Studio Élan

Name

Studio Élan

Legal name

Studio Élan

Website

https://vnstudioelan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Visual Novel Games

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Indie Game Studios (MPAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Indie Publishing & Label Services (Funding, Marketing, Release Management) (MPAFABAF)

Keywords

• Indie game development
• Yuri visual novels
• WLW games
• LGBT interactive fiction
• Visual novel publishing

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Game Sales: One-time purchase sales of visual novel games through Steam, itch.io, and own webstore. Console versions available through publishing partners.
2. Patreon Subscriptions: Monthly pledges providing exclusive extras, monthly illustrations, demo and beta access, bonus content, behind-the-scenes content, and seasonal merch club.
3. Merchandise Sales: Physical merchandise including keychains, standees, apparel, artbooks, soundtracks, vinyl records, and collectibles sold through webstore and at conventions.
4. Bellhouse Publishing: Publishing wing that distributes WLW and LGBT+ games developed by other studios, taking a commission on sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Studio Élan is an international indie game development studio that designs, develops, and publishes yuri visual novels featuring romance between LGBT women in fantasy, supernatural, and slice-of-life settings. It distributes self-developed titles digitally on Steam and itch.io, with select titles on consoles through publishing partners, and runs the Bellhouse label to publish third-party WLW games. The studio also sells physical merchandise, operates a Patreon supporter program, and sells at anime conventions.

Product overview

Studio Élan is an international game development studio founded in 2016, specializing in yuri visual novels that exclusively feature LGBT characters. Their portfolio comprises self-developed titles (Heart of the Woods, Highway Blossoms, Please Be Happy, Our Home My Keeper, Summer at the Edge of the Universe, Lock and Key, National Park Girls, A Tithe in Blood, Upwards Rain!) and published third-party titles under the Bellhouse publishing sub-brand (Who is the Red Queen, Love in a Bottle, Twofold, First Snow, Without a Voice). All games are available on Steam and itch.io, with select titles on console platforms. The company also operates a direct-to-consumer merchandise store and Patreon supporter program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bellhouse: Publishing branch for WLW and LGBT+ games that Studio Élan did not develop but believes should reach more people. Has published titles including Who is the Red Queen, Love in a Bottle, and Twofold.

Products and services

• Heart of the Woods Fantasy yuri visual novel about paranormal investigation, ancient mysteries, and a love between two girls that transcends life and death; features an optional 18+ patch.
• Please Be Happy Yuri visual novel about Miho, a foxgirl who carries the memory of being born as a fox in the forest of Korea.
• Highway Blossoms Joint Studio Élan + Studio Coattails yuri kinetic novel set in the American Southwest, a 2,000-mile journey featuring Amber and Marina, including the Next Exit DLC.
• Our Home, My Keeper Modern fantasy yuri visual novel collaboration with ebi-hime: a 75k-word story about Paige Crowley and a brownie called Faye in the English countryside.
• Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery Magical girl mystery visual novel with Sherri and Kealey Cohen, a married magical girl pair, set in Chicago.
• National Park Girls Joint Studio Élan + Studio Coattails title: complete Love Our Parks Edition available on Steam featuring national park-themed adventure.
• A Tithe in Blood Yuri visual novel title in Studio Élan's catalogue.
• Upwards, Rain! The Post Office of Farewells Visual novel title in Studio Élan's catalogue.
• First Snow Bellhouse-published title by Salty Salty Studios, predecessor to Twofold.
• Twofold Bellhouse-published title by Salty Salty Studios, follow-up to First Snow. College student Olive navigates stress and a feud between friends.
• Without a Voice Bellhouse-published yuri visual novel in Blooming Edition: dark fairytale about an exiled princess in a forest encountering a mysterious maiden.
• Who is the Red Queen Horror fantasy lesbian visual novel developed by 4noki & co, following Alice in a twisted Wonderland; Bellhouse published title with 30,000+ words and 3 major routes.
• Love in a Bottle Bellhouse-published title following Ankora the Love Demon on a mission to prove herself, with romance elements.
• Studio Élan Physical Game Copies and Merchandise E-commerce offering of physical game copies, keychains, standees, apparel, artbooks, soundtracks, vinyl records, plushies, and collectibles through Studio Élan's own webstore and at conventions.
• Patreon Membership Monthly supporter program offering exclusive extras including monthly illustrations, demo and beta access, bonus content, behind-the-scenes looks, and seasonal merch club.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sekai GamescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 June 2019Published Heart of the Woods on Nintendo Switch. Association with Sekai Project for console port development and release.
• Studio CoattailscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2019Joint development partnership for Highway Blossoms. Syon Santeria, founder of Studio Coattails, directed Highway Blossoms. In October 2022, Studio Élan officially merged with Studio Coattails, joining forces permanently.
• Sekai ProjectcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 13 May 2018Convention collaboration bringing character designer Rosuuri to Anime Central. Partnership for game distribution and convention presence including panels and autograph sessions.
• Limited Run GamesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPhysical release partner for Heart of the Woods on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch with regular and Collector's Edition options.
• ebi-himecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'Our Home, My Keeper' visual novel. Ebi-hime is a veteran visual novel developer who provided all story and concepts for the game.
• Sometimes YouminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConsole publisher for Please Be Happy, handling porting and distribution to modern console platforms.
• 4noki & co.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper of 'Who is the Red Queen' published under Studio Élan's Bellhouse publishing wing. Bellhouse helped bring updated and expanded Steam edition to market.
• Salty Salty StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper of 'First Snow' and 'Twofold' (follow-up title) published under Bellhouse publishing wing.
• Very OK VinylminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party fulfillment partner for Highway Blossoms Original Soundtrack 'Dawn.' vinyl releases. Handles shipping and fulfillment for vinyl products.
• Studio NekomataminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMerchandise collaboration partner for NPG Postcard & Standee Set, co-designed and sold through Studio Élan's store.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Limited Run Games: Limited Run Games is a physical-distribution specialist that issues collector's editions for indie titles, including Heart of the Woods for Studio Élan. A broad incumbent in physical indie distribution rather than a content competitor.
• Sometimes You: Sometimes You is a broader indie publisher handling console ports and distribution for many small studios (including Please Be Happy from Studio Élan). A broad incumbent in the indie console-publishing layer rather than a niche competitor.

