Glow Up Games

Glow Up Games was a mobile games and creative research-and-development studio co-founded by Dr. Mitu Khandaker and Latoya Peterson. Its stated mission was to build games and technology centering and celebrating Black and brown joy, and to develop diverse stories aimed at what it described as the largest underserved audience in video games. The studio positioned its work across games, mobile, AI, and AR/VR and other emerging technologies, with a particular focus on interactive entertainment for women of color.

The studio's sole released credit was Insecure: The Come Up Game, a mobile title based on the HBO series Insecure, which entered early access in December 2021 with Glow Up Games as publisher. The game placed the player in the show's Los Angeles setting alongside Issa Dee and her friends, combining narrative life-simulation elements with a rap word game in which players construct rhymes and verses and share them with friends.

In December 2024, Khandaker announced on LinkedIn that the studio had been winding down over the course of the year and had closed after five years in business, citing an inability to continue overcoming sustained challenges amid a financial climate in which numerous established game studios also shut down. A corresponding message was posted on the company website.

Founding story

The studio was founded by Dr. Mitu Khandaker, whose background is in computer engineering and creative technologies, and Latoya Peterson, whose background is in race representation advocacy in video games and pop culture publications. It was established on the premise that while film and television had increasingly reflected diverse audiences, games had not yet offered comparably relatable and diverse characters and stories. Press coverage of the closure dates the founding to 2019, with Peterson identified as CXO and Khandaker as CEO.

Business model

The company developed and published mobile games, including licensed titles based on existing television intellectual property, and described itself as a creative R&D studio working across games, mobile, AI and AR/VR technologies.

Traction

Insecure: The Come Up Game launched in early access in December 2021 and remained the studio's only shipped credit. The founders reported raising over $1 million in equity funding.

Latest developments

Glow Up Games announced its shutdown in December 2024 via a LinkedIn post from co-founder Mitu Khandaker and a notice on the company website, after winding down operations over the course of that year.