleep mask (10 cigarettes). Drooly Dave's overtime penalty is lifted for that night.

Hire: 75 coupons

Suck-Up

No. 1204

RuntBest on: Hamster Wheel

CrimeDragged a trial out by nine hours complimenting the judge.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Takes no energy penalty from overtimeNo energy penalty from overtime

RECORD NOTEHas stayed late for every arse he ever kissed; overtime doesn't drain him, it perks him up. He complimented the judge for nine hours straight, and the judge doubled the sentence purely to make him stop. Not a muscle on him, below average at everything. He writes THE COMPANY a handwritten thank-you every morning; THE COMPANY burns it unread, and he writes another to thank us for the warmth.

Hire: 50 coupons

Blabbermouth

No. 1776

GeezerBest on: Pedal Dynamo

CrimeTalked an interrogator into resigning.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Boosts everyone's recovery during free timeFrom free time to the shift, everyone sleeps ×1.2

RECORD NOTEOnce his mouth opens it does not shut: the war, his first wife, the winter of '71 and his bunions, most of it bollocks, all in one breath. The interrogator resigned in hour three and in hour six confessed to a murder he hadn't committed, just to be put somewhere quiet. When he starts up in the bunks at night the block is unconscious in five minutes and wakes fresh as a daisy. Useless on the arm; the jaw never stops.

Hire: 95 coupons

Greasy Screw

No. 1440

EngineerBest on: Steam Piston

CrimeGreased the town hall stairs into a slide.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Mill upgrades are cheaperMill upgrades at ×0.85 price

RECORD NOTEEven his sweat smells of machine oil, and a handshake leaves you slippery till Thursday. The morning he greased the town hall stairs, half the council went down them at speed and the chairman broke his neck; that year's election was very quiet. Give him a gear and he'll find the part at half price or unscrew it from somewhere. THE COMPANY calls this thrift, the police call it theft, and the chairman, being dead, calls it nothing.

Hire: 95 coupons

Wild Calf

No. 1987

RookieBest on: Any machine (×1.0)

CrimeRode an escaped bull and chased the mayor.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Power bonus in the first two hours of the shiftPower ×1.5 in the first 2 hours of the shift

RECORD NOTERaised among calves and works like one: for the first two hours of the shift he charges the arm as if to rip it off its pivot, then his tongue's hanging down to his collar. He rode an escaped bull three streets after the mayor; the bull eventually caught the mayor, and he fell off and lost two teeth. Everyone lost something. In fairness to the bull, the mayor was wearing red.

Hire: 95 coupons

Breadhead

No. 0852

BruteBest on: Rowing Machine

CrimeKidnapped 300 loaves from a bakery and demanded ransom.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Shares the bread: nearby inmates get hungry slowerNeighbours get hungry ×0.75 as fast

RECORD NOTEBorn in a bakery, raised in a bakery; even his skull has risen, and the middle is still dough. When the baker refused the ransom for 300 loaves he ate the hostages one by one, which the court found 'cold-blooded'. Dead average in every respect, exactly the mediocrity THE COMPANY adores. His pockets leak crumbs his neighbours quietly nick, so nobody near him starves, and nobody says thank you either.

Personal contraband: Oven-fresh bread (12 cigarettes). Breadhead's bread sharing reaches every inmate.

Hire: 100 coupons

Sewer Rat

No. 0313

RuntBest on: Hamster Wheel

CrimeTunneled through the sewers into a bank vault. The wrong bank.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Gets full energy even from dirty water; digs the tunnel's sewer layer at normal speedGets clean-water energy even from dirty water; digging the sewer doesn't drain extra energy

RECORD NOTETen years living in the sewers; his gut now filters any old shit, and dirty water tastes like a mountain spring to him. He tunnelled for a bank vault, but the sums were off by a word: he came up on a river bank instead, right under a police commissioner eating his lunch. Put a shovel in his hand and he'll dig through the sewer layer like a man coming home. Naturally, to THE COMPANY's knowledge, no inmate ever gets hold of a shovel.

Hire: 75 coupons

Moldy

No. 0540

GeezerBest on: Pedal Dynamo

CrimeAttended own funeral and sold the wreaths.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Gives the whole crew a power bonus on penalty daysOn a penalty day the whole crew gets Power ×1.2

RECORD NOTEDeclared dead three times and turned a profit at all three funerals; he may genuinely have died at the fourth, but nobody fancies checking. Below average at everything, yet when things go to shit he perks right up: on penalty days he bellows 'I've seen worse from inside a coffin, you limp bastards!' and the crew pushes harder out of shame. Something is growing on him. THE COMPANY has elected not to ask.

