So, 2024 is coming to an end, and I had a moment to think about everything that happened in 2024… and it was mindblowing, to say the least. I’ve never done a year in review before, so this may be a bit clunky (let’s just say, I don’t have Livia’s finesse to write).
All in all, it’s been an incredibly positive year 🔥
About 2024…
January found us amidst the frenzy of preparing for the iPhone/iPad release of Unearthed Stories. The people from Page Chewing came to our aid, and we got quite a few beta-testers willing to test the app and report bugs-. We launched in iPhone and iPad in March, and it was quite a success—all thanks to the many booktubers that came to our aid, talking about the app, the books and what not.
A special shoutout goes to Angela from Do Unicorn Read? who did a thorough review of Unearthed Stories, and then an in-depth analysis of how Livia implemented mechanics to change engagement in the stories. We also need to thank Kay (from Kay’s Hidden Shelf) and Jamedi (from Jams Write) who literally helped us in every single release we did in the year.
And that is because right after releasing in iPhone/iPad, we did the first thematic update of the year in April, with Unearthed Stories: Elusive Pathways. This update included two books-with-choices (namely, Reflections and Means of Egress) that had very unique mechanics, many of which we implemented exclusively for this. It was a very interesting release, especially Means of Egress—a dungeon-crawler that features 182 ways of crossing it. We (and out betas) went nuts testing that thing!
Then, something quite unexpected happened. Something we’ve been hoping to begin in late 2025, but were fortunate to start doing in 2024—we began acquiring short-stories from invited writers. We are actually paying for those stories to support the writers, and so for us it is a huge win. If you’re keen, you can read the announcement here.
So far, we had two invited writers:
- Thomas J. Devens, grimdark author of the series Vermin of the Old Empire was the inaugural writer. The interactive short-story is The Pawn… and if you’re a fan of Abercrombie, you have to read it.
- Karl Forshaw, author of the series Luna Ruinam, was the latest release—in December! His interactive short-story is Dreams of the Sky, and it is a quaint blend of dark fantasy with horror. Our very own Livia illustrated that cover, and it rocks!
Finally, in November we released another large update: Unearthed Stories: Future Societies. This is the first sci-fi-only update we did, and included Tales of the Stars and Static Signal Living Legacy—truth be told, the latter is one story that I (Fernando) have been urging Livia to convert to interactive for a long, long time.
This means that now (finally!) we have three full science fiction stories… but it also means that we delivered roughly ~370,000 new words worth of books-with-choices through Unearthed Stories. That’s a lot! 🤯
Onwards to 2025
We can promise you something: more invited writers will be unearthing short-stories! At the moment of writing this, we’re working with an author to release early in the new year, have a second author confirmed, and are in talks with someone else. Bringing a bit of those literary universes we love into our game means a lot, and we are super excited to see where it goes!
Also (and incredible as it sounds), 2025 will mark the second anniversary of Unearthed Stories. Although we originally launched only on Android, we are still considering that date as The Date… and so we have plans. Mighty plans! Secret plans! 🤐 Hopefully, we will share more news closer to the date, but you can expect some noise around the anniversary.
And from there on? I can share a secret: Livia has plans for two more interactive stories. Beyond that, we’ll see. There is a lot ahead of us.
In the meantime, thank you to everyone that helped us, supported, purchased our in-app books, donated, and sent us encouraging messages. You have no idea how much it help us keep going.
Cheers,
Fernando
PS: after so much talking, you may be keen on trying Unearthed Stories. You can do so from here:
