What 4th wall games does

4th Wall Games is an Austin, Texas-based independent game studio developing Harrowing Adventures, a cooperative multiplayer interactive fiction game for mobile devices. Set in 1936 and styled after 1930s–1940s pulp serials, the game lets players choose one of three characters — Frank Valentine (private eye), Arthur Lloyd Burroughs (archaeologist), or Margot Wyrd (journalist) — and make narrative decisions whose consequences branch across the other players' story paths. The target audience is mobile gamers, interactive-fiction enthusiasts, and fans of classic pulp adventure, choose-your-own-adventure gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure, Lone Wolf), tabletop RPGs, and 1930s-era noir fiction.

The company has built a proprietary technology stack to author and render this experience. Scribe is a Java-based GUI authoring tool that tracks loose ends, dead ends, orphans, variables, and generates flowchart visualizations via Graphviz. Manuscript is a custom story scripting language supporting if-then-else branching, variables, randomness, loops, and function calls. The Story Engine is a Unity-based runtime that reads JSON story files and uses TextMesh Pro for text presentation, with planned cross-platform deployment to iOS, Android, and WebGL. A proprietary architecture manages the mathematical complexity of three interwoven player narratives.

The business model is pre-commercial: no revenue has been disclosed, no funding rounds are recorded, and the company remains a two-person founder-owned LLC (Mark Baumann and Jeremy Johnson, both Ph.D. physicists). The go-to-market motion combines product-led growth (a planned free-to-play single-player web demo as acquisition funnel), event-driven marketing (SXSW Gaming, NarraScope 2019 at MIT, Game On! with Austin Chronicle), and community-led engagement (blog, social media, email newsletter "Plugged"). Planned monetization is a paid mobile title with potential for premium content chapters, targeting individual consumers via the iOS App Store and Google Play.

Name

4th wall games

Legal name

4th Wall Games, LLC

Website

https://4thwallgames.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

4th Wall Games is an Austin-based independent game studio developing Harrowing Adventures, a cooperative multiplayer interactive fiction mobile game set in 1930s pulp serial style, using proprietary authoring tools (Scribe, manuscript) and a Unity-based Story Engine.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile interactive fiction games

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile & F2P Game Studios (MPAFAAAB)

Keywords

• Interactive fiction games
• Mobile narrative games
• Multiplayer branching story
• Gamebook RPG
• Choice-driven adventures

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Mobile Game Sales: Planned commercial release of Harrowing Adventures mobile game with potential for premium content chapters. Free prologue demo with paid full game expected.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

4th Wall Games develops and plans to publish Harrowing Adventures, a cooperative, multiplayer, choice-driven interactive novel and role-playing game for mobile devices (iOS and Android) plus WebGL, set in the 1930s pulp-adventure era. The game lets players take the role of one of three characters and direct the action as the story develops, with gameplay that adapts to decisions and supports three-player cooperative multiplayer. A free single-player prologue web demo serves as the lead-generation entry point into the planned full commercial release.

Product overview

4th Wall Games offers Harrowing Adventures, a multiplayer interactive fiction game for mobile devices that combines storytelling with RPG mechanics. The core product Harrowing Adventures features three playable characters (Frank Valentine, Arthur Lloyd Burroughs, Margot Wyrd) and adapts to player decisions across multiple playthroughs. Supporting products include a single-player prologue (free web demo), Scribe (authoring tool), manuscript (scripting language), and the Story Engine (Unity-based player app).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Harrowing Adventures: A cooperative, multiplayer, interactive novel and role-playing game for mobile platforms in the style of pulp serials from the 1930s and 1940s. Features three playable characters: Frank Valentine (private eye), Arthur Lloyd Burroughs (archaeologist), and Margot Wyrd (journalist). The game is set in 1936 during the era of the Golden Gate Bridge construction and rising tensions leading to World War II.

Products and services

• Harrowing Adventures A cooperative, multiplayer, choice-driven interactive novel and role-playing game for iOS, Android, and WebGL, set in 1936 and styled after 1930s-40s pulp serials; players choose from three characters and make decisions that interweave with the other players' story paths, with gameplay modes adjustable between story, game, and hybrid play. Targeted at mobile gamers and interactive-fiction enthusiasts.
• Harrowing Adventures Prologue A free single-player prologue released as a WebGL playable on the 4th Wall Games website, serving as the top-of-funnel demo that introduces Harrowing Adventures to prospective players before the full commercial mobile release.

Segments2 records

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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• NarraScopeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2019Academic gaming conference at MIT where Mark gave a talk about the upcoming multiplayer interactive fiction game and the proprietary authoring tool Scribe.
• SXSW GamingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2017SXSW Gaming co-produced the Game On! event with Austin Chronicle at the Bob Bullock Museum. 4th Wall Games debuted Harrowing Adventures at this event as part of the gaming showcase.
• Austin ChroniclecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2017Co-production partner with SXSW Gaming for Game On! event showcasing Austin's indie game development community.
• Writing ExcusesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2016Jeremy Johnson attended Writing Excuses writing retreat at sea with podcast creators Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal. Provided insights on inclusive storytelling for Harrowing Adventures.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Choice of Games: Choice of Games specializes in choice-based narrative games delivered as text-heavy interactive fiction on mobile and web, with a heavy catalog of branching stories. It is the closest direct comparable to 4th Wall Games' branching-narrative IF approach.
• inkle: inkle develops critically acclaimed interactive narrative games (e.g., 80 Days, Sorcery!, Overboard) for mobile and PC. Its focus on deeply branching storytelling and mobile-first delivery directly parallels 4th Wall Games' Harrowing Adventures design.
• Tin Man Games: Tin Man Games produces mobile gamebook adaptations of Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and other choose-your-own-adventure franchises. Its gamebook-to-mobile format is highly comparable to 4th Wall Games' pulp-inspired, branching IF product.
• Failbetter Games: Failbetter Games makes text-and-choice-driven narrative games with RPG/loot elements (Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Cultist Simulator). Its combination of narrative branching with RPG mechanics is closely aligned with Harrowing Adventures' design.

Broad incumbents

• Supergiant Games: Supergiant Games is an established indie studio known for narrative-rich action RPGs (Bastion, Transistor, Hades). While larger and more resourced, it operates in the same narrative-game category and demonstrates indie viability of story-driven titles.
• Telltale Games: Telltale Games is the most recognized studio for choice-driven narrative games (The Walking Dead, Tales from the Borderland). It is a broad incumbent in the interactive fiction space, validating the genre commercially at much larger scale.
• Stoic Studio: Stoic Studio developed The Banner Saga trilogy, narrative-heavy tactical RPGs with strong storytelling and serial content releases. It is comparable as an indie studio that ships serialized narrative RPG experiences.
• Spiderweb Software: Spiderweb Software is a long-running indie RPG studio (Avernum, Avadon, Queen's Wish) with strong narrative and world-building on small teams. Comparable as a small indie studio building RPG content for niche audiences.
• Larian Studios: Larian Studios develops large-scale narrative RPGs (Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity series) with deep branching choices. It represents the broader incumbent end of narrative RPG game development relevant to 4th Wall Games' ambition.

Emerging players

• ZA/UM: ZA/UM developed Disco Elysium, a critically acclaimed narrative-heavy RPG with deep choice mechanics. It is comparable as a narrative-RPG-focused studio that emerged from a small team to achieve breakout impact.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/4th_Wall_Games
• Facebookfacebook.com/4th-Wall-Games-1783832668541628
• Instagraminstagram.com/4thwallgames
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/4th-wall-games-ltd

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 4th wall games