An Amelia Darnell Update

It’s been 8 years since the announcement of Amelia Darnell and Airtight Alibi Productions.

In the fast-paced world of game development, that’s a long time. We started with a vision and a lot of heart, and nearly every piece of the project has been built, dismantled, and rebuilt since then. It’s been an evolution, one that taught us something new at every stage and helped us find the dedicated team we have today. We want to be open about that journey, honoring the work that got us here while showing you just how much the game has grown. 

The Evolution of Amelia Darnell

When Amelia Darnell first began, Airtight Alibi Productions was made up of a group of incredibly passionate people inspired by the games they grew up with. It was a shared vision of continuing something that felt like it had been left behind. Unfortunately, passion doesn’t always equate to experience and execution.

​​The truth is, making a game is a lot harder than you’d think. There are countless moving parts, with compounding complexity.

This left many of you rightly worried about the status of the project, but behind the scenes we’ve been using those years to rework and refine the game. This evolution has allowed the project to mature alongside us, ensuring it meets the standards we hold today. Most importantly, it has finally led us to the dedicated group of people we have now who are ready to bring this vision to the finish.

A Labor of Love
Since its announcement in 2017, this project has passed through many hands. From the original team, only a few people remain. This work requires not only skill but an incredible amount of dedication, as it is a completely volunteer-based project.

​Though it’s taken us years to curate the right group, we are so proud of the team steering this project today. This Airtight Alibi ship sails so much faster with a full crew, and we’re thrilled to finally have the team needed to bring this game to the finish line. ​From directors to leads, artists to programmers, every member of the team brings unique experience and passion to the project.

Meet the Team

2026: A New Chapter
​At the start of 2026, our leadership team conducted a thorough internal review. We brought on several new members whose experience and energy are helping us better realize the vision you’ve all been supporting for years. With new leadership, we’ve taken a much closer look at the game, our assets, and everything we’ve built so far.

​We’ve had to make difficult decisions to overhaul parts of the game in order to make it better. This has been both exciting and challenging: we’re now effectively building alongside a rework and adjusting to a new timeline.

Where Are We Now?
As we move through 2026, we are in a phase of intentional growth. Our team is a mix of people who came in with a deep love for point-and-click games and others who are discovering that passion along the way. ​

We’re building this game in the gaps between our daily lives, balancing development with work and family. Quality takes time, and we’re committed to delivering a polished experience, rather than a rushed one.
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Our primary goal right now is a more comprehensive demo, which will be available for you to play before the full release. We are developing new content and reworking earlier assets to ensure a polished and modern experience.

While we are certainly inspired by the iconic Nancy Drew games, we are simultaneously carving out our own identity. We love seeing the genre grow with titles like Alex Hill: Whispers at White Oak Inn and Penelope Pendrick and the Art of Deceit. (Both of which we highly recommend!)

In an effort to further define a tone that is uniquely ours, we’re in the process of updating our official logo with a new silhouette and further refining our branding to better reflect the game as it stands today. These updates and further creative shifts to our main character and narrative direction better align with the project's maturity.

What Creative Shifts?
While Amelia's age was previously ambiguous, she's now definitively in her early to mid 30s. Why?

First, we want to do justice to our voice talent. We’re incredibly lucky to have Lani Minella, whose extensive career spans games and animation. Lani is one of those voices that has truly grown up alongside us, the kind that constantly makes you go, “Wait… I think I know that voice.”

Lani has always been more than just one role. She’s been part of so many worlds we love, often without us even realizing it at the time, with various voices across worlds such as Mass Effect, Soulcaliber, and World of Warcraft. Her voice is woven into so many experiences that shaped us as gamers. And now she’s our Amelia.

Explore Silvercrest Village

Second, we’re intentionally stepping away from being seen as a direct reflection of the Nancy Drew-style games that originally inspired us. Many other talents and IPs have developed from a similar spark: Alex Hill, Penelope Pendrick, Marcella Moon, Gumshoe Detective Agency, and more. Each has grown and developed their own identity, and while we’re incredibly lucky to have Lani as our lead voice, we hope you see Amelia and our project with a new identity as well. 

What’s always been special about this team is that we didn’t just love those point-and-click games, we grew up with them. And now, we’ve grown up. Amelia reflects that. She allows us to hold onto that sense of nostalgia while also telling a story that feels more aligned with where we, and our audience, are now. 

To Our Community--Thank You.
The support we’ve received as we’ve started sharing more updates and teasers has meant everything. Seeing your excitement and encouragement makes all of this worth it!

We’re still not ready to share a release date, but please know we’re working as hard as we can to create something that feels worthy of Amelia, and of all of you who have stayed with us over the years.

We hope we make you proud.

Love,
The Airtight Alibi Productions Team

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