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Studio Élan
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2017; 7 years ago (2017)
Founders
  • Josh Kalpan
Headquarters
U.S.
Websitevnstudioelan.com

Studio Élan is an independent video game developer and publisher founded in 2017 by Josh Kaplan.[1] They specialised in yuri visual novels and are best known for their first two titles, Highway Blossoms and Heart of the Woods.

History

[edit]

Studio Élan first began as an amateur game development group under the name Alienwork. Between working on another project within Alienwork, Syon Santeria pitched fellow member Josh Kaplan on creating a yuri visual novel as a smaller side project, the idea interested Kaplan and the pair began development of Highway Blossoms.[2] Sekai Project announced the game at Anime Weekend Atlanta on September 26, 2015,[3] and in 2016 opened a Steam Greenlight page for the game.[4] Highway Blossoms was initially released without any voice acting and its sound was limited to an acoustic soundtrack. An adult content patch was made freely available.[5][6] The developer later released a remastered version of the game featuring voice-overs for the characters.[7]

Highway Blossoms received positive reviews for its visuals, story, and soundtrack.[8][9][10][11] Kaplan also noted that the game "ended up being unexpectedly successful," stating that "it found an audience of primarily LGBT readers who appreciated what they felt was a more realistic approach to same-sex relationships."[12] Due to the game's success, Kaplan went on to found Studio Élan in February 2017.[1][12] In October, Highway Blossoms's publisher Sekai Project announced that Élan would be working on two further visual novels.[13] One of these was Heart of the Woods,[13] which would be released in 2019.[14] The studio's work would go on to garner a reputation for commonly featuring LGBTQ+ and sapphic themes.[15] In a 2018 interview, the head of the studio stated that "the majority" of studio members are LGBT women.[16]

In 2019, the studio announced Lock and Key, a magical girl yuri visual novel.[17] In February 2020, Studio Élan announced that they would begin publishing visual novels under their newly formed "Bellhouse" label, with First Snow as their first title.[18] They further released Highway Blossoms: Next Exit, downloadable content (DLC) for Highway Blossoms in 2020.[19] Also in February, the release a trailer for Summer At the Edge of the Universe, which was set for release in 2021.[20][21] In April 2021, Studio Elan announced plans for a console port of Highway Blossoms.[22]

In October 2022, the studio merged with Studio Coattails.[23] In November, the studio released Please Be Happy.[24] In April 2023, Heart of the Woods received a limited physical release.[25] Later in October, the studio published Twofold, a visual novel following non-binary college student Olive Penn.[26]

Games

[edit]

Games developed

[edit]
Title Platform(s) Publication date Ref
Highway Blossoms Windows June 17, 2016 [27]
The Waters Above: Prelude Windows June 27, 2018 [28]
Heart of the Woods Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S February 15, 2019 [29]
Please Be Happy Windows November 21, 2022 [30]
Summer At the Edge of the Universe TBA TBA [31]
Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery Windows TBA [32]
Our Home, My Keeper TBA TBA [33]

Games published

[edit]
Title Developer Platform(s) Publication date Ref
National Park Girls Studio Coattails Windows March 14, 2019 [34]
Without A Voice L³ Windows March 20, 2020 [35]
First Snow Salty Salty Studios Windows August 19, 2020 [36]
Who Is The Red Queen? 4noki Windows August 15, 2022 [37]
Twofold Salty Salty Studios Windows October 27, 2023 [38]
Love In a Bottle lovelandisle Windows TBA [39]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Studio Elan". Gematsu. 28 January 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "Preparing for a Yuri Road Trip: An Interview With Highway Blossoms Developer, J. Kaplan". Yuri Empire. June 3, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "Sekai Project Adds Wagamama High Spec, Darekoi, More Visual Novels". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  4. ^ Estrada, Marcus (February 17, 2016). "Take a Yuri Road Trip with Highway Blossoms". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  5. ^ Friedman, Erica (June 20, 2016). "Yuri Visual Novel: Highway Blossoms (English)". Okazu. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Tarason, Dominic (September 17, 2018). "Steam's first sexually explicit Adult Only games are out now, but not in every region". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  7. ^ Manente, Kristina (March 26, 2019). "Nerdy Jobs: The voices behind dating sims and visual novels". Syfy. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  8. ^ Jones, Rebecca; Gremillion, Mexi (January 1, 2023). "The 10 best visual novels on PC in 2023". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  9. ^ Valens, Ana (May 20, 2021) [October 26, 2019]. "Eroge, visual novels, and hentai: Your guide to adult visual novels". The Daily Dot. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. ^ Terese, Tyler (May 22, 2018). "15 PC Visual Novels That Every Gamer Should Play". GameRevolution. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Ahlbrand, Maddison (February 9, 2023). "9 Best LGBTQ+ Visual Novel Games". TheGamer. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Rowe, Willa (February 21, 2023). "Studio Élan on Doing Romance Right in Video Games: "Fans Want Nuanced, In-Depth Stories"". Inverse. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Estrada, Marcus (October 3, 2017). "Studio Élan Creating Two New Yuri Visual Novels". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Romano, Sal (June 12, 2021). "Heart of the Woods launches July 8 for Switch, in August for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox One". Gematsu. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  15. ^ King, Jade (June 29, 2022). "Pride Month Picks: Studio Elan Is The Master Of Sapphic Visual Novels". TheGamer. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  16. ^ Jay, Mitch (September 6, 2018). "Studio Élan Interview – Visual Novels, Yuri, Steam and More". Rice Digital. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Hart, Aimee (December 9, 2019). "Lock and Key, a yuri visual novel that includes magical girls, is announced". Gayming Magazine. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  18. ^ "Branching Out: Bellhouse". Studio Élan. February 29, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  19. ^ "Behind the Scenes with Studio Élan". VN Game Den. April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  20. ^ "Studio Élan Unveils New Solarpunk Visual Novel Summer at the Edge of the Universe". Hardcore Gamer. February 12, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  21. ^ Hart, Aimee (February 13, 2020). "Studio Élan announces Summer at the Edge of the Universe, a lesbian visual novel". Gayming Magazine. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  22. ^ Hart, Aimee (21 June 2021). "Studio Élan reveals popular lesbian game Highway Blossoms is coming to console - Gayming Magazine". Gayming Magazine. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  23. ^ @vnstudioelan (October 31, 2022). "Happy Halloween everyone! We've got several announcements for today 🎃✨ Studio Élan is growing bigger with our merger with Studio Coattails! They're the co-developers of Highway Blossoms and we've worked closely with them for years- and now, we're joining forces" (Tweet). Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Hart, Aimee (November 23, 2022). "Please Be Happy is Studio Élan's new lesbian visual novel". Gayming Magazine. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  25. ^ "Yuri visual novel Heart of the Woods to receive limited physical edition". Gayming Magazine. April 6, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Hart, Aimee (October 27, 2023). "Studio Élan releases Twofold, a visual novel featuring a non-binary protagonist, today". Gayming Magazine. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "Highway Blossoms on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  28. ^ "The Waters Above: Prelude on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  29. ^ "Heart of the Woods on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  30. ^ "Please Be Happy on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  31. ^ "Summer at the Edge of the Universe". Studio Élan. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  32. ^ "Lock & Key: A Magical Girl Mystery on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  33. ^ "Our Home, My Keeper". Studio Élan. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  34. ^ "National Park Girls on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  35. ^ "Without A Voice on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  36. ^ "First Snow on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  37. ^ "Who Is The Red Queen? on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  38. ^ "Twofold on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  39. ^ "Love In a Bottle on Steam". Valve. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
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