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History

Upon graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder's Leeds School of Business in 2014, Zhenghua Yang (commonly referred to as Z) formally founded Serenity Forge in Boulder, Colorado, with the mission to "create meaningful games that challenge the way players think," according to the company's official website.³⁴ Despite his academic background in finance and economics, Yang, a lifelong gamer, decided to pursue a career in video games because he saw more potential and fulfillment in the medium. Prior to graduating college, Yang (under the Serenity Forge brand) released the studio's debut game Loving Life in 2012.⁵ Loving Life released for free on online platforms and serves as an autobiographical visual novel detailing Yang's personal experience coping with chronic refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare autoimmune disease that saw him hospitalized for over two years as a teenager.⁶⁷

In 2016, Serenity Forge began publishing games by third-party developers in addition to making its own. The Studio's first publishing releases were Stage 2 Studios'⁸ science fiction exploration game Lifeless Planet and developer Ludo Land's narrative puzzle game Four Sided Fantasy.⁹

Games

External links

• Official website

References

1. "Summary: Serenity Forge LLC". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityDetail.do?quitButtonDestination=BusinessEntityResults&nameTyp=ENT&masterFileId=20101456874&entityId2=20101456874&fileId=20101456874&srchTyp=ENTITY ↩

2. "Forbes 30 Under 30 Profile: Zhenghua Yang". Forbes. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/profile/zhenghua-yang/?sh=16b4223417ff ↩

3. "Serenity Forge: About". Serenity Forge. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://serenityforge.com/about/ ↩

4. Wessling, Catherine (March 4, 2020). "Alumni Spotlight: Zhenghua "Z" Yang - Video Games with a Purpose". Leeds School of Business. University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.colorado.edu/business/deming-center/deming-center-news/2020/03/04/alumni-spotlight-zhenghua-z-yang-video-games-purpose ↩

5. Roy, Adam (April 9, 2015). "Pixel Galaxy, the Newest Video Game by Boulder's Serenity Forge, Is a Space Shooter With a Twist". Westword. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.westword.com/arts/pixel-galaxy-the-newest-video-game-by-boulders-serenity-forge-is-a-space-shooter-with-a-twist-6634883 ↩

6. Wolf, Stephanie (August 25, 2016). "Boulder Game Developer: 'Video Games Saved My Life'". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/boulder-game-developer-video-games-saved-my-life/ ↩

7. Brown, Shelby (May 5, 2020). "Apple Arcade's new Neversong game was inspired by developer's near-death experience". CNET. Red Ventures. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-arcades-new-neversong-game-was-inspired-by-developers-near-death-experience/ ↩

8. "Stage 2 Studios". Stage 2 Studios. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://stage2studios.com/ ↩

9. Sinclair, Brendan (September 6, 2016). "Forging a new publishing model: Zhenghua Yang's aspirations for Serenity Forge are bigger than just turning a profit". GamesIndustry.biz. Eurogamer. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-09-06-forging-a-new-publishing-model ↩

10. Rignall, Jaz (July 26, 2016). "Lifeless Planet PS4 Review: Quirky Sci-Fi Action Adventure". USgamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.usgamer.net/articles/lifeless-planet-ps4-review ↩

11. Leach, Alexander (May 26, 2015). "Luna's Wandering Stars (PC) Review". CGMagazine. CGMagazine Publishing Group]. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.cgmagonline.com/reviews/lunas-wandering-stars-pc-review/ ↩

12. Cunningham, James (October 6, 2015). "Review: Pixel Galaxy". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://hardcoregamer.com/2015/10/06/review-pixel-galaxy/170154/ ↩

13. Walker, John (March 3, 2017). "Belated Wot I Think: Four Sided Fantasy". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/four-sided-fantasy-review ↩

14. Craddock, Ryan (October 24, 2018). "Pinstripe Review". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/pinstripe ↩

15. Campbell, Colin (February 12, 2018). "A Case of Distrust is perfect video game noir". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/12/16997468/a-case-of-distrust-review-pc-mac ↩

16. Bailey, Eric (February 12, 2019). "The King's Bird Review". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/kings_bird ↩

17. Favis, Elise (February 28, 2018). "Where The Water Tastes Like Wine: A Soulful Journey Through America". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.gameinformer.com/games/where_the_water_tastes_like_wine/b/pc/archive/2018/02/28/game-informer-review-where-the-water-tastes-like-wine.aspx ↩

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19. Reynolds, Ollie (March 12, 2020). "Mini Review: Half Past Fate - A Great-Looking Rom-Com Adventure Brimming With Personality". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/half_past_fate ↩

20. Gould, Trevor (December 15, 2020). "Review: The Alto Collection (Nintendo Switch)". Pure Nintendo Magazine. Pure Media, LLC. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://purenintendo.com/review-the-alto-collection-nintendo-switch/ ↩

21. Gardner, Matt (July 24, 2020). "Review: 'Neversong' Is A Must-Play Modern Indie Gaming Classic". Forbes. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattgardner1/2020/07/24/neversong-game-review-must-play-modern-indie-gaming-classic/?sh=176b89ed546a ↩

