Yarnhub had 35 million fans to watch its 3D military history films, and now it has moved into gaming. The company revealed its first title, Brass Rain, set during WWII. You can get a glimpse of the gameplay in a trailer released today.
Backed by $2.9 million in equity crowdfunding from more than 5,000 fans, Yarnhub wants to transform its cinematic storytelling into an immersive WWII first-person shooter MMO.
Built by industry veterans and funded by its passionate community, Brass Rain channels player demand into a bold, emotionally resonant experience, setting the stage for breakout success. It has 63,000 wishlists on Steam, even before the trailer was out.
Brass Rain takes players from the beaches of Normandy to the skies over the Pacific, delivering iconic and authentic WWII battles with the same cinematic fidelity and emotional depth that define Yarnhub’s acclaimed films.
“We didn’t know if we were going to get a couple of hundred bucks or $2,000 bucks. We raised $2.9 million and that was incredible,” said David Webb, CEO of Yarnhub, in an interview with GamesBeat. “It was an emotional roller coaster of support and love, sometimes tears as well.”
The team crowdfunded its campaign for eight weeks, with $500,000 coming in the last 24 hours. Based on popular demand, the firm extended the round by another three weeks after fans asked the company to reopen the crowdfunding round. Another $1 million came in from that extension. The money came from all over the world, including the U.S. And the single biggest investor was in India.
“It was a little bit of a roller coaster. But in the end, everything came in, and we had a very successful raise and allowed us to just springboard the development of the game,” Webb said.
The company was able to hire several people immediately as a result of the funding, said Cyril Barrow, head of games at Yarnhub, in an interview with GamesBeat.
“We had some hires on standby and it just allowed us to push the button,” Webb said. “That just allowed us to ramp up the plans that we wanted and we’ve made creative progress.”
Game details
In Brass Rain, players choose their faction and character, unlock authentic WWII weapons, uniforms, and upgrades, and take part in historically grounded missions, events, and campaigns. Brass Rain will enter early access on Steam in 2026, beginning with immersive, crew-based infantry combat grounded in real-world history. The long-term vision is ambitious: to unite infantry, tank crews, bomber gunners, and naval teams in a single battle, delivering a fully integrated WWII experience across land, sea, and air.
Founded in 2021, Yarnhub has built a global following of gamers and history enthusiasts through cinematic storytelling that celebrates military unsung heroes, tight-knit crews, and the emotional grit of brotherhood forged in battle. Now, that same community is at the heart of Brass Rain, a game developed for them and made possible by their support.
“Our audience has been asking for us to make a game for years,” said Webb. “They’ve told us exactly what they want: a game with heart, historical authenticity, global campaigns, and multiplayer combat that lets them fight as infantry, tank crews, bomber gunners, and naval teams. Brass Rain is our answer to that call, built from the ground up with the community in mind.”
A Cross-Media Experience Like No Other
The team has a two-year runway thanks to its funding, and it hopes to raise additional money along the way. It also hopes to generate revenue from free-to-play monetization by the end of 2026. On the whole, the firm could use $20 million in funding, and so it expects to need to raise more money.
“We do need a lot more money to finish the game,” Webb said. “We have a very ambitious game. I think our approach is the right approach, where we’re we’re taking manageable chunks which give people a great game experience without delivering on the whole vision. That’s the right way to do it.”
The has 12 people now and it may go to 14 or 15, and then plateau there for a while. Meanwhile, 50 people are working on the films in Asia. The film team generates 3D assets that can be reused in the game.
“That’s really turbocharging the speed of development,” Webb said.
What sets Brass Rain apart is its seamless integration with Yarnhub’s cinematic universe. Before each major game update, Yarnhub will release a short film introducing new heroes, vehicles, battlefields, and historical context, giving players tactical insight and emotional connection before stepping into the action. This unique approach bridges storytelling and gameplay, allowing players to engage with WWII history on a deeper level while preparing for what’s ahead in the game.
