Pixelberry Studios

What Pixelberry Studios does

Pixelberry Studios is a mobile interactive fiction game developer founded in 2013 and headquartered in the United States (Rocklin, CA; with a Mountain View mailing address). The company operates the Choices: Stories You Play franchise, a freemium app in which players make choices that drive branching, character-driven narratives across multiple genres including romance, mystery, fantasy, drama, and urban fantasy. The core technology is an interactive fiction game engine supporting branching narrative paths, character customization, and episodic content releases, with an established library of story 'books' such as The Royal Romance, Bloodbound, Open Heart, The Crown & The Flame, The Elementalists, and Desire & Decorum, plus earlier standalone titles High School Story and Hollywood U. The studio is now expanding into new storytelling formats, including an animated show (Hero: Homecoming) launching inside the Choices app in May 2026.

The business is a free-to-play mobile gaming model with three primary revenue streams: in-app purchases of virtual items and currency, a recurring VIP monthly subscription that provides early access to new content, and freemium conversion of free users. Games are distributed globally through the iOS App Store and Google Play, with monetization supported by a broad third-party ad network stack (AppLovin, IronSource, Unity Ads, Meta Audience Network, Chartboost, Tapjoy, Mintegral, Fyber, AdColony, Lift Off, HyperMX, DigitalTurbine) and attribution partners (Tenjin, Adjust, Bidalgo). Customer engagement is driven through a multi-channel community program (Discord, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, email newsletter). Since July 2024, Pixelberry has operated as a subsidiary of Series Entertainment Inc., which is integrating its AI-native Rho Engine and RUN platform into the studio's content production workflow.

Name

Pixelberry Studios

Legal name

Series Entertainment Inc.

Website

https://pixelberrystudios.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pixelberry Studios is a US-based mobile interactive fiction game developer operating the flagship Choices: Stories You Play franchise and other story-driven apps, monetized through freemium in-app purchases, VIP subscriptions, and ads, and now a subsidiary of Series Entertainment Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Interactive Fiction Games

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile & F2P Game Studios (MPAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Narrative/Adventure & RPG Game Studios (MPAFAAAL), Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)

Keywords

• Interactive fiction games
• Mobile story games
• Branching narrative games
• Visual novel apps
• Choice-based games

Headquarters

HQ city

Mountain View

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Virtual Items and Currency: Players purchase virtual tokens, coins and items for use within games. Purchased virtual items have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for real money. Revenue generated through in-game currency purchases at various price points.
2. VIP Subscription: Subscription model providing VIP access to new book releases before wide release, with premium content access and ad-free or reduced ad experience. Subscription carries over to RUN.tv platform.
3. Freemium Core Content: Free features and content available upon downloading games, with optional paid upgrades and premium content. Revenue derived from conversion of free users to paying customers through virtual item purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Pixelberry Studios develops and publishes mobile interactive fiction (IF) video games in which players make choices that shape branching narrative storylines. Its flagship product, Choices: Stories You Play, is a free-to-play mobile app offering episodic, character-driven stories across multiple genres (romance, mystery, fantasy, drama, urban fantasy) monetized through in-app purchases of virtual currency/items and a VIP subscription tier. The studio also operates standalone titles such as High School Story and Hollywood U, and is expanding into animated show formats within the Choices app.

Product overview

Pixelberry Studios operates as a mobile game developer specializing in interactive fiction (IF) games. The company offers a portfolio centered on the Choices: Stories You Play platform, which is the core product providing branching narrative gameplay where players make choices that shape stories. The portfolio also includes standalone titles High School Story and Hollywood U. The Choices platform features multiple story 'books' including The Royal Romance, Bloodbound, Open Heart, The Thirteenth House, Desire & Decorum, America's Most Eligible, The Crown & The Flame, The Elementalists, and Miss Behavin'. The company is expanding into new storytelling formats with Hero: Homecoming as an animated show. Following acquisition by Series Entertainment in July 2024, the studio is integrating the RUN platform technology to enhance content creation workflows while maintaining traditional interactive fiction content delivery through August as scheduled.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Choices: Stories You Play Flagship free-to-play interactive fiction mobile game series where players customize characters and make choices that shape branching narrative storylines across romance, mystery, fantasy, and drama genres, played by millions worldwide.
• High School Story Interactive fiction mobile game set in a high school where players create characters, join clubs and activities, and navigate social relationships including finding dates for Homecoming.
• Hollywood U Interactive fiction mobile game set in a Hollywood university environment, covered under the studio's portfolio of games in the Terms of Service.
• Hero: Homecoming Animated show format expansion of the Hero series launching within the Choices app, representing a new storytelling modality (animated series rather than traditional text-based interactive fiction) with planned 20 episodes.
• The Thirteenth House Dark academia interactive fiction story set at Arthur Hawthorne University featuring supernatural mysteries, secret societies, and four skill-based character archetypes (Influence, Insight, Fortitude, Courage), launched as a VIP early-access title.
• Miss Behavin' Interactive fiction story set in pageant culture featuring a returning protagonist navigating old rivals, new stakes, and family expectations with stat-based gameplay similar to Queen B and AME.

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of players worldwide engaged with interactive fiction content

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Electronic Arts (EA Mobile): Major mobile game publisher with narrative and storytelling franchises (e.g., The Sims, narrative-driven sports titles). Broad incumbent with mobile distribution scale, freemium expertise, and resources to enter or expand in interactive fiction.
• Scopely: Mobile game publisher and developer with diversified portfolio including narrative-driven titles (e.g., Star Trek Fleet Command, WWE Mayhem). Comparable freemium mobile game model and audience scale, though broader portfolio beyond interactive fiction.
• Kabam: Mobile game developer known for narrative-rich casual games (e.g., Disney Mirrorverse, Marvel Contest of Champions). Comparable mobile-first development model with storytelling emphasis and freemium monetization, though operating at different scale.
• Series Entertainment: Parent company of Pixelberry Studios operating a broader portfolio of interactive entertainment using AI-native game creation technology. Functions as strategic operating parent while also being a peer in adjacent interactive entertainment categories.

Emerging players

• Inkitt: Reader-driven publishing platform behind Galatea, with mobile interactive story apps targeting romance readers. Emerging player using AI and data-driven approach to identify successful narrative content—relevant as both competitor and potentially adjacent content partner.
• MeChat: Mobile interactive story app focused on romance and choice-driven narratives with similar episodic content release model. Emerging peer in the same mobile interactive fiction genre, particularly relevant for international and romance-oriented demographics.
• Candlelight Games: Studio founded by former Pixelberry developers in 2024 following the Series Entertainment acquisition. Emerging direct competitor carrying Pixelberry's narrative game development expertise to a new studio—relevant both as talent migration signal and competitive threat.

Direct peers

• Crazy Maple Studio: Developer of Chapters and other interactive story apps with comparable choice-based narrative gameplay and mobile distribution model. Direct competitor in the mobile interactive fiction genre with overlapping target demographics.
• Pocket Gems: Developer of Episode, a mobile interactive story platform with similar branching narrative mechanics, character customization, and freemium monetization. Direct competitor serving the same female-skewing mobile gaming audience with choice-based storytelling.
• Voltage Entertainment USA: Developer of romance-focused interactive story apps like Lovestruck with similar episodic content release strategy and VIP subscription models. Direct competitor in romance/mobile interactive fiction with comparable narrative approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HSSGame
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ChoicesStories
• Facebookfacebook.com/hssgame
• Instagraminstagram.com/choices_stories
• TikToktiktok.com/@choices_stories
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pixelberry-studios

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pixelberry Studios