What Is Frictional Games?

Updated

Frictional Games is an independent game development studio best known for first-person horror titles, including the Amnesia series and SOMA. Its website, frictionalgames.com, is the studio's official news and announcement hub: it publishes release news, game updates, modding events, merchandise drops, and community posts. Use the site when you want first-party information about the studio's games and activities rather than reviews or third-party coverage.

What the studio is known for

The site's own posts reference the Amnesia series across four titles — Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, Amnesia: Rebirth, and Amnesia: The Bunker — as well as SOMA. These are the franchises the studio communicates about most directly, and they define its public identity as a horror-focused developer.

What you'll find on the site

The homepage is organized as a running feed of posts, each tagged by category. Based on the published entries, the main content types are:

Content type Example from the site What it tells you
Game announcements and updates Amnesia: The Bunker patch 1.31, described as quality-of-life improvements for a smoother, more stable experience The studio posts patch notes and stability fixes here
Modding events Frictional Mod Jam 2026 ("WHAT IS REALITY?", May 27–August 25, HPL engine modding) and Mod Jam 2024 (Escape Room Edition) Community modding is an active, recurring part of the studio's calendar
Merchandise Simon Jarrett plushie from SOMA Physical goods are announced through the same feed
Books and behind-the-scenes Amnesia: Design Works, covering writing, design, and art across the four Amnesia games Long-form material about the series' development
Upcoming titles A "Wishlist ONTOS now" call to action New projects are promoted here before release

Posts are attributed to named staff (for example, Oskar Larsson) and sorted into categories such as Announcement, Games, News, Blog, Event, and engine-specific tags (HPL1, HPL2, HPL3). There is also a Recent Posts section, an archive, and pagination for older entries.

How to use the site

  1. Start at the post feed. The homepage lists entries newest-first, so the top of the page shows the most recent announcement.
  2. Scan the category tags under each post. Tags like "Games," "Event," or "HPL3" let you judge relevance before opening a post.
  3. Open the full post via "Continue reading" or "Read more" for details — patch logs, event rules, submission links, and so on.
  4. Use the archive or pagination to reach older announcements that are no longer on the front page.

A concrete example: if you want to know whether Amnesia: The Bunker has received recent fixes, find the patch post in the feed and open it — the excerpt shows a version 1.31 patch log with a note that it addresses listed issues and aims to improve overall gameplay.

What to keep in mind

  • It's a news hub, not a storefront. The visible posts announce merchandise and point to wishlisting, but the page evidence does not show pricing, payment options, or purchase flows on the site itself. Treat product availability claims as announcements and confirm purchase details wherever the post directs you.
  • Mod jams have specific requirements. The 2026 jam lists a duration, a theme, a medium (HPL engine modding), a submission link, and a prize (an ROG Xbox Ally from ASUS ROG). If you plan to enter, read the full post rather than relying on the summary.
  • Content is in English (en-GB) and written in a casual, studio-voice tone, so expect personality alongside factual updates.

If your goal is to follow the studio's releases, patches, and community events from the source, this site is the right starting point; if you need reviews, comparisons, or purchase information, look beyond it.