Direct peers

• Sekai Project: Sekai Project is a U.S.-based indie visual novel publisher specializing in bringing Japanese-style and yuri-adjacent VNs to English audiences. Directly comparable to Studio Élan because both focus on the English-language VN market, partner on localizations (e.g., Anime Central collaboration with Studio Élan), and serve overlapping fan communities.
• Ratalaika Games: Ratalaika Games is a small indie publisher and developer that ports and releases indie titles on Steam, consoles, and itch.io. Comparable because both operate at the small-team scale, sell on the same storefronts, and depend on multi-platform publishing to reach niche audiences.
• Cherry Kiss Games: Cherry Kiss Games is a small indie studio focused on yuri visual novels with female-protagonist romance. Direct peer because they target the same WLW VN niche, publish on Steam/itch.io, and rely on community-driven marketing.
• Sekai Games: Sekai Games is the international publishing arm connected to Sekai Project, focused on console (notably Nintendo Switch) ports of visual novels including Heart of the Woods from Studio Élan. Direct peer because they share the niche, the platform (Switch), and the same buyer (English-speaking VN fans).
• ebi-hime: ebi-hime is an independent English-language visual novel developer known for yuri titles. Direct peer because they develop in the same Ren'Py ecosystem, share the WLW/LGBT+ audience, and are an active collaborator (co-developed Our Home, My Keeper with Studio Élan).
• Studio Coattails: Studio Coattails was a small U.S.-based indie VN developer that officially merged with Studio Élan in October 2022. Included as a direct peer by nature of having been an independent studio in the same niche with overlapping members on joint projects like Highway Blossoms and National Park Girls.

Emerging players

• Salty Salty Studios: Salty Salty Studios is an emerging indie developer whose titles (First Snow, Twofold) are published under Studio Élan's Bellhouse label. Comparable as a small yuri VN developer that monetizes via the Bellhouse marketplace rather than competing with it directly.
• 4noki & co. 4noki & co. is an emerging developer of horror-fantasy yuri VNs (Who is the Red Queen) whose Steam edition was brought to market via Bellhouse. Comparable as a small niche developer in the WLW VN space that uses Studio Élan's distribution rather than competing against it.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vnstudioelan
• YouTubeyoutube.com/StudioElan/featured
• Instagraminstagram.com/vnstudioelan
• TikToktiktok.com/@vnstudioelan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Studio Élan