We think games shouldn't cost you anything but your time.
Not your money at the door. Not your attention to ads. Not your wallet to "skip the grind." And not your ownership, handed over to a launcher that can revoke it whenever it wants.
"We're trying to do the unthinkable: build a game studio that survives entirely on the goodwill of the people who play its games — because we believe games made honestly are worth supporting honestly."
Digital ownership is broken
Buy a game today and, more often than not, you haven't bought a game — you've bought permission to access one, for as long as a company decides to let you. Accounts get banned. Servers get shut down. Launchers change their terms. The thing you paid for was never really yours.
| What happens | Typical model | Pie Time Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price to play | $0–$70, or "free" with ads/IAP | Always $0 |
| Ads or attention-selling | Common | Never |
| Pay-to-win / paid skins | Common | Never |
| Can the company revoke your copy? | Often, yes | No — it's a file you own |
| Can you share it with a friend? | Usually against the rules | Go for it |
| How the studio gets paid | Sales, ads, microtransactions | Voluntary donations only |
What we're actually trying to prove
Zero-cost games, real ownership
Every game we release is free to download and free to keep. No account required to keep playing, no online check-in, no rug-pull. Download it once, and it's yours — offline, shareable, permanent.
No monetization tricks
No ads. No pay-to-win mechanics. No cosmetic money grabs disguised as "extra content." If it ships in the game, it ships for everyone, free, no exceptions.
Funded by patronage, not players' wallets
We're betting that a large enough audience will choose to support honest games directly — through donations — rather than be squeezed for every purchase along the way.
Built in the open, with our community
We want the people who support us to feel like part of the studio, not customers being upsold. That means transparency about what we're making and how support is used.
This only works if it's shared.
If you believe games can be made this way, the best thing you can do is tell someone else — and if you're able, chip in.
Support the Studio