The game will have unique cross-media promotion, as the Yarnhub animated film community is a great place to promote the game. And the live operations for the free-to-play game will benefit from the constant promotion of the game to the film fans.
“It’s something which is baked into what we’re doing,” Webb said. The film side is also generating record revenues now that the gaming project is underway.
“What we’re making is really resonating well with people. And so we’re promoting the game in the video really lightly,” Webb said.
Built by veterans, backed by fans
Yarnhub’s game studio includes talent from Electronic Arts, Remedy, Jagex, and Sony, combining triple-A experience with indie passion. Developed with a focus on quality and player experience, the team is committed to meeting the high standards set by industry veterans working on it.
Supported by Yarnhub’s massive organic reach and active engagement across YouTube, Discord, and social media, Brass Rain already has over 63,000 Steam wishlists.
The team is building co-op multiplayer game, and it has a full level set in the Pointe Du Hoc cliffs at Normandy beach.
The team is focused on historical accuracy, with weapons that are accurate and have the right sound, reload and number of bullets in a magazine, Barrow said.
“It’s all about brotherhood and the crew of the co-op experience,” he added.
“Having a community behind you means people are helping each other with navigating the platform,” Webb said.
He noted fans helped each other buy shares in the crowdfunding and communicated on behalf of the company when it came to supporting the campaign 24/7. That made everyone feel a sense of responsibility, Webb said.
“That was really humbling to see,” said Webb. “Now we have to make a great game that people love, and we have to build that with the community.”
Free-to-play, built to last
Due to Yarnhub’s successful YouTube channels and the major community equity funding round, Brass Rain will be free-to-play. It will offer some of the lowest-cost cosmetic microtransactions in gaming. This unique set-up allows the team to focus on delivering cinematic storytelling, authentic WWII battles, and a long-term version where battles will eventually span land, sea, and air in one unified gaming experience.
“Brass Rain isn’t just a game, it’s a living historical experience shaped by the millions who watch our films every month,” added Cyril Barrow, Head of Games at Yarnhub. “Our community challenged us to go beyond what games like War Thunder and World of Tanks offer, by adding the one thing they’ve always wanted: boots-on-the-ground infantry. We’re delivering a fully crew-based combat experience that lets players fight together across land, sea, and air, and experience history as they go.”
Yarnhub invites players, MMO fans, and history enthusiasts to take the next step and join the community to become part of the Brass Rain experience. Head to the game’s official Steam page to wishlist Brass Rain to be among the first to play when it comes to early access.
The infantry game demo will have two levels, one set in Normandy and one in Austria in a castle. While it’s a free-to-play game, it will have monetization available. After that, the next step will be to add vehicles to the game and eventually flying and floating vehicles, Barrow said.
“We are really supercharged by our ability to reuse assets, whether they are graphical assets, sound assets, even the storytelling and the locations,” Barrow said. “That’s really helped us to move fast. At the moment, we see a very great velocity.”
“Having run many studios in my career, I know how difficult it is, not only to acquire people, but to retain them,” Barrow said. “We’re really creating this emotional connection between the viewers and the story that we’re telling on YouTube. Viewers are really involved in this storytelling of brotherhood and of heroes and of falling. They fall in love with the vehicle we talk about because we explain how it works and how cool is.”
And the show can convey that these vehicles are available in the Brass Rain game.
“We’re really making that bridge for live operations,” he said.
The community wants a game that has a five or ten-year horizon. That means planes, ships, tanks and infantry. The team is starting out with infantry via co-op and multiplayer gameplay. One of the big beats will be June 6, or D-Day, in June 2026, which is about the time for the Steam Next Fest in June, Barrow said.
The company has done three play tests so far, and now it will seek feedback on the trailer.
Barrow said, ” We were able to recruit the initial core team during the raise because we had passed a mental threshold. We were able to inspire even more investors. And that counted very, very much. We even did the first play test during the raise.”