Cognition: Episodes 2-4 have been nominated for the Best Gameplay Aggie Award at Adventure Gamers.  Back when Erica herself was nothing more than a draft on a sheet of paper, we didn’t know what to expect, it was going to be Phoenix’ first commercial title! Will it resonate with the community? Or will it be nothing more than an obscure adventure game?

Well, thanks to the amazing support the community have given us Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller is still played, mentioned and nominated for awards even a year after its debut launch and it’s all thanks to you!

The Aggie Award winners will be known between February 19-21, keep your fingers crossed everyone!

Phoenix Online is glad to announce today the promotion of Scott Steinberg to the role of General Manager. Effective immediately, Steinberg will assume responsibility for all strategic planning and business development activities for Phoenix Online Studios on a worldwide basis.

Award-winning industry executive Steinberg brings his expertise to POS after 15 years of game publishing and M&A work for firms such as Atari, Microids and Dreamcatcher, and C-level strategic consulting for Fortune 500 leaders ranging from Intel to EMC and Microsoft. A world-renowned entrepreneur and analyst, and bestselling author on leadership and innovation seen in 600+ media outlets from TIME to CNN, the world’s largest corporations call him a “defining figure in business and technology” and “top trendsetter to follow.”

“In addition to his extensive experience creating successful games and gaming business strategies, Scott brings a tremendous sense of insight and vision to our company,” said Cesar Bittar, CEO of Phoenix Online Studios. “His track record for producing and publishing the type of deeply engaging and engrossing games that today’s players adore will help us continue to grow and build the kind of rich, story-driven next generation experiences that millions know and love.”

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2014, Phoenix Online Studios is a top independent video game developer committed to building compelling and cutting-edge story-driven titles for every platform and genre. An award-winning maker of games for PC, Mac, console, mobile, digital and online platforms, current and upcoming titles include Moebius, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition, Face Noir and Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller.

“Phoenix Online Studios remains unparalleled in its commitment to bringing players engaging, atmospheric and story-rich games for every platform and genre,” said Steinberg. “I look forward to teaming up with the company, and many of gaming’s best and brightest storytellers both inside the company and out, to create the kinds of intelligent and thought-provoking games that today’s fans demand.”

Published novelist, videogame designer, writer, creator and industry legend. These are just some of the many feats Jane Jensen has accomplished in her life and today we celebrate her birthday!

Born on January 28th, 1963 Jane went on to create the acclaimed Gabriel Knight series, her work and influence in King’s Quest VI led to it becoming one of the highest praised titles in the series.

We are both lucky and humbled to have received Jane’s help when working on Cognition and we’re even luckier to be working on both Moebius and the 20th Anniversary Edition of Gabriel Knight with her. Happy Birthday, Jane, we hope you’re having a good one!

From everyone here at Phoenix Online, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Everyone reading this has been a huge part of making 2013 a great year for us, and we want to extend a huge thank you to all of you. We’re very excited for 2014 and everything that’s coming up. Enjoy the holidays and we’ll see you in 2014!

As of November 19th, the Steam loyalty discount for Cognition, which allows you to purchase the full season at a discount if you own some of the other episodes, will be no longer available. If you own individual episodes of Cognition and are interested in making full use of the Steam loyalty discount you’ll need to purchase the full season there before November 19th! Please contact support@postudios.com with your receipt information from any store to get Steam keys for the episodes you already own.

Of note, we will be continuing to offer discounted Episode Bundles in the Phoenix Store (Episodes 2-4 and Episodes 3-4), and will be happy to provide Steam keys to our customers for both individual episodes and Season Passes.

If you have any questions, please contact us at support@postudios.com, and thank you as always for your support!

We’re celebrating Halloween (one of my favorite holidays!) and the one year anniversary of the release of Episode 1 of Cognition, with a great sale in our store! Today through Nov. 3rd, we have storewide discounts on all games in our store, and the Cognition soundtrack, as well as marked down prices on Cognition in the iPad and Mac App stores.

And Happy Halloween!!

Face Noir, Mad Orange’s Raymond Chandler-inspired adventure game, is now available on Steam! Step into the worn shoes of Jack del Nero as he tries to solve a murder for which he’s been accused and determine the mystery behind the little girl left in his care on the mean and desperate streets of Depression-era New York. Check out the game along with some Steam goodies, including trading cards, here! Face Noir is also now available on Desura.

As well, to mark the occasion, we are having a week-long Face Noir sale! Face Noir is available for $15.99 (reg. $19.99), and the Detective Bundle, which includes both Face Noir and the full Season of Cognition, is just $29.99 (reg. $39.99)! Steam and Desura keys are available for both, email support for more information.

The cat is out of the bag! Or should I say… the wolf?

We are extremely happy to announce that we are working together with Jane Jensen’s studio Pinkerton Road to develop a re-imagining of the groundbreaking game that was Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father.

When I received the call from Jane telling me that she was officially working on a remake of Gabriel Knight, my heart skipped a bit. Although my favorite in the series and what I consider best game ever made is The Beast Within, Sins of the Father is a groundbreaking masterpiece that changed the history of video games and created its own subplot in the Adventure genre. There was nothing like the incredibly rich and well developed characters, the amazing texture of a thriller/horror story told in its many layers through the grandiose locations of New Orleans. Gabriel Knight gained a cult following, and even today we see YouTube videos of people visiting the locations of the game, and rightly so. It was riveting, genre-defining original, and a breathless experience that had me obsessed with it from the time I saw the first ad in Computer Gaming World magazine.

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It’s finally here! Episode 4: The Cain Killer, and the full season of Cognition, is available now in our store, as well as on Steam & GOG!

AND we’re having a huge sale to celebrate! Everything Cognition is discounted for one week only, and we have new exclusive items and bundles! Get Episode 4 at 25% off plus the exclusive Cain Killer Soundtrack, or the Detective Bundle, featuring both Cognition and Face Noir; or get the Season Pass Soundtrack Bundle with the e-comic, soundtrack, and the Cain Killer soundtrack for only $19.99! We’re on sale in the iTunes store as well!

Don’t forget to join us at 11 AM PDT/2 PM EDT today for our livestream launch party on our YouTube channel to celebrate the release with us, hear some Q&A, and maybe win a prize. 🙂

And, enjoy the trailer!

The End Begins. In just two weeks, Erica Reed’s investigation will come to an end and all your burning questions will be answered: What happened to John? Where is Cordelia? Will Erica catch the Cain Killer at last — and when she does, will she choose justice or revenge?

On the 19th, not only will the final episode launch on the Phoenix Store and other online retailers, the full season will be available at both Steam and GOG as well! And in case that isn’t exciting enough, we’re having another livestream launch party on our YouTube channel on September 19th at 11 AM PDT/2 PM EDT featuring live Q&A with the directors, giveaways, and not one but two special guests: Amy K. Browne, the voice of Cordelia Smith, and the one and only Jane Jensen! Join us to hear more about the behind the scenes of Cognition, ask about our other projects, and hear what’s ahead for Phoenix Online Studios.

For now, enjoy the latest trailer and screenshots!