Secret Lab
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersHobart Town, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Secret Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Secret Lab
- Legal name
- Secret Lab Pty. Ltd.
- Website
- https://secretlab.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Secret Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Game Development Services
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (51321), Software Publishers (5132), Computer Training (611420), Computer Training (61142)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Serious Games & Simulation Studios (Training, Defense, Enterprise) (MPAFAAAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D) (EDAMACAE), Simulation-Based Learning & Virtual Labs (EDAGAEAG)
Keywords
Where Secret Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hobart Town
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Secret Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Client Services - Game Development: Project-based game development and interactive experience creation services for enterprise and government clients, including building official games, creative installations, apps, and consulting engagements.
- Original Game Development: Development and monetization of proprietary game titles including Night in the Woods (BAFTA- and IGF-winning) and I Feel Fine (Screen Tasmania-funded).
- Yarn Spinner Licensing and Consulting: Yarn Spinner is funded by external sources (Australia Council for the Arts, Epic MegaGames, NYU) and generates revenue through custom feature development, integration consulting, and community support via Patreon.
- Technical Publications: Secret Lab has written nearly 30 technical books on Unity game development, iOS/macOS/watchOS development, Swift programming, and machine learning.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Secret Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Secret Lab is a games and creative technology studio that builds custom video games, interactive experiences, and apps for enterprise, government, and cultural clients (e.g., ABC Play School games, Qantas in-flight entertainment app, CSIRO fitness game, The Museum Game). Its core proprietary product is Yarn Spinner, an interactive storytelling and branching narrative dialogue engine for game developers. The studio also creates original games (Night in the Woods, I Feel Fine), publishes nearly 30 technical books on Unity/iOS/Swift/machine learning, and conducts developer training workshops.
Product overview
Secret Lab operates as a games and creative technology studio with a single primary product offering: Yarn Spinner, an interactive storytelling tool and narrative dialogue engine. Yarn Spinner is their core technology product designed for game developers to create branching narrative and dialogue systems. The company builds custom games and interactive experiences for clients, but Yarn Spinner is the only named software product in their portfolio. Secret Lab also develops original games including Night in the Woods (a BAFTA- and IGF-winning title) and I Feel Fine, but these are game titles rather than software products they sell.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Yarn Spinner: Interactive storytelling tool for creating branching narrative and dialogue in games. Funded by Australia Council for the Arts, Epic MegaGames, and New York University. Used in thousands of games including Night in the Woods, Lost in Random, and A Short Hike.
Products and services
- Yarn Spinner An interactive storytelling tool and branching narrative dialogue engine that enables writers to create branching conversations and narrative content for video games, with powerful features for game integration. Designed for game developers and narrative designers.
- Night in the Woods An original narrative adventure game developed by Secret Lab that received BAFTA and IGF recognition for its interactive storytelling and narrative design. Distributed as a finished game title to consumers through standard gaming platforms.
- I Feel Fine An original game developed by Secret Lab with funding support from Screen Tasmania.
- Custom Game and Interactive Experience Development Project-based custom game development and interactive experience creation services for enterprise and government clients. Includes branded games, entertainment apps, educational games, interactive installations, and custom Minecraft: Education Edition content.
- Yarn Spinner Consulting and Custom Feature Development Consulting and custom development services for Yarn Spinner, including integration support, custom feature development, and strategy consultation for game studios and developers using the tool.
- Technical Books Nearly 30 published technical books on Unity game development, iOS/macOS/watchOS development, Swift programming, and machine learning. Sold through book retailers and publishers to developers and technical readers.
- Developer Training Workshops Training and workshop services covering iOS development, game development, game design, and machine learning. Delivered at conferences, events, and to companies.
Quantifiable outcome
- Yarn Spinner is used in thousands of games including BAFTA- and IGF-winning Night in the Woods
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Secret Lab
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Secret Lab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Secret Lab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Secret Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Inkle Studios: Independent UK narrative game studio behind 80 Days and Heaven's Vault, and creators of ink, a competing narrative scripting language for games. Directly comparable as a small studio pairing narrative game IP with a widely used authoring tool.
- Articy Software: Developer of articy:draft, a commercial narrative design and dialogue authoring tool for games. Direct competitor to Yarn Spinner in the narrative middleware category, serving similar game-studio customers.
- Filament Games: US educational and serious-games studio building learning games for schools, museums, and corporate training. Directly comparable to Secret Lab's project work for ABC, CSIRO, and National Museum of Australia.
- Simogo: Swedish two-person indie studio known for stylistically distinctive narrative mobile games like Year Walk and Device 6. Comparable as a tiny, founder-led studio combining original narrative IP with mobile distribution.
- Team Cherry: Hobart-based indie studio behind Hollow Knight, one of Australia's most successful indie games. Closest geographic and scale peer to Secret Lab and shares the founder-led Australian indie DNA.
- Mountains: Australian indie studio (Florence, Old Man's Journey) with a similar narrative-game focus and small team size. Comparable as a small Australian studio building award-winning narrative mobile and indie games.
- KO_OP: Canadian indie studio behind GNOG and Goodbye Volcano High, focused on narrative and stylistically distinctive small-team games. Comparable as a sub-10-person narrative indie studio with both original IP and external work.
- Triseum: Serious-games studio building educational simulation games for higher education and corporate training. Directly comparable to Secret Lab's serious-games work for TasNetworks, CSIRO, and CoRE.
Emerging players
- Twine: Open-source interactive-fiction tool widely used by indie narrative creators. Comparable as a free, community-driven alternative to Yarn Spinner for branching dialogue and narrative authoring.
Broad incumbents
- Preloaded: UK-based studio (now part of Learning Technologies Group) producing games and interactive experiences for museums, broadcasters, and enterprise. Comparable as a more established, broader serious-games competitor to Secret Lab's cultural-institution work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Secret Lab social profiles
Digital presenceSecret Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Secret Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Secret Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Secret Lab 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 Secret Lab
What does Secret Lab do?
Secret Lab is a games and creative technology studio that builds custom video games, interactive experiences, and apps for enterprise, government, and cultural clients (e.g., ABC Play School games, Qantas in-flight entertainment app, CSIRO fitness game, The Museum Game). Its core proprietary product is Yarn Spinner, an interactive storytelling and branching narrative dialogue engine for game developers. The studio also creates original games (Night in the Woods, I Feel Fine), publishes nearly 30 technical books on Unity/iOS/Swift/machine learning, and conducts developer training workshops.
Is Secret Lab a public or private company?
Secret Lab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Secret Lab founded?
Secret Lab was founded in 2008. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Secret Lab based?
Secret Lab is headquartered in Hobart Town, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Secret Lab make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Client Services - Game Development is the primary driver. The others are original Game Development, yarn Spinner Licensing and Consulting and technical Publications.
Who are Secret Lab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Inkle Studios, Articy Software, Filament Games, Simogo, Team Cherry, Mountains, KO_OP and Triseum. Twine is listed as an emerging player. Preloaded is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Secret Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Secret Lab.
What industry is Secret Lab in?
Secret Lab's product category is Game Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAH, Serious Games & Simulation Studios (Training, Defense, Enterprise), with a secondary code of EDAMACAE, Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D). Its NAICS code is 51321 and its SIC code is 8200.