Built by Industry Veterans and Top Hollywood writers, Company Announces Prominent Funding, Path to Artificial Emotional Intelligence in Entertainment
LOS ANGELES, March 19, 2025 -- Operative Games, an interactive storytelling company, emerged today from stealth with prominent investors' backing, including 1AM Gaming, Samsung Next, and LongJourney.vc. The company creates immersive games and experiences where players can converse with genuinely thoughtful, lifelike AI characters that forge lasting emotional connections in the context of solving problems and navigating intricate stories together.
Operative Games is creating the future of interactive entertainment through its pioneering work in emotional AI.
Led by Jon Snoddy, former head of Walt Disney Research & Development, and Jon Kraft, founding CEO of Pandora Media, along with game industry veteran Pegi Bryant, Operative Games combines decades of entertainment industry innovation with an entirely new application of artificial intelligence to create a unique category of interactive experiences.
The company's secret sauce lies in its proprietary Story Engine, which enables game developers to imbue their characters with a built-in sense of narrative and the understanding of how to take players through that narrative while allowing for full player agency. Players can call a game character's phone number and talk, text or video chat with them on a standard phone. The Story Engine is completely server-based, requiring no downloads. This allows for lifelike character experiences in interactive stories and games that leverage both Operative Games' IP and the IP of partners.
"We're not just making games – we're creating relationships, and in some sense real memories and shared experiences," said Jon Snoddy, CEO of Operative Games. "Our technology enables characters who understand context and form genuine emotional bonds with players. This marks the beginning of truly personalized storytelling."
Operative Games debuted a small glimpse of their first story experience - "The Operative" - at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. In this experience, players call a character named "Enya" who draws them into her world with a request for help. What seems at first like a simple ask will ultimately unfold into a complex spy thriller in which the player has a pivotal role. Enya reacts to the players' actions and will even show real human emotions - such as annoyance - if she is contacted late at night (just like a real person would) or is treated in an unserious manner.
Initial projects in development span multiple genres and feature collaborations with renowned Hollywood writers, as well as major players in traditional and interactive entertainment. These experiences showcase the platform's ability to deliver emotionally resonant storytelling that adapts to each player's choices and personality, creating uniquely personal narratives that can unfold indefinitely.
"We've crossed a line here," added Snoddy, "with the emerging ability to bring truly believable characters to life and hang out with them in story-driven worlds."
"What sets Operative Games apart is their unique ability to create characters that feel genuinely alive," said Gregory Milken, Managing Partner at 1AM Gaming. "The combination of their technological innovation and their demonstrated ability to turn complex emerging technologies into popular entertainment forms positions them to define an entirely new category of interactive entertainment."
About Operative Games
Operative Games is creating the future of interactive entertainment through its pioneering work in emotional AI and dynamic storytelling. Founded by entertainment and technology veterans, the company is headquartered in Los Angeles and backed by leading technology and gaming investors.
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