What Shifting Tides does

Shifting Tides is a privately held Canadian gaming startup and the studio behind The Sojourn, a first-person puzzle game centered on color-themed light-and-darkness mechanics, traversal of parallel worlds, and artifact-discovery puzzles. The game is built on Unreal Engine and is the studio's sole published title, distributed digitally across six storefronts: Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, PlayStation Store (PS4), Xbox One Store, and the Korean platform Stove. Distribution is global in scope, though no specific player counts, review aggregates, or sales figures are disclosed in the input data.

The studio operates a product-led growth model, relying on storefront presence rather than owned acquisition channels. Its revenue model is one-time license revenue from game sales; pricing is set per platform by the storefronts rather than disclosed by Shifting Tides directly. The only confirmed marketing channel is a website newsletter subscription for audience engagement. The company describes itself as privately held, with no parent company, institutional investors, or venture capital backing disclosed in the source material.

Shifting Tides' public positioning emphasizes a forward-looking bet at the intersection of gaming and generative AI, with stated intent to develop new titles that push what is possible in interactive play. However, no AI-specific product capabilities, model integrations, technical pipelines, or research disclosures are present in the input data. Operational evidence is limited to one shipped title, a copyright notice through 2025, and a single contact email ([email protected]); management team, headcount, funding, and revenue figures are all absent from the available sources.

Name

Shifting Tides

Legal name

Shifting Tides

Website

https://shiftingtides.studio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shifting Tides is a privately held Canadian gaming studio and the developer and publisher of The Sojourn, a first-person puzzle game distributed via Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stove, with stated plans to integrate generative AI into future titles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indie Puzzle Video Games

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Local Market Publishers & Distributors (Territory Rights, Localization-led Publishing) (MPAFABAH)

Keywords

• Indie game development
• Puzzle video games
• First-person puzzle game
• Unreal engine games
• Multi-platform game publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Game Sales: Revenue from selling The Sojourn as a first-person puzzle game on multiple PC and console platforms including Epic Games Store, Steam, PS4, Xbox One, GOG, and Stove.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Shifting Tides is a Canadian gaming studio that develops and publishes video games, with its current commercial product being The Sojourn, a first-person puzzle game powered by Unreal Engine. The game is sold on a one-time license basis across major PC digital storefronts (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Stove) and console platforms (PlayStation 4, Xbox One). The studio is also developing future titles at the intersection of gaming and generative AI.

Product overview

Shifting Tides is a gaming startup and studio behind The Sojourn, a published first-person puzzle game. The company is working at the intersection of gaming and generative AI to develop new gaming experiences. The product portfolio consists of a single core offering: The Sojourn, a puzzle game powered by Unreal Engine and published across multiple PC and console distribution platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Sojourn: A first-person puzzle game set in an immersive colour-drenched world of light and darkness, powered by Unreal Engine, published on multiple PC and console platforms including Epic Games Store, Steam, PS4, Xbox One, GOG, and Stove.

Products and services

• The Sojourn The Sojourn is a first-person puzzle video game in which players traverse parallel worlds, awaken mysterious artifacts, and overcome challenging obstacles through color-themed light-and-darkness puzzles. It is sold on a one-time license basis to individual gaming consumers on PC and console platforms.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Thunderful Games: Swedish indie publisher and developer with a portfolio of puzzle and platformer titles. Comparable as a broader indie publisher operating in similar puzzle/platformer genres.
• Annapurna Interactive: Indie publisher known for artistic, narrative-driven titles including What Remains of Edith Finch and Cocoon. Comparable as a publisher aligned with the artistic, atmospheric puzzle genre Shifting Tides occupies.
• Devolver Digital: Prominent indie game publisher that has shipped numerous indie titles across PC and console. Relevant as a potential publishing partner or acquisition counterparty for Shifting Tides' future titles.

Direct peers

• Playdead: Danish indie studio behind Limbo and Inside, two atmospheric first-person puzzle games. Highly comparable to Shifting Tides given the shared first-person puzzle design philosophy, atmospheric aesthetic, and indie studio scale.
• Hello Games: UK studio behind No Man's Sky, a first-person exploration game with procedural elements. Comparable as a small-to-mid indie studio exploring generative/procedural game mechanics, similar to Shifting Tides' generative AI direction.
• Team Cherry: Australian indie developer of Hollow Knight, a critically acclaimed exploration-puzzle game. Comparable as a small indie studio with a single major hit and a strong artistic identity.
• Polytron Corporation: Small indie studio behind Fez, an iconic puzzle platformer with a distinctive visual style. Comparable as a similarly scaled single-title indie studio within the puzzle genre.
• thatgamecompany: Developer of Journey, Flower, and Sky: Children of the Light, atmospheric puzzle/exploration games emphasizing visual storytelling. Shares the artistic, contemplative puzzle DNA with The Sojourn.
• Media Molecule: Developer of LittleBigPlanet and Dreams, puzzle-creative games with strong artistic identity. Comparable as a studio building tools and games at the intersection of creativity and AI-assisted content generation.
• Campo Santo: Developer of Firewatch, a first-person exploration game with puzzle-like narrative discovery. Shares the first-person atmospheric exploration DNA with The Sojourn.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shifting-tides-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Shifting Tides