welevel

Welevel is an independent game development studio based in Munich, Germany, founded in 2021 by CEO Christian Heimerl. The studio develops SolidRiver, a triple-A-scale sandbox title combining survival, city-building and RPG elements, built in Unreal Engine 5. Alongside the game, Welevel has developed an in-house AI platform, referred to as CLAI, that powers the game's simulated world and is intended to streamline development for a small team.

The studio's AI work covers world-building, NPC behaviour and quest generation, with the stated goal of NPCs that retain context of in-game actions, form relationships with players and assist with player goals, and of systems for building, trade and resource management that are extended through generative processes. Company statements compare the intended experience to a real-time Dungeons & Dragons dungeon master, with adaptive storytelling in which player choices alter the world, rather than mass generation of assets. Beyond the debut title, the studio has stated plans for user-generated content and expansion into other genres and settings, and says its AI technology could also be useful to other game studios.

Development of the debut project began in 2021. As of the 2025 GamesBeat interview the game was in closed alpha with some players exceeding 100 hours, and early access was scheduled for the beginning of the following year; earlier 2025 coverage placed early access in 2026. The team had grown from roughly 12 people at the time of the seed round to 22, with open roles for Unreal Engine developers and technical artists advertised at welevel.com.

Founding story

Christian Heimerl started Welevel in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, after building and selling earlier technology companies with experience in software development and artificial intelligence. A lifelong gamer who played Ultima Online as a teenager and later logged over 2,000 hours each in Minecraft and Cities: Skylines, and who modded those games, he said he encountered limitations in them and set out to build a survival sandbox at triple-A scale. Having used AI at his previous companies, he concluded that it could let a small team produce games of that scope.

Business model

Welevel is a game development studio producing a premium PC-style title, SolidRiver, planned to enter early access. Its CEO has said the studio builds games driven by passion rather than monetization. It also develops AI technology that the company says could be useful to other game studios.

Traction

The debut project has been in development since 2021. By the time of the SolidRiver announcement the team had grown to 22 people from about 12 at the seed round, the game was in closed alpha with some players past 100 hours, and early access was scheduled for the beginning of the following year. Total funding raised is stated at $15 million.

Latest developments

Welevel unveiled SolidRiver, its city-building survival RPG, together with an $8.5 million funding round led by Transcend, with participation from Bitkraft Ventures, Burda Principal Investments, management of Century Games and support from the German government. The round closed on April 1. The studio was recruiting Unreal Engine developers, technical artists and other roles.