OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City game developer is gaining worldwide attention for a new release that’s taking players on an emotional journey through the Alaskan wilderness.
James Simpson, founder of GoldFire Studios, has spent years turning his childhood passion into a thriving career in game development.
“I was playing games in middle school, and just sort of I felt like I was more interested in figuring out how the game worked rather than how to beat the game,” said Simpson.
From 2019 to 2025, Simpson and his team poured their creativity into Arctic Awakening, a story-driven adventure game set in the year 2062. After a crash landing in Alaska, players take on the role of Kai, a pilot searching for his missing co-pilot—while accompanied by a court-appointed therapy robot.
“We worked with actual therapists to, you know, learn about actual techniques that would be used in this sort of situation and try to make that somewhat authentic while still keeping it rooted in, like a sci-fi story,” Simpson said.
The game’s immersive storytelling has drawn international recognition. GoldFire Studios was nominated for “Excellence in Narrative” at the DevGAMM Awards in Portugal.
“This game’s fully 3D voice acting. The script is over 600 pages long, and so there’s just a lot that went into it,” Simpson said.
Players’ decisions throughout Arctic Awakening shape how the story unfolds, offering multiple possible experiences based on their choices.
Simpson says the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape for game developers. Once centered in hubs like San Francisco or Los Angeles, the industry now allows independent creators to work from anywhere—including right here in Oklahoma City.
Arctic Awakening, officially released in September, is available now on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam.
https://arcticawakening.com/
