A Sharp
A Sharp is a developer of mobile applications. They develop applications for both the iPad and iPhone users. King Of The Dragon is one of
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What A Sharp does
A Sharp is a developer of mobile applications. They develop applications for both the iPad and iPhone users. King Of The Dragon is one of the interesting gaming application introduced by A sharp.
A Sharp firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- A Sharp
- Legal name
- A Sharp, LLC
- Website
- http://a-sharp.com/kodp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- A Sharp is a developer of mobile applications. They develop applications for both the iPad and iPhone users. King Of The Dragon is one of
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where A Sharp is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
A Sharp business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Game Sales: One-time purchase sales of King of Dragon Pass through app stores and digital distribution platforms.
- Merchandise: T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and mouse pads featuring game artwork sold through CafePress.
- Original Artwork Sales: Sale of original ink and watercolor artwork from the game via Etsy.
- Music/Soundtrack Sales: Music composed by Stan LePard for King of Dragon Pass, with soundtrack available on SoundCloud.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One time/ perpetual license | King of Dragon Pass - Free with base game |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | King of Dragon Pass - Paid (various platforms) |
| Freemium | One time/ perpetual license | Opal - Free version |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Opal - Previously paid version ($32) |
| Freemium | One time/ perpetual license | Acta - Free download |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Addressix - $13 one-time license |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Merchandise via CafePress |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels7 records
A Sharp product offering
Product offeringCore offering
A Sharp, LLC is a small software development house that creates and sells narrative-driven strategy games (King of Dragon Pass, Six Ages series) and macOS productivity software (Opal outliner, legacy Acta). The company's flagship products combine interactive storytelling with resource management, set in the Glorantha fantasy world, and are distributed through major app stores and digital platforms. Beyond software, the company sells game-related merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, original artwork) via CafePress and Etsy.
Product overview
A Sharp, LLC is a Seattle-based software development house that has created a portfolio of games and productivity software. The company's flagship product is King of Dragon Pass, an award-winning strategy game combining interactive storytelling with resource management, which later spawned the spiritual successor Six Ages series. Beyond games, A Sharp developed productivity applications including the Opal outliner (the modern successor to the award-winning Acta) and Addressix envelope printing utility. The product line spans desktop and mobile platforms, with games available on iOS, Android, Steam, GOG, and traditional CD-ROM distribution.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- King of Dragon Pass A turn-based strategy game blending interactive stories and resource management, set in the mythological world of Glorantha. Players guide a clan to unify Dragon Pass under a king through diplomacy, magic, and battle, with over 450-560 interactive situations and branching narratives. Available on iOS, Android, Steam, GOG, macOS, and Windows Phone.
- Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind Spiritual successor to King of Dragon Pass, a storytelling strategy game set in the Glorantha world. Available on iOS, Steam, and GOG, featuring the same blend of interactive narrative and resource management as its predecessor.
- Six Ages 2: Lights Going Out Sequel to Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind, continuing the storytelling strategy game series set in Glorantha. Released for Windows, macOS, iOS, and iPadOS.
- Opal A macOS outlining application for capturing and organizing notes, tracking projects, and managing tasks. Inspired by the award-winning Acta, with features like multiple selection, filtering, checkboxes, and bookmarks. Available in English and Japanese.
- Acta Classic Macintosh outline processor, originally released commercially in 1986 and now available as a free download from A Sharp. The predecessor to Opal, it won multiple awards including MacGuide Magazine's Golden Gavel Award and MacUser Editor's Choice Award.
- PhotoPress Drag-and-drop photo printing application for Mac OS X with customizable layouts for portraits, contact sheets, and school photos, featuring a unique crop-zoom tool. Previously published by Electric Fish, now maintained by A Sharp.
- Jigami Jigsaw strategy game for iOS where players match wits with the device or another player by placing tiles to capture opponent's pieces. Originally priced at $0.99 on the App Store.
- DiceBook iPad application combining PDF reader and dice rolling functionality, designed as a companion for tabletop roleplaying games. Allows users to keep rulebooks and roll dice within the same app.
Quantifiable outcome
- King of Dragon Pass won the Best Visual Arts award at the second annual Independent Games Festival (2000)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use A Sharp
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
A Sharp technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature3 records
A Sharp partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Pocket TacticsminorPocket Tactics partnered with A Sharp to collect scenes for the King of Dragon Pass 2.3 update contest, helping gather and vote on fan-submitted content.