Hire: 75 coupons

Butt Crack

No. 0707

EngineerBest on: Steam Piston

CrimeStole the taps from 30 homes while 'fixing the plumbing'.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Increases water facility efficiencyWater facility energy ×1.25, power draw ×0.75

RECORD NOTEThirty years a plumber: trousers forever at half-mast, crack forever on duty. He stripped the taps out of thirty homes while 'fixing the plumbing', and not one witness could describe his face, never having seen it. Average muscle, but when he bends over a pipe the water facility gives more for less power. Do not stand behind him while he bends: THE COMPANY accepts no liability, and neither does the infirmary.

Hire: 75 coupons

Tick

No. 0314

RookieBest on: Any machine (×1.0)

CrimeLatched onto a merchant and freeloaded for two years.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Both gain power when another Rookie is nearbyWith a Rookie beside him, both get Power ×1.2

RECORD NOTELatched onto a merchant's back and lived free for two years; when the man went bankrupt and died, he wept harder than anyone at the funeral, having to find a new back. Leave him on his own and he shrivels. Pair him with another rookie and the two show off to each other, both pushing harder. But he burns out fast — he's a bloody tick, he's got no blood of his own.

Hire: 110 coupons

Cauliflower Carl

No. 2306

BruteBest on: Rowing Machine

CrimeKnocked out 88 referees in illegal prizefights.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Cigarette effects last twice as longCigarettes and cigars last ×2

RECORD NOTETwenty years of taking punches in back-alley rings: cauliflower ears, porridge for brains, gets his own name right on the third go. Nicotine wanders into that porridge and can't find the way out, so one cigarette lasts him twice as long. He flattened 88 referees; the last one still takes his soup through a straw. Charges anything in stripes, so keep him well away from the laundry.

Hire: 100 coupons

Creep

No. 1313

RuntBest on: Hamster Wheel

CrimeScared a cemetery night watchman into early retirement.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Power bonus between 20:00 and 00:00Power ×1.4 from 20:00 to 24:00

RECORD NOTESpent years sleeping in coffins by day and robbing graves by night; the clientele never complained, so it was a long career. Sleeps like the dead, wakes fully rested, and after 20:00 he pushes with an enthusiasm that frankly unsettles the night clerk. By day he's half dead, half carcass. The cemetery watchman he frightened into retirement still sleeps with a lamp on and has bought four dogs.

Hire: 75 coupons

Mush Mouth

No. 0088

GeezerBest on: Pedal Dynamo

CrimeTook a hospital soup cauldron hostage.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Can only eat soup, but gets top-facility energy from itGets top-facility energy from soup; no meal energy on soupless days

RECORD NOTELost his last tooth to a stale loaf in 1889 and was the only mourner at its funeral. He has lived on soup ever since: eats little, moves little, pushes less. When he took a hospital soup cauldron hostage the police negotiated for ten hours, until he drank the hostage and the case closed itself. Put soup in front of him and he wrings a five-star canteen's worth out of a single bowl, then licks the bowl.

Personal contraband: Smuggled mush (10 cigarettes). Mush Mouth gets full energy even on days without soup.

Hire: 45 coupons

Crispy

No. 2201

EngineerBest on: Steam Piston

CrimeBlew up the neighborhood three times in three experiments.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Boosts the effect of black market itemsBlack-market item effects ×1.25

RECORD NOTEBurnt off his hair, his eyebrows, two fingers and his common sense doing chemistry in the cellar. He blew up the neighbourhood three times in three experiments; the third time nobody complained, there being nobody left to. Nothing whatsoever in the arms, but hand him black-market goods and he'll stir, boil and add some shit he can't name until they hit far harder — unless they explode.

Hire: 70 coupons

Peach Fuzz

No. 1601

RookieBest on: Any machine (×1.0)

CrimeTried to sneak into a tavern with a fake mustache.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Gains a little power for every day survivedPower +5% per day (up to +50%)

RECORD NOTETwenty-one and not a whisker on him; when he tried to get into a tavern in a fake moustache, the doorman tore it off and threw him down the steps after it. He still keeps it in his pocket. A late bloomer: eats like a wolf, sleeps like the dead, and every day he survives he pushes a little harder. The block bet he wouldn't last the month and loses a bit more every morning.

