iNK Stories
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2006
- Employees
- 1-10
- Offices
- 2
About iNK Stories
iNK Stories is an independent game and immersive entertainment studio based in Brooklyn, New York City. Established in 2006 by game creator and filmmaker Navid Khonsari and visual anthropologist and documentary producer Vassiliki Khonsari, it brings cinematic storytelling and documentary approaches to interactive experiences. Its work spans narrative video games, virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality installations.
The studio describes its approach as “Verité Games”: interactive storytelling grounded in human history, social justice and contemporary conflict. Its productions use player participation to explore personal perspectives within wider political and social settings, combining narrative design with filmmaking and immersive technology.
Games and immersive storytelling
Its breakthrough title, 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (2016), follows a photojournalist during the Iranian Revolution. The narrative adventure established the studio’s documentary-informed approach to portraying historical events through individual experiences.
Subsequent projects extend that approach across different formats. Blindfold is a companion virtual reality interrogation experience set in Tehran’s Evin Prison. HERO explores civilian warfare in Syria through a multisensory VR installation, while Fire Escape: An Interactive VR Series brings an interactive thriller format to a Brooklyn setting. The studio also collaborated with Bose on The Thrilling Sounds of New York, an audio augmented reality walking experience.
Current development
Lili adapts Shakespeare’s Macbeth into a contemporary Iranian setting through a neo-noir, screenlife interactive format. The project combines live-action material with game storytelling and is co-produced with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Alambic Production. It has appeared in the immersive programmes at Cannes and Venice.
Another work in development, Block Party, explores an open world based on the studio’s Brooklyn community. Together, these projects reflect the company’s continuing interest in connecting documentary subjects, cinematic forms and interactive participation. iNK Stories remains independently owned and operated by its co-founders.
More about iNK Stories
Production methods and operating model
- For Block Party, the founders are developing documentary-style AI-powered NPC avatars modeled on real Brooklyn residents, bringing people from their own community into the project's open world.
- The studio operates with a boutique core team, expanding through specialist contractors and external co-production partners for individual projects.
Recognition
- 1979 Revolution: Black Friday received BAFTA and DICE nominations, Facebook’s Game of the Year and the IndieCade Jury Prize. The report also records UNESCO recognition of the game as a digital innovation for peaceful conflict resolution.
- HERO (2018) won the Tribeca Film Festival’s Storyscapes Award.
Founders’ background
Before establishing the studio, Navid Khonsari spent five years at Rockstar Games as a cinematic director. His earlier work included cinematic and narrative contributions to the Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, The Warriors and Midnight Club franchises.
Notable credits
7 creditsOffices
Where iNK Stories is based
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
Brooklyn offices
HeadquartersAbout this office
**Office** Status: active Headquarters Address: 45 Main Street, Suite 306, Brooklyn, NY 11201, United States Email: navid@inkstories.com Phone: +1 6462477584 Overall headquarters and sole current operating studio in DUMBO, housing development, executive leadership, narrative design and creative direction. This is the premises represented by the saved New York city-level office. --- **Office** Status: inactive / historical Address: 20 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Historical studio space identified in the report; dates of use and closure are not supplied.
- New York, United States
New York office
Open roles
Find your next role at iNK Stories