escape stories

What escape stories does

Escape Stories is a Stockholm-based operator of story-driven escape room experiences, outdoor games, and portable team-building activities, founded in July 2015. The company designs and builds physical puzzle environments with custom props, each anchored by a fully developed narrative storyline, and delivers them through trained bilingual Game Masters (Swedish and English) who lead sessions in-character and provide tailored hint guidance via in-room cameras without microphones. The current portfolio comprises five fixed-location escape rooms (The Cover Up, The Last Manuscript, Silverpilen/The Silver Arrow, The Escape Society, and The Case of Valter Nielsen) housed in a 446 sqm facility at Klarabergsgatan 23, one outdoor game (The Da Vinci Quest) set in Gamla Stan, two portable games (The Escape Box and The Mole) delivered to client premises, a meeting room rental, dinner packages bundled with restaurant partner Grill, gift cards, and a B2B custom game development service used by clients such as Skansen, Unionen, and Sveriges Radio.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer and direct-to-corporate model with no resellers or intermediaries. Pricing is per-person (escape rooms from 350 SEK, outdoor game from 390 SEK) or per-team (portable games at 2,000-2,500 SEK per team), with a Saturday minimum uplift and an optional 40 SEK rebooking guarantee. Dinner packages layer on a 3-course meal at Restaurant Grill for 1,195-1,295 SEK per person. The company employs approximately 12 staff with typically 3-5 on duty at any given time, and operates under a collective agreement. Marketing is primarily organic, anchored by a #1 Tripadvisor ranking in Stockholm and Sweden, a blog, and a Trygga Barnen charity partnership.

Escape Stories is privately held and founder-owned with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investors. Its competitive position rests on narrative depth, in-character Game Master-led delivery, and ten years of brand building in the Swedish market rather than on technology differentiation, scale economics, or network effects.

Name

escape stories

Legal name

Escape Stories

Website

https://escapestories.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Escape Stories is a Stockholm-based, founder-owned operator of story-driven escape rooms, outdoor games, and portable team-building experiences, serving leisure visitors and corporate clients in Sweden with five fixed rooms and adjacent on-premise offerings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Escape Room Entertainment

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Entertainment Centers & Indoor Amusement (Arcades, Trampoline Parks, Indoor Play) (THAAAAAD)

Keywords

• Escape room experiences
• Immersive team building
• Live entertainment games
• Outdoor adventure games
• Corporate event activities

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Escape Room Bookings: Per-person fees for escape room sessions. Prices vary by day and time slot, starting from 350 SEK per person with a minimum per-team rate. Saturday has higher minimum pricing.
2. Outdoor Game - The Da Vinci Quest: Per-person outdoor game in Gamla Stan, Stockholm. 90-minute duration. Prices from 390 SEK per person.
3. Portable Games (The Escape Box, The Mole): Team-based portable escape experiences delivered at client premises or Restaurant Grill. Pricing per team (2,000–2,500 SEK per team) plus optional transport.
4. Dinner Packages: Combined escape room or portable game with 3-course meal at Restaurant Grill. 1,195 SEK per person for escape room, 1,295 SEK per person for portable game. Minimum charges apply.
5. Gift Cards: Prepaid gift cards sold in variable amounts, redeemable for any Escape Stories experience.
6. Meeting Room Rental: Private meeting/gathering room rental at 1,100 SEK per started hour, plus optional cleaning fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Escape Stories designs, builds, and operates story-driven escape room experiences, a 90-minute outdoor urban game in Gamla Stan, and portable team-building games that are delivered to client premises. All games are led in character by trained bilingual Game Masters and run on a direct booking model, with supplementary offerings including a dinner package with Restaurant Grill, a meeting room, gift cards, and custom game development for corporate clients.

Product overview

Escape Stories operates a portfolio of immersive escape room experiences and related entertainment services in Stockholm, Sweden. The core offering consists of five themed escape rooms: The Cover Up (1986 Stockholm thriller), The Last Manuscript (cult conspiracy), Silverpilen/The Silver Arrow (ghost train), The Escape Society (language-neutral test), and The Case of Valter Nielsen (investigation). These physical puzzle experiences are led by Game Masters in character. The portfolio extends to portable team building games (The Escape Box, The Mole) delivered to client locations, and The Da Vinci Quest outdoor game in Gamla Stan. The company also offers dinner packages with restaurant Grill, meeting room rentals, gift cards, and custom game development services for corporate clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Cover Up: Escape room themed around Stockholm 1986 Prime Minister shooting and bomb threat scenario
• The Last Manuscript
• The Silver Arrow (Silverpilen)
• The Escape Society
• The Case of Valter Nielsen
• The Da Vinci Quest
• The Escape Box
• The Mole
• Break In (retired)

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 75% of teams complete the rooms within the allotted time (with hints)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Restaurant GrillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEscape Stories has a partnership with Restaurant Grill located at Drottninggatan 89 (650m from Escape Stories' premises). Together they offer dinner packages combining escape room or portable game experiences with a 3-course meal. Portable games can be hosted at Grill's premises at no venue cost. The restaurant provides curated menu options including meat, fish, and vegetarian choices, plus wine packages.
• Trygga BarnenminorOthersEscape Stories is a proud partner of Trygga Barnen, a charitable organization providing support to children and young people growing up in families affected by addiction. The partnership aims to give more children meaningful leisure activities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fox in a Box Stockholm: Escape room operator located in Stockholm offering multiple themed rooms to consumer and corporate customers. Most direct in-market competitor to Escape Stories, competing for the same Stockholm tourist, leisure, and team-building demand.
• Clue Chase: Stockholm-based escape room company running multiple themed rooms. Direct competitor in the same city, with overlapping target segments including tourists, locals, and corporate team-building clients.
• House of Rooms: Stockholm escape room operator offering themed puzzle rooms to consumer and corporate audiences. Direct competitor in the same local market, competing for tourist, group, and team-building demand.

Broad incumbents

• Escape Hunt: Publicly listed international escape room and experiential entertainment franchise with operations across multiple countries. Comparable on core business model (themed rooms, group bookings) and broader geographic footprint.
• The Escape Game: Large US-based escape room chain with multiple locations. Comparable product offering (themed rooms, team building, private events) and similar GTM motion, though at significantly larger scale and operating only in the US.
• 60out: US escape room chain with multiple branded locations and an emphasis on narrative design and themed rooms. Comparable in product design philosophy and customer segments, though geographically separate.

Regional players

• Tom Tits Experiment: Major Swedish family entertainment center and science activity museum. Comparable as a Stockholm-area indoor entertainment destination for families and school groups, though its format is hands-on science exhibits rather than escape rooms.
• Junibacken: Stockholm children's culture center on Djurgården. Comparable as a family-focused entertainment venue in the same city, overlapping with Escape Stories' family-with-children segment for birthday parties and group outings.

Others

• Skansen: Stockholm-based open-air museum and one of Escape Stories' game development clients. Comparable as a Stockholm destination for tourists and group outings, and as a counterparty in Escape Stories' custom B2B game development service line.

Emerging players

• VR Experience Stockholm: Stockholm-based virtual reality experience venue offering immersive group activities. Partial overlap as a competing indoor group-entertainment format that targets some of the same corporate team-building and tourist segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/escapestories

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 escape stories