Hire: 80 coupons

Dishwater

No. 0047

BruteBest on: Rowing Machine

Crime47 cases of food poisoning in the prison kitchen.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Boosts the energy given by food facilitiesFood facility energy ×1.3

RECORD NOTETen years as a prison cook, filling his own gut rather than the pot, which is why he's always first to get peckish. Of the 47 poisonings on his record, nine closed with a funeral; the rest are still in the latrine. THE COMPANY keeps him near the kitchen regardless: the bastard can boil dishwater into slop that keeps a man upright. Do not taste it; nobody tastes it.

Hire: 70 coupons

Hunger Strike

No. 0909

RuntBest on: Hamster Wheel

CrimeStarved 40 days in protest, then forgot the cause.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Lasts twice as long at zero hunger/thirst before dyingSurvives starvation ×2 as long

RECORD NOTEA lifetime of hunger strikes. On day forty he forgot the cause; on day forty-one he remembered it, and learned it had been settled a fortnight earlier and nobody had bothered to tell him. His stomach took the lesson: slow to hunger, slow to thirst, and at zero he refuses to die out of sheer spite, and his muscles are on indefinite strike too. THE COMPANY has noted his demands and used the note in the latrine.

Hire: 60 coupons

Old Coot

No. 1899

GeezerBest on: Pedal Dynamo

CrimeRigged the market scales for fifty years.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Lowers black market pricesBlack-market prices ×0.85

RECORD NOTERan rigged market scales for fifty years; he even had his late wife's coffin measured short to save a farthing, and she lies with her knees bent to this day. He pushes the mill with two fingers, under protest. But once he starts on the black-market dealer, the man knocks the price down himself to make it stop, and has twice paid him to leave. THE COMPANY is unaware of this; if it knew, it would put him in accounts, which is worse.

Hire: 75 coupons

Short Circuit

No. 0220

EngineerBest on: Steam Piston

CrimeWound the Company's electricity meter backwards.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Earns more coupons from electricity delivered to the quotaCoupons from delivered electricity ×1.15

RECORD NOTEPissed on a transformer as a lad, and the transformer won; his hair has stood on end ever since, his left eye twitches and he hums faintly at night. He's here for winding THE COMPANY's meter backwards; he now winds it forwards, every delivery pays out extra coupons, and accounts have celebrated a 'productivity gain'. THE COMPANY hasn't noticed, so keep your bloody mouth shut.

Hire: 105 coupons

Punk

No. 0999

RookieBest on: Any machine (×1.0)

CrimeDrew something rude on the Company sign. Very large.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Very strong by day, but refuses overtimePower ×1.3 on shift; never works overtime

RECORD NOTEMuscled up brawling in the street; on shift he shoves the arm in a rage, picturing the mill as THE COMPANY's face, and the rage burns him out fast. When the hours are done it's 'sod this, I'm off', and the place could burn down behind him. His views on overtime are on THE COMPANY sign in oil paint: very large. Two cleaners fell off the scaffold trying to scrub it off; the drawing remains.

Hire: 100 coupons

Blind Stump

No. 1590

BruteBest on: Rowing Machine

CrimeBroke into the wrong house and stayed three days as a guest.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Energy never drops below 30%

RECORD NOTEBlind as a stump and twice as thick. He broke into the wrong house and stayed three days as a guest; only on the fourth did he notice the host had been dead throughout, which explained the conversation. He can't see how knackered he is, so he never fully collapses; THE COMPANY files this as 'resilience'. He climbs into the wrong bunk nightly, gets thumped, and sleeps like shit.

Hire: 90 coupons

Sticky Fingers

No. 2718

RuntBest on: Hamster Wheel

CrimePickpocketed the police chief's handcuffs.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Small daily chance to bring a free cigaretteEach morning, a 20% chance to bring +1 cigarette

RECORD NOTELong fingers, twiggy arms: barely pushes the mill, never has empty pockets. He lifted the police chief's handcuffs, so when the chief finally caught him he had to ask for them back first, and was told 'what handcuffs?'. Some mornings he wakes with someone else's cigarette in his mouth and someone else's false teeth in his pocket. If THE COMPANY's inventory comes up short, search him, then check your own pockets.

