The Skin Stapler Developer: Tainted Pact & Assemble
The Skin Stapler was made by solo developer Tainted Pact and published by Assemble Entertainment. Meet the team behind Carrion City's fifth horror title.
The Skin Stapler was made by Tainted Pact, a solo developer based in the United States, and published by Assemble Entertainment, the German publisher behind Sticky Business, Roadwarden, and the Endzone series. The game launched on August 6, 2026 for Windows PC at 14.99 euros on Steam, and it is the studio's fifth horror title.
The studio and publisher at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Developer | Tainted Pact — solo developer, United States (California) |
| Publisher | Assemble Entertainment — Germany, more than 50 games published |
| Launch | August 6, 2026, Windows PC |
| Launch price | 14.99 euros on Steam |
| Back catalog | Suffer the Night, Terror at Oakheart, Massacre at the Mirage, Flesh Made Fear |
| Official channels | itch.io (taintedpact88) and YouTube (@TaintedPactGames) |
The publisher side is unusually established for a solo horror project: Assemble Entertainment has published more than 50 games since 2016, and its catalog spans cozy hits like Sticky Business, narrative indie work like Roadwarden, and the Endzone survival-strategy series.
Who is Tainted Pact?
Tainted Pact is the solo studio behind five horror games, and the publisher's launch announcement describes the developer as a one-person operation based in California. The studio builds deliberately niche grindhouse horror: short runtimes, PSX-era low-poly visuals, fully voiced casts of content creators, and joke-forward slasher writing.
The studio keeps a small public footprint: an itch.io account under the name taintedpact88, and a YouTube channel at @TaintedPactGames that published Dev Log entries for The Skin Stapler in December 2025 — Dev Log #1 on December 1 and Dev Log #2 on December 2 — documenting the build in public before launch. The studio does not publish founder names or personal details; its public identity is the brand, the games, and the creator collaborations.
The four games before The Skin Stapler
The back catalog is confirmed by both the publisher's announcement and the GOG catalog:
- Suffer the Night — the studio's analog-horror debut built around a haunted retro computer.
- Terror at Oakheart — a camp-set slasher with the same stylized violence.
- Massacre at the Mirage — a hotel-bound slasher with scene-based pacing.
- Flesh Made Fear — the direct predecessor: a serial-killer story with voiced scenes and a grindhouse edge.
Played in order, the catalog shows the format maturing: longer voice work, more polished FMV-style presentation, and increasingly elaborate structure, arriving at The Skin Stapler's 14-chapter, viewpoint-switching Carrion City story. The gameplay guide and the catalog order above are the fastest way to see that evolution if you want more from the same hand.
The publisher: Assemble Entertainment
Assemble Entertainment is a German publisher founded in 2016, with more than 50 published games to its name. Its range is broader than horror: Sticky Business is a cozy smash hit, Roadwarden is a critically praised narrative RPG, and the Endzone series anchors its survival-strategy side. The Skin Stapler sits in its grindhouse lane, alongside the publisher's work with short-form horror projects.
For players, the publisher matters in practical ways: the launch press push, the Tiny Teams Steam event placement during the demo window, and the storefront presence on Steam and GOG all run through Assemble. The store listing carries the Assemble Entertainment GmbH copyright line, and the publisher's announcement is the source for the launch facts above.
The creator-cast production model
The publisher describes the game as built with support from some of your favorite content creators, and the cast poster backs it with ten named performers: RJ Green, Daniel Suraci, HexyIRL, Layna Lazar, Runebee, Luna Arcana, Blairvira, FeFe, Scaroline, and KingWoolz. Several characters are modeled on and voiced by the creators themselves — Scaroline and Underworld VHS are the clearest example.
That model is the studio's signature. It turns a solo project into a collaborative launch, gives the game a built-in audience through the creators' channels, and keeps the fully voiced presentation affordable for a 2.5-hour game. The voice actor guide maps every character-to-performer credit.
How to follow the developer in three steps
- Wishlist and follow on Steam. The developer's store page is the primary channel for patches and future announcements, and The Skin Stapler's page links the studio's other work directly.
- Check the YouTube channel. @TaintedPactGames is where Dev Log entries appear — two arrived in December 2025 alone — and it is the most likely home for any future project announcements.
- Watch the itch.io account. The taintedpact88 page hosts the studio's independent presence and documents the project trail that led to The Skin Stapler.
Tainted Pact and Assemble Entertainment FAQ
Q: Who made The Skin Stapler? A: Solo developer Tainted Pact, based in the United States, with publication by Assemble Entertainment of Germany.
Q: What games has Tainted Pact made? A: Four earlier horror titles — Suffer the Night, Terror at Oakheart, Massacre at the Mirage, and Flesh Made Fear — plus The Skin Stapler as the fifth.
Q: Is Tainted Pact one person? A: Yes — the publisher's launch announcement describes a solo developer, and the game's handcrafted production profile matches a one-person studio working with a creator cast.
Q: Who publishes The Skin Stapler? A: Assemble Entertainment, a German publisher founded in 2016 with more than 50 games, including Sticky Business, Roadwarden, and the Endzone series.
Q: Where can I follow the studio? A: Steam wishlists, the @TaintedPactGames YouTube channel, and the taintedpact88 itch.io page are the official channels.
Q: When did the game come out? A: August 6, 2026, on Steam and GOG for Windows PC at 14.99 euros — the release date guide has the full launch timeline, and the Steam guide covers the store listing itself.
One developer, one publisher, five games, and a cast of creators: that is the whole production story behind Carrion City — and it explains why the game feels so deliberately, stubbornly handcrafted.
Play from an official source
Use the official Steam pages for the full game or its separate free demo.