Scriptic

Market position

Scriptic positions its phone-first shows at the intersection of gaming, film and television, targeting mainstream rather than core-gamer audiences, and describes itself as an early adopter of generative AI in interactive entertainment. It is BAFTA-nominated and backed by gaming-focused and corporate venture investors.

Differentiators cited include a phone-first vertical format that simulates real smartphone use, a team combining gaming (2K, King) and broadcast (Channel 4, BBC) backgrounds, early and systematic adoption of generative AI in production since 2021, and a planned UGC creator platform integrating multiple AI model types.

Technology

Scriptic operates a proprietary technology stack for phone-first interactive shows and has used third-party generative AI tools in production since 2021, including OpenAI's ChatGPT and DALL-E, ElevenLabs and Murf.ai text-to-speech, Midjourney, and Runway Gen-2 text-to-video. Its planned creator suite is described as a cloud-based, node-based service integrating generative language, diffusion and audio synthesis models. The company frames AI as a production and creative-collaboration tool used alongside human writers, including for tasks such as resizing content to vertical phone formats to reduce reshoot costs.

Go-to-market

Distribution runs through the Scriptic mobile app on iOS and Android and through partner platforms, most notably Netflix Games, where Scriptic: Crime Stories is available in 12 languages. The studio also builds audience through short-form, story-driven true-crime content on TikTok, and works with recognised acting talent such as Ralph Ineson on new titles.

Mainstream consumer audiences beyond traditional gamers — the company states 80% of Dead Man's Phone players identify as true crime fans rather than gamers — plus external writers and storytellers as users of its AI-led creator tools.

Geography

Headquartered in London, England, with content distributed internationally, including Scriptic: Crime Stories available in 12 languages on Netflix.

History

Operating initially as Electric Noir, the studio released Dead Man's Phone, which was nominated for the Mobile Game of the Year BAFTA Award in 2020. The company rebranded to Scriptic, a name it had already used for its storytelling platform and app, and renamed Dead Man's Phone to Scriptic: Crime Stories for its Netflix Games launch; the game released in 2022. It received initial seed investment in 2021, added a second close led by BITKRAFT Ventures in June 2023 and a further investment from the Sony Innovation Fund announced in August 2023. In 2023 it hired James Nicholls, formerly a senior design and production director at King, as Studio Director. In August 2025 it announced an unannounced interactive thriller about predictive policing starring actor Ralph Ineson.

Risks & controversies

The studio's reliance on third-party generative AI tools in creative production is addressed publicly by its CEO, who frames AI as a complement to rather than a replacement for human writers; its announced predictive-policing thriller engages with debates over AI surveillance.