Hire: 70 coupons

Loony Gramps

No. 0203

GeezerBest on: Pedal Dynamo

CrimeMistook city hall for home and put it up for sale.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Every morning one random stat gets +2 and another −1Each morning one stat +2, another −1

RECORD NOTEWakes up a different man every morning: one day an 1862 cavalryman, the next his own unborn grandson, last Tuesday a chair. He mistook the town hall for his house, put it up for sale and received two offers, one of them from the mayor. Hence his stats flap about like pigeons; yesterday's arm-breaker can't hold a spoon today. THE COMPANY is sick to death of refiling this dossier every morning, and he ate yesterday's pen.

Hire: 75 coupons

Smartass

No. 1001

EngineerBest on: Steam Piston

CrimeLectured the judge on law and doubled the sentence.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Speed bonus to all push arms, but everyone's energy drain rises a littleAll arms ×1.15 faster; everyone tires ×1.1

RECORD NOTEKnows everything, particularly your job. He lectured the judge on the law and got his sentence doubled; at the appeal he lectured again, and the judge wept. He fiddled with every push arm and they all turn faster now, but he spends the day droning 'you're doing it wrong' in everyone's ear, so the whole crew tires sooner. Two inmates have tried to strangle him — he corrected their grip.

Hire: 55 coupons

Broke-Ass

No. 0503

RookieBest on: Any machine (×1.0)

CrimeGot run over by own getaway cart.

Power

Consumption

Hunger

Thirst

Recovery

Cheap and strong, but a small daily chance of injury halves power for that dayEach morning, a 10% chance of injury (the infirmary lowers it)

RECORD NOTEGot run over by his own getaway cart; his accomplice felt the bump, turned the horse round to have a look, and ran him over again. Nobody in these files has worse luck. Young, strong and cheap, but some mornings he sprains something just climbing out of his bunk and works at half strength all day. The infirmary is his second home; his first fell down, on him, naturally.

Personal contraband: Double bandage (14 cigarettes). Broke-Ass can't get injured for a week.

The perk pool: 12 general + 4 per archetype

Prisoners earn one experience point per hour worked. At levels 3, 6 and 9 the Staff Development Form offers two cards. Perks belong to the run and are lost if the prisoner dies.

Calloused HandsGeneralPersonal Overspin tolerance +10%: stays down for less time after a fall.

Iron StomachGeneralHunger drops 15% slower.

Quick FeetGeneralPushes 10% faster on his own. Runs before he hears the whip.

Thick WristsGeneralPower +6%: both his own push and his whip steps get stronger. Thick wrists, thin skull.

Sweat SaverGeneralEnergy drains 10% slower while working. Saves even his sweat for the company.

Camel HumpGeneralThirst drops 15% slower. Nobody asks where he keeps the water.

Sleeps Like the DeadGeneralRecovers 15% faster in his sleep. Wouldn't wake for an execution next to him.

Bag of BonesGeneralLasts 40% longer before starving or dying of thirst. There's nothing left of him to eat anyway.

Chain SmokerGeneralCigarette effects last 30% longer. Relights the same butt three times.

BootlickerGeneralGains experience 25% faster. Shiny boots, shiny prospects.

Sewer GutGeneralGets as much energy from dirty water as from clean; the tunnel's old sewer layer doesn't tire him extra. His gut came up through the drains.

InsomniacGeneralEnergy drains 15% slower while working, but he recovers 15% slower asleep. Never blinks on shift, can't shut his eyes in bed.

Iron BackBruteProduces 25% more electricity on the Rowing Machine.

Oar MasterBruteEnergy drops 20% slower on the Rowing Machine.

Bear PawBrutePower +12%, but hunger drops 10% faster. Shoves the stone, licks the plate.

Thick SkullBrutePersonal Overspin tolerance +15%: stays down for less time after a fall. That's not a head, it's concrete.

Wheel RunnerRuntProduces 25% more electricity on the Hamster Wheel.

FeatherweightRuntEnergy drops 20% slower on the Hamster Wheel.

Rat FeetRuntPushes 12% faster on his own. Eats little, scurries a lot.

Dry TwigRuntLasts 50% longer before starving or dying of thirst; thirst drops 10% slower. Dries out, never snaps.

Pedal FiendGeezerProduces 25% more electricity on the Pedal Dynamo.

Steady PaceGeezerEnergy drops 20% slower on the Pedal Dynamo.

Tough Old BirdGeezerHis energy never drops below 15% while his health allows. Too lazy even to die.

