Tale of Tales

What Tale of Tales does

Tale of Tales is an independent interactive-art studio co-founded by Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn, operating since 2003 as a two-person core team augmented by freelance collaborators across animation, music and sound design. Originally based in Ghent, Belgium and relocated to Rome, Italy in 2010, the studio develops what it calls "notgames" — atmospheric, experimental interactive works that prioritize mood, narrative and emotional engagement over conventional gameplay mechanics. Its released catalog spans The Endless Forest (2005, a free persistent multiplayer screensaver), The Graveyard (2008), The Path (2009), Fatale (2009), Vanitas (2010), Bientôt l'été (2012), Luxuria Superbia (2013), 8 (2014) and Sunset (2015).

The studio's technical stack combines the proprietary "Drama Princess Engine" (a character behavior management system) with a "Realtime Art Approach" emphasizing immersive environmental design over visual realism, built on Quest3D for larger projects and Unity for smaller initiatives, with Blender used for 3D modeling. Distribution has historically been direct-to-consumer via the studio's own website alongside Steam, Direct2Drive and itch.io, employing symbolic low pricing (e.g., The Graveyard at $5) as part of an artistic statement.

The business model layered one-time game sales with arts and public-sector grants (Creative Capital, Flanders Audiovisual Fund/VAF, Design Flanders) and a 90,000 EUR loan from CultuurInvest in 2007. The studio ceased commercial game releases in 2015 and now sustains operations primarily through Patreon patronage while continuing development of The Endless Forest remake (Beta 5 in 2024) and the Cathedral-in-the-Clouds project.

Name

Tale of Tales

Legal name

Tale of Tales

Website

https://tale-of-tales.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tale of Tales is an independent two-person interactive-art studio that creates atmospheric "notgames" prioritizing emotional narrative over conventional gameplay. Founded in 2003 and now based in Rome, it halted commercial releases in 2015 and operates via Patreon support and grant funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indie Video Games

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Narrative/Adventure & RPG Game Studios (MPAFAAAL)

Keywords

• Indie game development
• Art games
• Experimental video games
• Interactive storytelling
• Narrative games

Headquarters

HQ city

Gent

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Game Sales: One-time purchase sales of indie art games through their website store and platforms like Steam, Direct2Drive, and itch.io. They stopped releasing commercial games in 2015.
2. Patreon Support: Monthly recurring support from patrons through Michael Samyn's Patreon, providing behind-the-scenes content to supporters.
3. Arts Funding/Grants: Non-commercial arts funding from organizations like Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Creative Capital, and Design Flanders to support experimental game development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tale of Tales is an independent video game development studio that creates artistic, experimental games emphasizing emotional experience, atmosphere, and narrative over traditional gameplay mechanics. The studio develops and sells downloadable games through its own website and third-party digital platforms, with a portfolio spanning online multiplayer experiences, short atmospheric pieces, and full-length narrative games.

Product overview

Tale of Tales is the videogame development studio of Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn. The company developed a portfolio of artistic, experimental games including The Endless Forest (free multiplayer screensaver), The Graveyard (cemetery vignette), The Path (Little Red Ridinghood horror game), Bientôt l'été (orbital station simulation), Luxuria Superbia (sensual musical game), Vanitas (memento mori meditation), Fatale (Salome narrative tableau), 8 (sleeping palace adventure), and Sunset (housekeeper drama). The studio stopped releasing commercial games in 2015 but continues to support existing work and develop new artistic projects including The Endless Forest remake and the Cathedral-in-the-Clouds project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Endless Forest Online multiplayer game in which players embody deer in an endless forest, emphasizing social play and exploration over goals or combat.
• The Graveyard A short, atmospheric game in which an elderly woman visits a graveyard; released in a free demo version and a paid full version.
• The Path A short horror game that is a re-interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, intended for an adult audience.
• Fatale An interactive digital painting of the biblical Salome, described as the studio's first commercial game.
• Vanitas A short game designed for the iPad and PC, focused on aesthetic experience and built on the proprietary Drama Princess Engine.
• Luxuria Superbia An interactive exploration of light, color, movement and sensuality.
• Bientôt l'été A full-length commercial narrative game by the studio, with downloadable editions.
• Sunset A game from the studio's catalog of commercial releases.
• 8 A game from the studio's catalog of commercial releases.
• The Endless Forest Remake A remake of the studio's original multiplayer forest game, currently in public beta.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Graveyard received coverage from approximately 200 articles published across the internet, with major coverage from Wired (12,000 hits), Apple downloads (6,000 hits), and Boing Boing (6,000 hits).
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Foam (Brussels)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia arts collective in Brussels with whom Tale of Tales conducted research into different types of programming.
• VillanellaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producer of The Path project.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Santa Ragione: Italian independent studio behind Saturnalia, Mother Russia Bleeds, and other experimental titles. Operates out of Milan with a similar small-team, art-forward, narrative-driven approach, and is the most regionally proximate peer to Tale of Tales' Italian base.

Direct peers

• Playdead: Danish indie studio behind Limbo and Inside — small team building critically acclaimed, atmospheric, narrative-forward 2D/3D platformers. Highly comparable as a small European indie focused on minimalist, atmospheric interactive experiences with strong critical reception.
• Simogo: Swedish two-person indie studio behind Year Walk, Device 6, and Sayonara Wild Hearts. Directly comparable in scale (tiny team), artistic intent (narrative-first, atmospheric), and commercial positioning (premium indie rather than blockbuster).
• Polytron Corporation: Phil Fish's studio behind Fez — a long-running, single-creator-led indie that has championed avant-garde 2D/3D platformers. Directly comparable as a small-team auteur art-game developer with a similar slow, intentional output cadence.
• Amanita Design: Czech studio behind Machinarium, Botanicula, and Creaks — long-running indie art-game maker producing hand-crafted, non-violent, exploratory experiences with the same anti-mainstream-mechanics philosophy as Tale of Tales.
• thatgamecompany: Independent studio behind Flower, Journey, and Sky, founded on the same "games as emotional experience" philosophy. Closest cousin to Tale of Tales in the art-game space, with similar emphasis on atmosphere over mechanics and a track record of global commercial success in the niche.
• ustwo games: Studio behind Monument Valley and Assemble with Care — small team producing short, artistic, emotionally resonant interactive experiences with non-traditional mechanics. Operates within a broader design consultancy (ustwo) similar to how Tale of Tales sits alongside the founders' individual art practice.
• Die Gute Fabrik: Danish/American studio behind Mutazione and Where Cards Fall — small-team indie producing art-led, non-traditional, narrative-driven experiences. Similar boutique indie art-game positioning, though with stronger commercial success and publisher backing.
• genDESIGN: Fumito Ueda's studio behind Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian. Shares the artistic, experience-first philosophy and rejection of conventional game mechanics; functions as the canonical "auteur" art-game studio similar to how Tale of Tales is the studio for Harvey and Samyn's vision.

Emerging players

• Heart Machine: Studio behind Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash — small-team indie producing atmospheric, stylistically distinctive action-experience games with strong critical reception. Less narratively focused than Tale of Tales but operating in the same small-team art-indie category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/taleoftales
• YouTubeyoutube.com/taleoftalestv
• Facebookfacebook.com/taleoftales
• Instagraminstagram.com/wearetaleoftales
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tale-of-tales-bvba

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 Tale of Tales