Press kit

Faint Signal press kit

Everything on this page may be quoted and reused to write about Faint Signal. Press contact: press@faintsignal.app

Faint Signal is a real-time texting adventure game for iOS and Android in which a character in trouble can only text you, and you reply in your own words.

Fact sheet

Descriptions

One line

Faint Signal is a real-time texting adventure game for iOS and Android in which a character in trouble can only text you, and you reply in your own words.

50 words

Faint Signal is a real-time texting adventure for iOS and Android. A stranger in danger can only reach you by text. Messages arrive with real delays and notifications, and you reply in your own words instead of picking from buttons. Three stories at launch, a new one every month, the story of the month free.

100 words

Faint Signal is a real-time texting adventure game for iOS and Android in which a character in trouble can only text you, and you reply in your own words. Characters walk, sleep and run low on battery, so their messages arrive minutes or hours later as notifications. Instead of choosing between two replies, players type anything: the character, voiced by AI and constrained by a hand-written story, understands and remembers. An in-game phone with a browser, a photo gallery and notes lets players find the clues the character can't see. The story of the month is free; Faint Signal+ unlocks everything.

250 words

Faint Signal is a real-time texting adventure game for iOS and Android in which a character in trouble can only text you, and you reply in your own words.

It starts with a notification. Sam, a glaciology intern, is stranded on an Arctic island after a storm brought down the station's radio mast. Their satellite messenger reached the wrong number: yours. From then on, the story happens on your phone, in real time. Characters walk, sleep and lose battery; replies can arrive minutes or hours later, and you can answer from your lock screen.

Unlike choice-based texting games such as Lifeline, Faint Signal has no multiple-choice buttons. Players type whatever they want: advice, questions, reassurance, disagreement. The character's replies are generated by an AI model and constrained by a story canon written by human authors, so characters stay consistent, remember what they were told and reach real, earned endings. Player messages and AI replies are moderated.

Players also get a phone inside their phone: a browser to search fictional news sites, timetables and forums, a gallery of every photo the character sends, and a notes app. The character sees what is in front of them; the player sees everything else.

Three stories are available at launch: Whiteout (survival), Harlow Bay (investigation) and Night Frequency (eerie thriller), with a new story every month. The download is free and the story of the month is free to play. Faint Signal+ (US$3.99 / €3.99 per month) unlocks every story, a fast mode without waiting, and rewind after an ending.

Factual description

Faint Signal is a 2026 interactive fiction video game for iOS and Android. It is a real-time texting adventure: the player communicates by text message with a fictional character in danger, and messages arrive with real-world delays and push notifications. Unlike choice-based texting games, players type free-form replies; the character's responses are generated by an AI model constrained by a hand-written story so that the plot stays coherent. The game includes an in-game "virtual phone" with a browser of fictional websites, a photo gallery of clues and a notes app. Launch stories are Whiteout (survival), Harlow Bay (investigation) and Night Frequency (eerie thriller), with a new story each month. The game is free to download, with one free story per month and an optional subscription, Faint Signal+.

Key features

• Free-text replies: type anything; no multiple choice.
• Real time: messages arrive with real delays and notifications; reply from the lock screen.
• Virtual phone: browser of fictional websites, photo gallery of clues, notes.
• Any language: characters reply in the language you write in; interface in 12 languages.
• Faint Signal+: every story, fast mode (no waiting) and rewind after an ending.
• Safe by design: moderated messages, no explicit content, designed for 12+.

How the AI works

Each story has a canon written by human authors: the setting, what really happened, the timeline, the clues, the story beats and the possible endings. Characters are voiced by Claude, Anthropic's AI model, which receives that canon and the conversation so far. The game engine checks every proposed step against the canon: a clue can only be revealed when the story allows it, and an ending only when its conditions are met. This keeps free-form conversation coherent and solvable.

• Memory: characters remember what the player told them across days of play.
• Moderation: every player message is checked before it reaches the character; unsafe input gets an in-story deflection, and personal data is masked.
• Transparency: players are told before they start that characters are voiced by AI, and can report any message.

Stories (no spoilers)

Whiteout · survival

A polar storm has torn down the radio mast of a remote research station on the Arctic island of Kvarøya, and Sam Okafor, a 24-year-old glaciology intern, is alone in the hut. Their satellite messenger dialled the wrong number: yours. Over three real days, help Sam stay warm, keep the power on and find a way off the island.

Harlow Bay · investigation

Eli Quinn, 22, vanished after a night shift at the ferry terminal of Harlow Bay. His sister Mara found his phone, a locker key and your number in his emergency contacts. While she searches the docks, you dig through news sites, ferry timetables and social profiles to find out what Eli saw. Four real days.

Night Frequency · eerie thriller

Iris Vale hosts the night show at a tiny community radio station on a tidal island. At 00:48, her tuner picks up a voice on 88.9: a show from a station that went off air in 1998, the night its host vanished on the causeway. Over three nights, with the tide closing the road home, help Iris find out who is broadcasting.

Images and logos

Free to use in coverage of Faint Signal. Please do not alter the logo.

Contact

Press, review codes, interviews: press@faintsignal.app. Support: support@faintsignal.app.