Snoring GeezerGeezerRecovers 25% faster in his sleep. His snoring keeps the whole yard awake.

Piston TunerEngineerProduces 25% more electricity on the Steam Piston.

Pressure SenseEngineerEnergy drops 20% slower on the Steam Piston.

Lever MathEngineerPower +8%: both his own push and his whip steps get stronger. Not muscle, physics.

Efficiency FreakEngineerEnergy drains 15% slower while working. Costs out every single movement.

Jack of All TradesRookieLoses no efficiency when switching machines.

Fast LearnerRookieGains experience 50% faster.

Young BloodRookieRecovers 20% faster in his sleep. Youth is the company's renewable resource.

Eager SuckerRookiePushes 15% faster on his own, but energy drains 8% faster while working. Nobody told him to pace himself.

06 · Progression

Upgrades, contraband and the way out

Upgrade lines: from scrap wood to gold plate

Every tier changes the silhouette: overall form, main mechanism or dominant material. The final tier of a corporate line is a gold-brass prestige piece with a laurel medallion and the Company crest; the black-market lines end in bootleg contraptions instead.

Dynamo

**Tier 8**Water-jacketed steam-cooled dynamo

Millstone

**Tier 2**Dressed and furrowed sandstone

**Tier 10**Company-crested gold-brass stone

Steam Engine

Batteries

Bed

**Tier 3**Steam-heated bunk under a metal roof

**Tier 4**Sprung bunk with brass radiator

Hamster Wheel

Steam Drill

Cigarette Bench

Black market

The smuggling valve splits the mill's power between the Company line and a hidden pipe, from 0 to 50%. At midnight the dealer pays three units of electricity for one cigarette, even on a missed day. Cigarettes are both a currency and a boost: a smoke halves energy drain and speeds up pushing.

A fixed shelf, a daily capsule of three random items by rarity, personal items for six prisoners, a cigarette-rolling bench and a dice corner at night.

Rusty spoon

Bent fork

Gas lamp

Powder keg

Fake quota receipt

Bribe envelope

Inspector's outfit

Golden whip tip

Miracle salve

Warden's umbrella

Tunnel map

Cigar

Smuggled coffee

Stolen shoes

The escape

Prisoners on the evening Tunnel task dig from 20:00 to midnight. Any tool opens one digging slot and every Steam Drill tier adds another. One powder keg blasts through the wall foundation. Each successful escape makes the next run's tunnel 20% longer.

Soft soil
Dig speed ×1.2

15 m

Clay
Dig speed ×0.6

20 m

Rock
Dig speed ×0.8 · Needs Steam Drill tier 1

20 m

Groundwater
Dig speed ×0.7 · Thirst ×1.5

20 m

Old sewer
Dig speed ×1.4 · Energy cost ×2

25 m

Wall foundation
Dig speed ×0.5 · Drill tier 6 or a powder keg

10 m

Meta progression

Company Archive: a radial tree of 156 permanent upgrades in six branches (Head Start, Mill, Crew, Black Market, Escape, Grand Plan).
Commendations from every run: days survived and electricity delivered; an escape triples them.
Prisoner Registry: collect all thirty convicts; each first entry pays a bonus.
Turn milestones: permanent production bonuses at 1,000, 10,000 and 100,000 lifetime turns.
Difficulty tiers: every escape lengthens the tunnel, slows digging and raises quota growth.

Promotions within a run

Three successful days in a row earn a promotion by letter. Promotions open the Automation, Generators and Energy pages of the catalog.

Registered Facility
Model Facility
Regional Champion
Pride of the Province
National Model Facility
Apple of the Company's Eye

07 · Art and audio

A sweatshop in sepia and brass

Painted 3D, not cartoon

A TF2-like stylised look drawn from early-20th-century American commercial illustration: readable silhouettes, exaggerated proportions, simple hand-painted textures and sooty surfaces. Rendered with toon shading and strong outlines.

The interface is paperwork

Catalogs, letterheads, rubber stamps, brass plates, pneumatic capsules and punch cards. Every screen is something the Company would print, file or seal.

Silhouette-first tiers

Each model tier differs from the last in form, mechanism or material, and contact points stay in the same place so prisoners can use any tier.

Ragtime and early jazz

Separate menu, day and night playlists of 1900–1920 recordings in the public domain, with CC0 sound effects. No attribution-bound licences.

