Variable State
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2014
- Employees
- 1-10
- Offices
- 3
About Variable State
Variable State is an independent video game development studio founded in January 2014 by Jonathan Burroughs and Terry Kenny. Its work spans cinematic narrative adventures, supernatural drama, cooperative science-fiction action and underwater horror. The studio combines interactive storytelling with game direction, writing, animation, music composition and audio design.
Working remotely between London and Dublin, the company brings together a small core team and specialist external collaborators. Its early games established a focus on character, atmosphere and cinematic storytelling, while subsequent projects broadened its work into action systems, environmental destruction and simulation.
From narrative adventures to action
The studio’s debut, Virginia (2016), is a dialogue-free, first-person mystery adventure published by 505 Games. Drawing inspiration from television dramas including Twin Peaks and The X-Files, it uses real-time jump cuts and match cuts to move between scenes. Its approach places particular emphasis on visual storytelling, editing and music rather than traditional dialogue trees.
Last Stop (2021), published by Annapurna Interactive, develops the studio’s narrative interests through a supernatural, third-person anthology set in contemporary London. Its interconnected dramatic format extends Variable State’s exploration of characters and stories within interactive worlds.
The studio subsequently expanded into action-oriented development with Polaris, a cooperative science-fiction shooter for up to four players. Built in Unreal Engine 5, the game combines flight mechanics with fully destructible environments. Deepest Fear explores a different direction: retro-futuristic, deep-sea horror presented as a first-person shooter, combining immersive-sim and Metroidvania design with real-time fluid simulation.
Development approach
Across these projects, Variable State’s capabilities connect cinematic presentation with real-time game systems. Environmental storytelling, scene transitions and audio direction remain central areas of expertise alongside newer work in destruction and fluid simulation. The studio has worked with external publishers on its narrative releases and has also pursued self-publishing on PC for its action and horror projects.
More about Variable State
Leadership and background
- Jonathan Burroughs is a studio director and co-owner. Composer and audio director Lyndon Holland subsequently became an equity partner and director; he is a graduate of the National Film and Television School.
- Co-founder Terry Kenny resigned from formal directorship on 4 June 2025 but remains an active significant shareholder. The report identifies Burroughs, Holland and Kenny as each holding 25–50% ownership.
- Burroughs and Kenny worked together at Google DeepMind before establishing the studio. Their earlier development experience included Rockstar Games, Rare, Electronic Arts and Headstrong Games.
Music and recognition
- The orchestral score for Virginia was performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Virginia received four Independent Games Festival nominations and three BAFTA Games Award nominations. It won the 2017 BAFTA Games Award for Music and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Game Writing.
- Last Stop won the 2021 TIGA Games Industry Award for Best Role Playing Game.
Notable credits
4 creditsOffices
Where Variable State is based
- Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Dublin office
- London, England, United Kingdom
London office
- Remote
Remote office
About this office
Remote operating base of co-founder and studio director Jonathan Burroughs. The studio works from home offices without fixed commercial premises.
Open roles
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