Built from the dark up.
Aethra Studios is an independent game studio making dark, atmospheric games with real depth underneath.
Why we started Aethra
Aethra comes from the Greek word for a clear, bright sky. We like the contrast. Our games live in the dark, but they’re about the light you find in it: a sign left on in an empty car park, a phone ringing at three in the morning, a door that should be locked.
We’re independent and self-published on purpose. It keeps the team small, the decisions fast, and every game exactly as strange as it needs to be.
Our first game is Clocked Out, a first-person horror game about the night shift at a roadside motel. It’s built in Unity, and it’s the kind of game we always wanted someone else to make.
- Founded
- 2025
- Based
- The Netherlands, remote-first
- Engine
- Unity
- Ownership
- Independent, self-published
What we care about
Atmosphere is a mechanic
Light, sound and silence carry information. We design them with the same care as anything you can press a button for.
Dread over noise
A phone that rings at the wrong time does more than a monster in your face. We earn every scare.
Depth you find yourself
Our games reveal themselves through play, not tutorials. We trust players to notice.
Small team, finished games
We scope to what we can make excellent, and then we ship it.
So far
2025
Aethra Studios is founded
A small independent studio with one goal: make the games we want to play.
Summer 2026
Clocked Out enters pre-alpha
The motel is built in Unity and the first night shift becomes playable.
Next
Steam page, playtest and demo
Wishlists open, and the first players take the shift.