Prisoner palette

Black-and-cream stripes, pale grey, grey-blue, rust red and earth brown. No green on the prisoners.

Cream stripe
#efe2c2

Soot black
#1f1813

Pale grey
#b9b3a7

Grey-blue
#5b7d9a

Rust red
#a2462a

Earth brown
#6b4a2f

Company brass
#c09146

Oxblood enamel
#8e2a1e

The Company's stationery

A few pieces from the in-game UI kit, all painted to match the 3D render.

08 · Content and technology

By the numbers

30prisoners, 5 archetypes

27upgrade lines

2133D model tiers wired

11catalog tabs

33black-market and escape items

32perks

20directives

156Archive nodes

6tunnel layers

5weather types

4generator machines

33Steam achievements

10languages

14music tracks

42animation clips

~82klines of C#

Technology

Unity 6 with the Universal Render Pipeline: stylised toon shading, strong outlines and particle effects.
Event-driven architecture with no per-frame polling, dependency injection, asynchronous tasks and pooled asset streaming.
All balance and content in one data asset, so tuning needs no code changes.
A localisation pipeline with about 2,100 text keys in ten languages, including CJK fonts.
Steamworks integration: 33 achievements, a progress stat and Steam Cloud for the run and meta saves.
Machine IK: pedals, oars and flywheels are driven by the prisoner's hands and feet.

Languages

English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean.

These ten cover about 89% of Steam users by client language. The trailer and store copy exist in all ten.

Steam features

33 achievements in six groups, three of them hidden
Steam Cloud for run and meta saves
Keyboard rebinding, speed controls, pause on focus loss

09 · Status and roadmap

Where the build stands

Built and playable

Whip, mill, Overspin pressure, quota, penalty day and execution
Needs and health, daily routine with walking to food, water, beds and the infirmary
Catalog with 27 lines, grid placement, power cables and generator stations with IK
Wind, batteries, lightning, wear and repair
Black market, smuggling valve, cigarette bench and dice corner
Escape tunnel with tools, dig slots, layers and powder kegs
Hiring, registry, perks, directives and per-prisoner equipment
156-node Company Archive, Great Escape finale and Endless Mode
Onboarding, main menu, pause, settings and statistics
Music and sound, ten languages, Steam achievements and Cloud
Trailer, store art and screenshots in ten languages

Remaining before launch

Final binding of a few interface screens (promotion badge, black-market drawer, achievements tab, credits)
Balance from play-tests: opening tempo and the escape economy
Remaining art: hat models, shoe and glove meshes, a few props
Company loudspeaker voice-overs and footstep sounds
Steam store page and launch

Milestones reached

Prisoner characters, toon look and the core loop: mill, whip and quota
Upgrade catalog, tier visuals and the day flow
Black market: items, cigarettes, daily capsule, dice
Promotions, wear, automation, generators, perks, tunnel, archive, Great Escape, Endless Mode
Rigged 3D whip cursor with lash physics
All tier models integrated; settings, statistics, pause, onboarding
New yard environment, executioner sequence, Company emblem
Generator stations end to end, perk choice form
Music and sound; economy pass
Localised into ten languages
Steam achievements and Cloud, trailer, store art

Launch plan

Target: the earliest possible Steam launch, in early December 2026, ahead of the Winter Sale.

Now

Publish the Steam store page with the trailer and start collecting wishlists. Steam requires the page to be live at least two weeks before release.

November 2026

Press and creator outreach with the press kit; Steam store and build review.

Early December 2026

Launch on Steam in ten languages with a 10–15% launch discount.

17 Dec 2026 – 4 Jan 2027

Steam Winter Sale: the first seasonal sale after launch.

10 · Market

A booming genre with a thin top

Market data compiled from public sources on 25 October 2026. Sales figures for other games are estimates.

1,005idle-tagged games released on Steam in 2025 (379 in 2023)

24paid idlers passed ~100k estimated copies in 2025 (12 in 2024)

Top 5genre among 2025's games with 1,000+ reviews (27 of 608)

~89%of Steam users covered by Overspin's 10 languages

34%of $9.99–14.99 idlers reached 10k+ copies (8% under $5)

~50klaunch wishlists for the $250k–1M gross tier

Two winning formats

Short, full-screen active incrementals at $3–7 (Nodebuster, Tower Wizard, Bills Must Be Paid) and desktop idlers that run in a strip of the screen (Rusty's Retirement, Bongo Cat). Overspin belongs to the first: it is played full screen, with active input and a clear goal.

