Fancy Factory

Factsheet

Developer:
Fancy Factory
Based in Arnstadt, Thuringia, Germany

Release date:
2027 (in development)

Platforms:

Website:
fancy-factory.com/operation-backstab

Description

OPERATION BACKSTAB is a Cold War spy duel in charming low-res pixel art. Berlin, the 1980s: somewhere in a labyrinthine building lie the top-secret documents — and two intelligence agencies want them. An agent from the East and an agent from the West race through procedurally generated rooms, rifle through cabinets and desks, and rig doors and furniture with an arsenal of nasty traps for their rival. When both spies end up in the same room, the submachine guns do the talking. Play the split-screen couch duel against a friend, take on a cunning AI agent solo, or go head-to-head across two machines — via null-modem serial link on the Commodore Amiga, or online on Steam. Featuring a brand-new original soundtrack by Chris Huelsbeck (Turrican, The Great Giana Sisters, Apidya, Katakis), with the authentic Amiga version converted to ProTracker MOD format by longtime Huelsbeck collaborator Fabian Del Priore. Developed natively for the Commodore Amiga and coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. Currently in development — release planned for 2027, with a Kickstarter campaign and premium boxed Amiga edition to follow.

History

OPERATION BACKSTAB is inspired by the spirit of 16-bit action games of the 1980s — but it is neither a remake nor a clone. It's a brand-new interpretation of a classic gameplay concept, built with fresh ideas, original art, and a unique identity. The game runs in authentic low-resolution pixel art using the classic 128-color AGA palette of the Amiga 1200, with a separate 32-color version for the original Amiga 500. Two spies, one mission: find the documents and get out — whatever the cost. Search rooms, set traps, remember where you put them (or blow yourself up), and settle scores with a burst of submachine-gun fire when the two agents cross paths. Whether you're a retro enthusiast, a pixel-art lover, or simply someone who enjoys a bit of schadenfreude, OPERATION BACKSTAB offers a nostalgic yet thoroughly modern experience.

At its heart, OPERATION BACKSTAB is a two-player game, and it lets you play it the way you like. The classic split-screen couch duel puts both agents on one screen — schadenfreude guaranteed, friendships optional. On the Commodore Amiga, the game goes a step further: connect two Amigas with a null-modem serial cable and each player gets their own machine and their own screen, just like the LAN parties of the early '90s — a feature rarely seen in new Amiga releases. On Steam, the same head-to-head mode is available as online multiplayer, so you can backstab your rival across the internet. And if no rival is around, a cunning AI agent with scaling difficulty is always ready to take you on in solo mode, with local high scores to prove who is the better spy.

The exclusive new original soundtrack comes from Chris Huelsbeck — the composer whose music defined the sound of the Amiga generation through Turrican, The Great Giana Sisters, Apidya, and Katakis. As with Fancy Factory's KABOOMANIA, the score ships in two technically distinct versions of the same composition: a fully produced version for the modern release on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, and an authentic Amiga rendition in the classic ProTracker MOD format, working directly with the original sound chips of the Amiga 500, Amiga 1200, and CD32. The hardware-faithful conversion is handled by Fabian Del Priore (Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Giana Sisters DS) — a longtime Huelsbeck collaborator whose own composing career started in the early '90s on the Amiga 500 and who today is a regular contributor to the celebrated Immortal Amiga remix compilations. The result: OPERATION BACKSTAB sounds period-perfect on a real Amiga, and cinematic and contemporary on a modern console.

OPERATION BACKSTAB is being developed using the Scorpion Engine, a modern toolchain that allows native development for original Commodore Amiga hardware. From this Amiga foundation, the game is being ported and expanded for modern platforms in parallel, ensuring that every visual detail and gameplay nuance translates faithfully across all versions. Following the successful Kickstarter for KABOOMANIA, Fancy Factory will launch a Kickstarter campaign for OPERATION BACKSTAB featuring a premium physical boxed edition for the Commodore Amiga — a deliberate nod to the era when games came in real boxes, with real manuals, on real disks. Release is planned for 2027.

Features

• Cold War spy duel: two agents, East vs. West, one set of top-secret documents
• Split-screen couch duel for two players — schadenfreude guaranteed, friendships optional
• Two-machine multiplayer: null-modem serial link on the Commodore Amiga, online multiplayer on Steam
• Solo mode against a cunning AI agent with increasing difficulty
• Traps, tricks, and deceit — rig doors and furniture with a whole arsenal of nasty surprises
• Submachine-gun showdowns when the two agents meet in the same room
• An infinite number of procedurally generated levels — no two missions are alike
• Local high scores — prove you're the better agent
• Exclusive new soundtrack by Chris Huelsbeck (Turrican, Giana Sisters, Apidya, Katakis) across all platforms
• Authentic Amiga rendition in ProTracker MOD format by Fabian Del Priore (Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, longtime Huelsbeck collaborator)
• Authentic low-res pixel art in 128 AGA colors (with a separate 32-color version for the Amiga 500)
• Coming to Commodore Amiga 500/1200/CD32, PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch
• Premium physical boxed edition for Commodore Amiga collectors via Kickstarter

OPERATION BACKSTAB Credits

Axel Friedrich
Game Design & Programming

Chris Huelsbeck
Original Soundtrack Composition

Fabian Del Priore
Amiga ProTracker MOD Conversion (longtime Huelsbeck collaborator; Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Giana Sisters DS)

Richard Yaxley
Pixel Art & Graphics

Contact

Press Inquiries
axel@fancy-factory.com

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x.com/fancyfactory

Facebook
facebook.com/fancyfactorygames

Web
fancy-factory.com