Frictional Games

Frictional Games is a Swedish independent video game developer and publisher founded on January 1, 2007, by Thomas Grip and Jens Nilsson. Its work focuses on first-person survival horror, psychological tension and narrative-driven experiences, combining atmospheric environments, physics puzzles and vulnerable protagonists. The company remains financially independent and develops its own game technology alongside its games.

The studio grew from a virtual collaboration between its founders, who had previously worked together on the hobby project Unbirth. A Penumbra technology demonstration led to a publishing partnership with Paradox Interactive and the releases of Penumbra: Overture in 2007, followed by Penumbra: Black Plague and Penumbra: Requiem in 2008. These early projects established the studio's focus on immersive environments and interactive horror.

In 2010, Frictional self-published Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Its emphasis on defenseless protagonist gameplay became a defining feature of the studio's approach to horror. The game sold more than 1.3 million copies within its first two years and became closely associated with the growth of YouTube Let's Play videos.

Frictional subsequently served as publisher and producer for Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, developed by The Chinese Room and released in 2013. This arrangement freed its internal development team to create SOMA, released in 2015. Set in the submerged research complex PATHOS-II, SOMA explores artificial intelligence, consciousness and personal identity through a science-fiction horror story. It went on to sell more than one million copies on PC.

The studio continued the Amnesia series with Amnesia: Rebirth in 2020 and Amnesia: The Bunker in 2023. The latter brings its survival horror approach to a semi-open World War I setting. Frictional's development capabilities include full-cycle game production, self-publishing, co-publishing and proprietary engine architecture through its HPL technology.

As of October 2026, the company is developing Ontos, a science-fiction mystery thriller described as a spiritual successor to SOMA. Featuring Stellan Skarsgård, it is scheduled for release in 2027 in partnership with Kepler Interactive.