Audience

Players of incremental, roguelite and management games on PC: people who enjoy numbers going up but want decisions, a destination and a sense of humour. The hook travels well on social video: a cursor that is a whip, a crew collapsing on cue and a tunnel to freedom read in seconds.

Regions

By client language, Steam is about 34% English, 31% Simplified Chinese and 9% Russian. Asia over-indexes for idle games: Rusty's Retirement made 46% of its sales in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. All of these markets are covered at launch.

Pricing

The research recommends $9.99 (band $8.99–12.99). Among paid idlers, the $9.99–14.99 band has the best hit rate, and comparable deeper games such as Luck be a Landlord and Melvor Idle sit at $9.99. Staying under $10 keeps wishlist conversion near the median.

Wishlists and sales

About 50,000 launch wishlists put an indie in the $250k–1M gross tier and about 90,000 in the $1M+ tier. First-week sales typically run at 15–25% of wishlists, and a game keeps selling through seasonal sales and updates after launch.

Publishing

Publishers are active in the genre (Raw Fury, Jagex, Playstack), but 32 of the top 40 paid idlers since 2023 are self-published.

Comparable titles: incremental and roguelite

Title	Release	Price	Steam reviews	Est. copies	Why it compares
Cookie Clicker	2021	$4.99	94,143 (96%)	3.22M	Genre-defining clicker; long premium tail
Melvor Idle	2021	$9.99	16,362 (90%)	1.41M	$9.99 idle with deep meta, publisher-backed
Luck be a Landlord	2023	$9.99	11,576 (93%)	818k	Roguelite + numbers-go-up at $9.99
Rusty's Retirement	2024	$6.99	14,926 (97%)	698k	Idle + management, 11 languages; disclosed >500k units
The Gnorp Apologue	2023	$6.99	10,020 (95%)	545k	Stylish active incremental, solo developer
Nodebuster	2024	$2.99	14,121 (97%)	431k	The short active incremental template
Tower Wizard	2025	$2.99	9,110 (97%)	448k	2025 breakout incremental
Ballionaire	2024	$12.34	2,764 (84%)	397k	Incremental roguelite with a publisher
Scritchy Scratchy	2026	$6.99	17,489 (94%)	1.53M	Top idler of 2026
Bills Must Be Paid	2026	$6.99	12,934 (97%)	687k	Money-stress satire in a short active incremental

Comparable titles: prison, overseer and satire

Title	Release	Price	Steam reviews	Est. copies	Why it compares
Prison Architect	2015	$29.99	73,919 (89%)	5.0M	Benchmark prison management game
The Escapists	2015	$17.99	16,241 (90%)	1.66M	Prison escape as the win fantasy
Papers, Please	2013	$9.99	80,784 (97%)	5.34M	Dark satire with cruelty as a mechanic
Despotism 3k	2018	$7.99	3,679 (78%)	121k	Closest match: humans exploited for power, dark humour
Cult of the Lamb	2022	$24.99	130,978 (96%)	5.11M	Cute-cruel exploitation + roguelite
Schedule I	2025	$19.99	320,678 (98%)	9.04M	Edgy theme that went viral

Copies are third-party estimates (Gamalytic), not reported sales, and can differ from other methods by 2× or more. Prices are US list prices. Data accessed 25 October 2026.

Sources

11 · Studio

Who is making it

Barsplay

Barsplay is an independent game studio making small worlds you can keep an eye on. Our first PC game, Keepwatch: Idle Kingdom RPG, is an idle auto-battler that lives above the taskbar, with a free demo on Steam. Overspin is our second.

Keepwatch Discord

Team

Batuhan KanburCo-founder, Game Developer

Aysima KanburArt Director

Müzekker KülcüCommunity Manager, Writer

Alperen GönülQA Tester

Burak TuranContent Review

Ali Eren Bilgin3D Artist (freelance)

Emirhan Gönül3D Artist (freelance)

Görkem Berk Ceyhan3D Artist (freelance)

12 · Partners

Working together

Open to partnership

Barsplay is open to investment and publishing partnerships for Overspin's launch and its life after launch. Amounts and terms are discussed directly.

What we can share

A playable build
The full design document
The complete market research behind this page, with sources

Contact

Talk to us

For investment, publishing and partnership enquiries, write to press@barsplay.online.