3 Minute Games
3 Minute Games is an Oregon-based independent mobile game studio that develops the Lifeline franchise of premium interactive fiction "texting adventure" games, serving consumer mobile gamers across iOS, Android, Apple Watch, and Apple Arcade platforms.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What 3 Minute Games does
3 Minute Games is an independent mobile game studio headquartered in Oregon, USA. The company develops the Lifeline franchise, a series of premium interactive fiction "texting adventure" games in which players communicate with fictional characters via real-time text notifications, making branching choices that shape story outcomes over multiple in-game days. Founded in 2014 by Colin Liotta as an experimental subsidiary of Big Fish Games, the studio pioneered the real-time texting adventure genre in 2015 with the release of the original Lifeline. Following seven titles produced between 2015 and 2016, the company was re-established as an independent studio in 2021 after the founders reacquired the Lifeline franchise.
The studio's core technology centers on a real-time narrative delivery system paired with a branching narrative engine that supports hundreds of diverse story paths and replayable outcomes via "jump back" mechanics. Games are cross-platform, playable on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android devices, and Android Wear smartwatches, with multilingual support spanning up to eight languages. The current operating team consists of three founders: Colin Liotta (founder/engineer), Dave Justus (lead writer with credits in Fables: Wolf Among Us and Everafter), and Mars Jokela (game designer). The studio released Lifeline: Beside You in Time in June 2022 as the fourth entry in Taylor's storyline, the first new title under the independent entity.
3 Minute Games operates a premium, ad-free revenue model with no in-app purchases. Titles retail at $2.99-$3.99 as one-time purchases on iOS and Android, with Lifeline+ additionally distributed through the Apple Arcade subscription service. Marketing relies on app store optimization, email newsletter capture, a published press kit, and organic social (notably Dave Justus's Twitter presence). Customers are primarily consumer mobile gamers seeking narrative-driven experiences, with secondary segments including wearable device users and visually impaired players benefiting from screen-reader accessibility. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds.
3 Minute Games firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 3 Minute Games
- Legal name
- 3 Minute Games, Inc.
- Website
- https://3minute.games
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- 3 Minute Games is an Oregon-based independent mobile game studio that develops the Lifeline franchise of premium interactive fiction "texting adventure" games, serving consumer mobile gamers across iOS, Android, Apple Watch, and Apple Arcade platforms.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
3 Minute Games industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Interactive Fiction Games
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios (MPAFAAAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)
Keywords
3 Minute Games business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Premium Game Sales: One-time purchase model for Lifeline series games. No in-app purchases or ads. Games available for individual purchase on iOS and Android platforms.
- Apple Arcade Subscription: Lifeline+ available as part of Apple Arcade subscription service, providing recurring revenue through subscription platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Lifeline (original) - $2.99 one-time purchase |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Lifeline: Beside You in Time - $3.99 one-time purchase |
| Subscription | Monthly | Lifeline+ (Apple Arcade) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
3 Minute Games product offering
Product offeringCore offering
3 Minute Games develops and publishes premium mobile interactive fiction games under the Lifeline franchise. The games feature real-time text-based storytelling with branching narratives, where story events unfold with realistic time delays between messages. Titles are playable across iOS, iPad, Apple Watch, Android devices, and Android Wear, and are distributed via the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Apple Arcade. The games are sold as one-time premium purchases with no in-app purchases or ads.
Product overview
3 Minute Games is an independent mobile gaming studio that developed the Lifeline franchise, a series of premium interactive fiction 'texting adventure' games. The core offering consists of Lifeline (2015) and its sequels Lifeline: Silent Night, Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity, and Lifeline: Beside You in Time, following Taylor's survival story across space. The portfolio also includes the Green Series (Lifeline: Bloodline, Crisis Line, Flatline) featuring different characters and storylines, plus Lifeline: Whiteout created with Eipix Entertainment. Lifeline+ is available via Apple Arcade. All games feature real-time narrative delivery via text notifications, branching storylines, and no in-app purchases or ads. Games are playable across iOS, iPad, Apple Watch, and Android devices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lifeline: Real-time texting adventure game series featuring branching survival stories. Includes titles: Lifeline, Lifeline: Silent Night, Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity, Lifeline: Beside You in Time, Lifeline: Bloodline, Lifeline: Crisis Line, Lifeline: Flatline, Lifeline: Whiteout.
Products and services
- Lifeline The original real-time 'texting adventure' mobile game where players help Taylor survive a crash landing on a barren desert on an alien moon through text-based choices delivered via realistic time delays. Supports iOS, Android, Apple Watch, and Android Wear.
- Lifeline: Silent Night Sequel to the original Lifeline in which Taylor explores the White Star mining vessel, where danger lurks around every corner and not everyone on board is as they seem.
- Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity Third entry in Taylor's story, set in deep space orbiting a black hole where neither time nor space can be trusted.
- Lifeline: Beside You in Time Fourth entry in Taylor's ongoing story, set aboard the Celadon Ace space station. Features interaction with T2 (Taylor's time-warped 'evil twin') and hundreds of diverse story branches with high replayability.