- HeroCraftcoreHeroCraft ported King of Dragon Pass for Android, Steam (Windows and macOS), and Windows Phone. They handle bug reports for those versions and continue to update the game on those platforms.
- Issaries Inc. / Greg StaffordcoreGreg Stafford, creator of Glorantha, co-designed King of Dragon Pass and licensed the Glorantha world setting. Issaries Inc. was formed to further develop Glorantha. Greg Stafford is president of Chaosium, Inc.
- CafePressminorCafePress handles the production and fulfillment of A Sharp merchandise including t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and mouse pads featuring game artwork.
- Stands Co. Ltd. (Japan)minorStands Co. Ltd. handled the Japanese localization and distribution of Opal, creating and hosting the Japanese version page at stands.jp/opal/.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
A Sharp competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Stoic Studio: Small independent studio behind The Banner Saga series, which similarly blends tactical/strategy combat with branching narrative and hand-painted art. Closely comparable to A Sharp in scope, team size, and narrative-strategy hybrid product.
- Inkle Studios: UK indie studio making narrative-driven games such as 80 Days, Sorcery!, and Heaven's Vault. Comparable in being a small, craft-focused indie that specialises in story-rich, choice-driven gameplay rather than mainstream blockbuster genres.
- Supergiant Games: Small independent studio behind Bastion, Transistor, Hades, and Pyre — narrative-heavy action/strategy games with strong art direction. Comparable to A Sharp as a narrative-first indie with multi-platform releases and a loyal fan base.
- Harebrained Schemes: Indie studio behind the Shadowrun Returns trilogy and BattleTech — tactical, narrative-driven strategy games on PC and mobile. Directly comparable to A Sharp's narrative-strategy hybrid products like King of Dragon Pass and Six Ages.
- Failbetter Games: UK indie behind Fallen London and Sunless Sea/Sunless Skies — narrative-rich games with deep world-building. Comparable to A Sharp in focus on interactive fiction and richly authored fictional universes.
- Subset Games: Two-person indie studio behind FTL and Into the Breach — small-team strategy games with deep replayability. Comparable to A Sharp as a small, founder-driven studio shipping strategy titles with strong critical reception.
- Spiderweb Software: Long-running solo/small-team indie developer of the Avernum, Avadon, and Queen's Wish RPG series. Comparable to A Sharp as a long-lived indie with a deep catalog, niche appeal, and founder-led operation.
- Choice of Games: Interactive-fiction studio publishing text-based, choice-driven games across mobile and desktop. Directly comparable to A Sharp in building deep branching-narrative experiences where player choice drives outcomes.
Broad incumbents
- Amplitude Studios: Established strategy studio behind Endless Legend, Endless Space, and Humankind. Comparable to A Sharp in the strategy-game space but at significantly larger scale, broader audience, and with more resources for marketing and sequels.
- Paradox Interactive: Major publisher/developer of grand strategy and narrative RPG franchises (Crusader Kings, Stellaris, Vampire: The Masquerade). Comparable as a strategy/narrative incumbent against which A Sharp's niche products compete on storefronts like Steam.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
A Sharp social profiles
Digital presenceA Sharp financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
A Sharp leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
A Sharp funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
A Sharp M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about A Sharp
What does A Sharp do?
A Sharp, LLC is a small software development house that creates and sells narrative-driven strategy games (King of Dragon Pass, Six Ages series) and macOS productivity software (Opal outliner, legacy Acta). The company's flagship products combine interactive storytelling with resource management, set in the Glorantha fantasy world, and are distributed through major app stores and digital platforms. Beyond software, the company sells game-related merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, original artwork) via CafePress and Etsy.
Is A Sharp a public or private company?
A Sharp is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was A Sharp founded?
A Sharp was founded in 1989. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is A Sharp based?
A Sharp is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does A Sharp make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Game Sales are the primary driver. The others are merchandise, original Artwork Sales and music/Soundtrack Sales.
Who are A Sharp's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Stoic Studio, Inkle Studios, Supergiant Games, Harebrained Schemes, Failbetter Games, Subset Games, Spiderweb Software and Choice of Games. Broad incumbents are Amplitude Studios and Paradox Interactive.
Does A Sharp have an API?
No public API is recorded for A Sharp.