22. Reynolds, Ollie (February 14, 2021). "Mini Review: Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing - A Love Story That's Too Close to Reality". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/half_past_fate_romantic_distancing ↩

23. Ogilvie, Tristan (March 11, 2021). "Cyanide & Happiness - Freakpocalypse Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.ign.com/articles/cyanide-happiness-freakpocalypse-review ↩

24. Romano, Sal (August 25, 2020). "Arcade bowling game Date Night Bowling announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.gematsu.com/2020/08/arcade-bowling-game-date-night-bowling-announced-for-pc ↩

25. Romano, Sal (August 25, 2020). "Point-and-click adventure game Land of Screens announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved June 8, 2021. https://www.gematsu.com/2020/08/point-and-click-adventure-game-land-of-screens-announced-for-pc ↩

26. Romano, Sal (June 11, 2021). "Doko Doki Literature Club Plus! announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210611203142/https://www.gematsu.com/2021/06/doki-doki-literature-club-plus-announced-for-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-switch-and-pc ↩

27. Skrebels, Joe (June 11, 2021). "Death's Gambit: Afterlife Is a Huge Expanded Edition, and It's Coming to Switch - IGN Expo". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 14, 2021. https://www.ign.com/articles/deaths-gambit-afterlife-edition-announcement-nintendo-switch-ign-expo-summer-of-gaming ↩

28. "Serenity Forge". serenityforge.com. Retrieved September 20, 2024. https://serenityforge.com/games/land-of-screens ↩

29. "Playdate". play.date. Retrieved April 21, 2025. https://play.date/games/flipper-lifter/ ↩

30. Romano, Sal (August 27, 2021). "2D isometric strategy RPG Arcadian Atlas launches in 2022 for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved August 27, 2021. https://www.gematsu.com/2021/08/2d-isometric-strategy-rpg-arcadian-atlas-launches-in-2022-for-pc ↩

31. Romano, Sal (December 22, 2022). "First-person point-and-click adventure game Smile For Me coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch in spring 2023". Gematsu. Retrieved December 22, 2022. https://www.gematsu.com/2022/12/first-person-point-and-click-adventure-game-smile-for-me-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-and-switch-in-spring-2023 ↩

32. "Serenity Forge". serenityforge.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022. https://serenityforge.com/games/homestead-arcana ↩

33. "Serenity Forge". serenityforge.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023. https://serenityforge.com/games/lisa-the-painful-definitive-edition ↩

34. "Lifeless Moon coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox One on July 9". Gematsu. June 12, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/06/lifeless-moon-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-and-xbox-one-on-july-9 ↩

35. "Serenity Forge". serenityforge.com. Retrieved September 20, 2024. https://serenityforge.com/games/long-gone-days ↩

36. Serenity Forge (May 20, 2024). Loving Life - Tenth Anniversary Launch Trailer. Retrieved May 20, 2024 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk6OuQplT1o ↩

37. Keylocker Announcement Trailer. Retrieved April 29, 2024 – via www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiK18j7KFuk ↩

38. "Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/06/slay-the-princess-the-pristine-cut-announced-for-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-switch-and-pc ↩

39. "To the Moon coming to PS5, Xbox Series". Gematsu. August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/08/to-the-moon-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series ↩

40. "To the Moon: Sigmund Minisodes 1 and 2 now available for PS5, coming to Xbox Series and Switch in early 2025". Gematsu. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/12/to-the-moon-sigmund-minisodes-1-and-2-now-available-for-ps5-coming-to-xbox-series-and-switch-in-early-2025 ↩

41. "To the Moon: Sigmund Minisodes 1 and 2 now available for PS5, coming to Xbox Series and Switch in early 2025". Gematsu. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/12/to-the-moon-sigmund-minisodes-1-and-2-now-available-for-ps5-coming-to-xbox-series-and-switch-in-early-2025 ↩

42. "'Unreliable narrative-driven adventure' game Centum announced for Xbox Series, PC". Gematsu. April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2024. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/04/unreliable-narrative-driven-adventure-game-centum-announced-for-xbox-series-pc ↩

43. "Centum - Official Release Window Trailer | The Indie Horror Showcase 2024". IGN. October 24, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024. https://www.ign.com/videos/centum-official-release-window-trailer-the-indie-horror-showcase-2024 ↩

44. "Horror visual novel Cooking Companions coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch on April 29". Gematsu. April 8, 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2025/04/horror-visual-novel-cooking-companions-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-and-switch-on-april-29 ↩

45. "BAD END THEATER coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch on July 10". Gematsu. June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2025/06/bad-end-theater-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-and-switch-on-july-10 ↩

46. "Serenity Forge". serenityforge.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023. https://serenityforge.com/games/roman-sands-re-build ↩

47. Serenity Forge (June 6, 2025). Fractured Blooms - Announcement Trailer. Retrieved June 6, 2025 – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnUhcaG_6gI ↩