- Lifeline: Bloodline Second storyline in the Green Series with a magical twist, following Arika Lanphear as she searches for her long-lost brother and seeks justice for what happened to her family. Written by Dave Justus.
- Lifeline: Crisis Line Thriller set in the Lifeline universe featuring detective Alex from the Austin Police Department investigating a murder that takes a dangerous turn. Written by New York Times bestselling author Lilah Sturges.
- Lifeline: Flatline Horror-themed Lifeline game set in a mysterious research facility. Follows Wynn facing unspeakable terrors in the aftermath of a devastating incident. Written by multiple award-winning novelist Daryl Gregory.
- Lifeline: Whiteout Mystery thriller where V. Adams awakens on a frozen lake with no memory of the past or hint of the future. Created by Eipix Entertainment in partnership with Big Fish and 3 Minute Games.
- Lifeline+ Taylor's original Lifeline story available as part of the Apple Arcade subscription service. Includes the Viridian Actual epilogue, bridging events between Lifeline and Silent Night.
Quantifiable outcome
- Top Paid Game in 55 countries
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use 3 Minute Games
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
3 Minute Games technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
3 Minute Games partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Big Fish Gamesminor3 Minute Games was originally established in 2014 as an experimental mobile studio under Big Fish Games. The company was later re-established as an independent studio in 2021, reacquiring the Lifeline franchise. This was a founding/parent relationship rather than a commercial partnership.
- Eipix EntertainmentminorEipix Entertainment partnered with Big Fish and 3 Minute Games to create Lifeline: Whiteout. Eipix Entertainment is a game development studio that contributed to the creation of this specific Lifeline title.
- Big FishminorBig Fish partnered with Eipix Entertainment and 3 Minute Games for the development of Lifeline: Whiteout. This was a collaborative development partnership for a specific game title.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
3 Minute Games competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ustwo games: Creator of Monument Valley and Assemble with Care — premium, ad-free mobile games with strong design and narrative identity. Comparable premium indie mobile studio with similar team-size ethos and craft-driven brand.
- Tin Man Games: Developer of gamebook-style interactive fiction titles ( Fighting Fantasy, To Be or Not To Be) on mobile. Comparable premium, text-forward, choice-driven mobile narrative games.
- Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid: Developer of Her Story and Immortality — narrative-forward, premium, single-author-led games with strong critical reception. Comparable craft-driven, narrative-first indie model targeting similar story-engaged audiences.
- Simogo: Swedish indie studio behind Device 6, Year Walk, and Sayonara Wild Hearts — premium mobile games with strong narrative/atmosphere focus and no ads or IAP. Directly comparable premium, story-led, small-team mobile studio.
- Choice of Games: Publishes text-based choice-driven interactive novels on iOS/Android with branching narratives. Comparable premium, writer-driven, mobile-native narrative offering that overlaps directly with the Lifeline franchise.
- Night School Studio: Creator of Oxenfree, Afterparty, and Next Stop Nowhere — narrative-driven games emphasizing character and branching dialogue. Comparable narrative-first indie studio with premium positioning, though broader platform mix.
- Inkle Studios: Independent studio behind 80 Days, Sorcery!, and Heaven's Vault — premium narrative/interactive-fiction games with deep branching paths. Closest direct analog to Lifeline's premium, story-first mobile model.
Broad incumbents
- Telltale Games: Iconic narrative-adventure studio (The Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us) operating in the same choice-driven, character-led story space. Broader platform (console/PC/mobile) and much larger historical scale, but overlapping craft DNA and audience.
- Episode (Pocket Gems): Mobile interactive-story platform with millions of stories and a large F2P audience. Overlaps with Lifeline in interactive-fiction mobile category but operates at much larger scale with a fundamentally different (F2P/IAP) monetization model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
3 Minute Games social profiles
Digital presence3 Minute Games financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
3 Minute Games leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
3 Minute Games funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
3 Minute Games 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 3 Minute Games
What does 3 Minute Games do?
3 Minute Games develops and publishes premium mobile interactive fiction games under the Lifeline franchise. The games feature real-time text-based storytelling with branching narratives, where story events unfold with realistic time delays between messages. Titles are playable across iOS, iPad, Apple Watch, Android devices, and Android Wear, and are distributed via the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Apple Arcade. The games are sold as one-time premium purchases with no in-app purchases or ads.
Is 3 Minute Games a public or private company?
3 Minute Games is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was 3 Minute Games founded?
3 Minute Games was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does 3 Minute Games make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Premium Game Sales are the primary driver. The others are apple Arcade Subscription.
Who are 3 Minute Games's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ustwo games, Tin Man Games, Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid, Simogo, Choice of Games, Night School Studio and Inkle Studios. Broad incumbents are Telltale Games and Episode (Pocket Gems).
Does 3 Minute Games have an API?
No public API is recorded for 3 Minute Games.
What industry is 3 Minute Games in?
3 Minute Games's product category is Mobile Interactive Fiction Games. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAG, Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios, with a secondary code of BPAMAKAB, Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7990.