What GAMES WITH DNA LTD does

Games with DNA is a UK-based, female-led independent narrative game studio founded in May 2024 by CEO & Creative Director Anna Blewden, a scientist-by-training whose background spans criminal investigation, marketing, and technology and who holds an MSc in Virtual & Augmented Reality Programming. The studio is supported by Executive Producer Dave Ranyard, formerly Studio Head of PlayStation's London Studio and an EP on narrative titles including As Dusk Falls and The Pirate Queen with Lucy Liu, lending senior console-narrative production credibility.

The studio's single product is Love & Fool's Gold, a Wild West romance/mystery visual novel with a gothic horror twist. It is built on a branching narrative engine in which player choices shape relationships, alliances, and story outcomes, delivered through hand-drawn visuals, a fully-voiced cast, and atmospheric sound design. Distribution is concentrated on Steam (app ID 4066670), where a demo is currently available ahead of full release.

The business model is straightforward B2C one-time licence sales of the game to individual Steam consumers, with community-led growth across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, Discord, Reddit, and LinkedIn. The studio has accumulated over 100,000 social followers within six months of demo release, indicating strong early audience interest, but remains pre-revenue with no disclosed funding rounds and appears bootstrapped. The target customer is an underserved demographic of players seeking deep, authentic, character-driven romance and mystery experiences in narrative-game format.

Name

GAMES WITH DNA LTD

Legal name

Games with DNA

Website

https://gameswithdna.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Games with DNA is a UK-based, female-led indie studio developing Love & Fool's Gold, a branching-narrative Wild West romance/mystery visual novel distributed on Steam, targeting underserved romance and mystery game audiences and supported by EP Dave Ranyard (ex-PlayStation London Studio).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Games (Narrative Visual Novel)

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Narrative/Adventure & RPG Game Studios (MPAFAAAL)

Keywords

• Narrative video games
• Visual novel games
• Interactive storytelling
• Indie game development
• Digital game distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

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 - Love & Fool's Gold: The studio's debut title Love & Fool's Gold is a narrative visual novel game available for purchase on Steam. Revenue is generated through direct game sales to consumers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Games with DNA develops and sells narrative-driven video games, with its debut title Love & Fool's Gold being a Wild West romance/mystery visual novel with a gothic horror twist. The game is delivered as a one-time-purchase digital product through Steam, featuring branching narratives shaped by player choices, hand-drawn visuals, a fully-voiced cast, and immersive sound design.

Product overview

Games with DNA is a single-product studio currently developing its debut game Love & Fool's Gold. The studio is building out its portfolio around this core narrative game offering, which is a visual novel-style game combining romance, mystery, and gothic horror elements set in the Wild West.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Love & Fool's Gold: Wild West romance/mystery narrative game in visual novel format with gothic horror twist, developed as the studio's debut title.

Products and services

• Love & Fool's Gold (Debut Game) Wild West romance/mystery narrative game in visual novel format with a gothic horror twist, sold to individual PC gamers via Steam. The story unfolds through a branching narrative where player choices shape relationships, alliances, and outcomes, featuring hand-drawn visuals, a fully-voiced cast, and immersive sound design.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Dave RanyardcoreOthers · 1 May 2024Executive Producer with extensive industry experience. Former Studio Head of PlayStation's London Studio. Executive Producer on narrative titles including As Dusk Falls and The Pirate Queen with Lucy Liu. Provides strategic guidance and industry expertise to the studio.
• Anna BlewdencoreOthers · 1 May 2024CEO & Creative Director, founder of Games with DNA. Scientist-by-training with background in criminal investigation, marketing, and tech. Holds MSc in Virtual & Augmented Reality Programming. Drives the creative vision and strategic direction of the studio.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Choice of Games: Developer and publisher of text-based and choice-driven narrative games with strong romance and mystery catalog. Directly comparable as a visual-novel-adjacent studio specializing in branching player-choice narrative games on Steam.
• Voltage Entertainment USA: Specialist in romance visual novels and otome games for mobile and PC. Directly comparable as a studio focused on romance-led narrative games with branching choices, the same core audience Games with DNA targets.
• Serenity Forge: Indie developer and publisher of narrative and story-driven games including Neversong and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine. Comparable as a small narrative studio/publisher working on similar genre-bending indie titles.
• Inkle Studios: British indie studio behind 80 Days and Heaven's Vault, narrative games with branching choices and strong writing. Comparable as a UK-based small narrative studio with similar storytelling-first DNA and branching-narrative design philosophy.
• Don't Nod: French indie studio known for the Life is Strange narrative-adventure franchise, twin sisters, and narrative branching games. Directly comparable as a character-driven narrative studio serving the same audience as Games with DNA.
• Night School Studio: Studio behind Oxenfree and Afterparty, narrative adventure games with supernatural and mystery elements. Comparable as a small-team narrative studio blending genre conventions (romance, mystery, horror) similar to Love & Fool's Gold's positioning.
• Deck Nine Games: Developer of Life is Strange: True Colors and Before the Storm. Closely comparable narrative-adventure studio specializing in character-driven story games for PC and console, the same target audience Games with DNA serves.
• Supermassive Games: Developer of Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures anthology, branching-narrative horror games with strong character drama. Comparable as a narrative studio specializing in horror/mystery/character-driven storytelling on PC and console.

Broad incumbents

• Team17: Major UK-based indie publisher working with narrative and visual novel studios, including Worms and many indie titles on Steam. Comparable as a broad incumbent that publishes games in the same indie narrative/visual-novel category.
• Telltale Games: Former leading narrative-adventure studio (The Walking Dead, Batman, Tales from the Borderlands). Comparable as a broad incumbent in the narrative-game category, even in its diminished form, with strong recognition among the same audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gameswithdna
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@loveandfoolsgold
• Facebookfacebook.com/loveandfoolsgold
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/games-with-dna
• Instagraminstagram.com/loveandfoolsgold
• TikToktiktok.com/@alucodevs

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 GAMES WITH DNA LTD