A new games technology line from Rephobia
Make tension feel more responsive
Rephobia Play is a Unity-based toolkit for adaptive tension and pacing. Studios define the creative boundaries; the game can vary within them as each session unfolds.
Selected awards, media and partners:
Why Rephobia Play
More variation, without giving up authorship
Many games build tension through fixed triggers. The same door closes, the same encounter begins and the same emotional curve plays out each time.
Rephobia Play is designed to introduce controlled variation without asking teams to build endless branches—or hand creative direction to an opaque system.
The Queen's University Belfast evaluation concerned Rephobia's earlier immersive work and demonstrates delivery capability, not games-market validation.
For studios
Add adaptation without losing creative control
A Unity-first toolkit for teams that want more responsive pacing and replayability while keeping designers in charge of every permitted event and limit.
01
Author the boundaries
Your team defines the permitted events, pacing curve, intensity range and cooldowns. Rephobia Play works with the content and rules you choose.
02
Adapt inside the game
At runtime, the toolkit can vary the timing, sequence and intensity of authored moments using the signals your game makes available.
03
Review and refine
An event record shows what happened and when, giving designers and QA a transparent basis for playtesting, tuning and iteration.
Unity for Humanity Winner 2025Built in BelfastAdaptive tension for games
For experiences
Make each playthrough feel less predictable
The first focus is games where anticipation matters: horror, suspense, survival and other high-intensity interactive experiences.
01
Less predictable playthroughs
Tension does not have to peak at exactly the same moment for every player or every run. The experience can vary while preserving the game's identity.
02
Designed, not generated
The creative team still authors the world, encounters and tone. The system changes how permitted moments are paced, not what the game is trying to be.
03
Built for high-tension genres
We are starting with horror, suspense, survival and other games where pacing, anticipation and replayability are central to the experience.
A new games line built on Rephobia's experience delivering real-time, interactive Unity technology.
Unity for Humanity Winner · National Entrepreneur of the Year 2025
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
For studios, partners and games-tech investors exploring the product and the design-partner programme.
Is Rephobia Play a game?
Rephobia Play is being developed as a reusable games technology toolkit. We may create focused experiences to demonstrate it, but the main product is the adaptive runtime and authoring workflow for studios.
What does the toolkit adapt?
The studio decides. Examples include the timing, sequencing and intensity of authored tension events. The toolkit only operates within the content, limits and pacing rules defined by the development team.
Does it replace game designers?
No. Rephobia Play is intended to preserve authorship. Designers set the creative envelope; the runtime introduces controlled variation within it and records its decisions for review.
What engines and studios are you starting with?
The initial focus is Unity and independent or AA studios developing horror, suspense, survival and other high-intensity games.
What stage is the product at?
The team has a working real-time Unity control system. The next step is turning that capability into a reusable studio toolkit with design partners and validating integration, workflow and commercial fit.
Is this the same as Rephobia's clinical product?
No. Rephobia Play is a separate games line with its own audience, roadmap and commercial model. It builds on the team's immersive technology experience but is not positioned as treatment or as a medical product.
What evidence sits behind the team?
Rephobia has delivered working real-time immersive technology, completed a structured 44-participant evaluation with Queen's University Belfast, secured more than £90,000 in non-dilutive support and won Unity for Humanity 2025. These demonstrate execution capability, not existing games-market validation.
How can my studio get involved?
We are looking for a small number of design partners with a live Unity project, a clear pacing challenge and capacity to test an early integration. Email us with a short description of your game and use case.