Mordhau is a multiplayer medieval hack and slash fighting game[1][2][3] developed by the independent Slovenian studio Triternion, with a prominent aspect of skill-based competitive play and customization.

When in close-quarters combat, players can defeat their opponents by utilizing techniques like directional strikes, stabbing, kicking, dodging, blocking, and parrying while watching their health and stamina bars.

[11] Marko Grgurovič, a Slovene PhD student of computer science at the University of Primorska, began development of Mordhau alone.

[13] During the next three years, Grgurovič was joined by other programmers, graphic designers, and animators from all over the world, many of whom enjoyed playing video games like Chivalry: Medieval Warfare and wanted to make something similar.

[18] Prior to release, Mordhau received praise from early reviewers for its fighting system, the chaotic but fun gameplay, and its graphics.

[27] IGN's Samuel Horti enjoyed the "feeling of constant skill progression" as he gradually learnt the game's mechanics through experience and video tutorials.

[28] Javy Gwaltney of Game Informer shared this feeling, saying that "every increment of improvement is rewarded with spectacular displays of violence".

He quoted a Triternion artist who, when asked about character diversity, stated that the developers would "give [the players] the option to enable and disable different things".

[32] Subsequently, Triternion released a statement on Twitter, denying that they had considered adding the option for players to disable characters based on their ethnicity.

[32] Triternion elaborated that the idea was briefly discussed and ultimately discarded, but that the employees that PC Gamer interviewed were not aware of the final decision.