Sad Owl Studios
First-person puzzle game reshaping reality with photographs.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
* | N/A | Angel | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Sad Owl Studios is a Scottish game development studio incorporated in 2021. The company operates with a global, remote team of both new and experienced developers from locations including the UK, USA, and the Philippines. Sad Owl Studios was founded as a joint venture by Fern Turtle, Robot Teddy, Georg Backer, and Gwen Foster.
The studio's formation grew out of a viral social media post by game developer Matt Stark in late 2019, which showcased a novel game mechanic of overwriting a game world with the contents of a photograph. Stark, who became the Game Director, decided to leave university to develop the concept into a full game. The studio was formally established in 2021 after Robot Teddy was acquired by Thunderful Publishing, which then provided publishing support for the project. In February 2025, Dino Patti, co-founder of Jumpship, also invested in Sad Owl Studios.
The company's debut title is "Viewfinder," a single-player, first-person puzzle adventure game. The core mechanic allows players to take pictures with an instant camera and place those photos into the 3D environment, which then become a tangible part of the world that can be explored. The game's narrative is player-driven, set within a simulation where researchers were attempting to restore plant life to a barren Earth. The business model is a direct-to-consumer premium game sale. "Viewfinder" was released in July 2023 for PlayStation 5 and Windows, followed by a PlayStation 4 release in December 2023. It is scheduled to launch on Xbox Series X/S in August 2025 and Nintendo Switch in late 2025. The game has received critical acclaim, earning a BAFTA for British Game and New Intellectual Property.
Keywords: video game development, puzzle adventure game, reality bending mechanic, perspective puzzles, indie game studio, first-person puzzler, spatial manipulation, Unity game engine, Thunderful Publishing, BAFTA award winner, Viewfinder game, Matt Stark, Georg Backer, Gwen Foster, player-driven narrative, console gaming, PC gaming, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox