From August 26 through 30, inside Hall 10.2 of gamescom 2026, a small Frankfurt studio with no shipped commercial game to its name will find out whether strangers walking a crowded convention floor will stop, sit down, and let themselves smell a forest that only exists on screen. That studio is Soulven Games, and the title on trial is My Dear Emma, a quiet narrative adventure about a biologist sorting through her late grandfather’s belongings.
Calling this a “home turf” debut undersells what Soulven is walking into. The booth sits inside the Indie-Burg, the section of gamescom built around the Indie Arena Booth. Being a German team at a German show does not mean an easy crowd. It means competing for attention on the biggest stage those developers will likely ever stand on, in a hall where flashing lights and combat trailers are the default currency.
A Story Built Around Compost Heaps, Not Countdown Timers
What Soulven is actually staking its booth on is unusually restrained for a show built on spectacle. My Dear Emma follows Emma, a biologist and nature photographer, as she returns to her late grandfather’s estate and finds a notebook, a compass, and a map he left behind as a final scavenger hunt. The Steam page describes it plainly as a game about “exploring beautiful landscapes and local wildlife,” built to help players “relax, feel, and slow down.” There are no enemies to fight and no clock ticking down. The tension comes from grief, memory, and the slow work of piecing together a family’s history through riddles hidden in a garden. Sorting through a grandparent’s old tools, half-finished garden beds, and boxes of photographs rarely feels dramatic in the moment. It feels quiet and a little disorienting, the kind of task that reveals who someone was through the objects they left unfinished. My Dear Emma seems built to capture exactly that sensation, trading spectacle for the small, specific weight of going through someone’s things.
The Scentbar Is the Tell, Not the Gimmick
To make that stillness compete with louder neighbors, Soulven partnered with ZESTUM to bring its Scentbar hardware to the booth. As players move through in-game locations like the house, the forest, or the beach, the device releases matching scents timed to the scene on screen. Soulven’s own description, shared in a LinkedIn post announcing the collaboration, frames it as a way to experience selected scenes “not only through visuals and sound, but also through matching scents.” A companion line circulating on the studio’s social channels puts it more bluntly: “Some games you play. This one, you can smell.” It would be easy to write that off as a stunt designed to generate a few seconds of video for social media. But a scent rig only works if people are already willing to sit still long enough to notice it. For a slow, first-person narrative game surrounded by shooters and spectacle demos, that is the real function of the Scentbar. It is not decoration bolted onto the pitch. It is a deliberate tool for stopping foot traffic in a hall that was not built with patience in mind.
A Paper Trail That Looks Calculated, Not Naive
None of this appears to be improvised. My Dear Emma reportedly received regional funding, according to reporting from Feels Like Hessen, which ties the support partly to the game’s focus on sustainability and ecosystem protection woven through Emma’s story. Before committing to a scent-enabled show floor demo, Soulven also tested the waters with a free standalone release. My Dear Emma: Prologue launched on Steam in February 2026, offering roughly fifteen minutes of the game’s opening as a public preview. That sequence, going from a small funded prototype to a free demo to a full sensory booth at gamescom, reads less like a studio throwing everything at one show and more like a team building toward this moment one step at a time. It is the same instinct that makes a home renovator repaint one room before committing to the whole house. Test small, watch the reaction, then scale up.
The Gap That Still Matters
None of that funding history changes what is still missing. Soulven has never shipped a full commercial title. The Steam page for My Dear Emma still reads “Coming soon” as of this week, with an announcement trailer pointing toward a 2027 release and no firm date attached. Grant committees and regional press write-ups can vouch for a game’s themes and its studio’s seriousness, but they cannot promise that a stranger walking past the Indie-Burg in Hall 10.2 will stop moving. That is the gap gamescom does not forgive. The show floor does not care how a project was funded or how thoughtful its pitch deck looked in front of a funding panel. It only cares whether a person with a badge and a schedule to keep decides this particular demo, out of dozens of competitors in the same hall, is worth five minutes and a seat.
The real test running this week has little to do with whether My Dear Emma reads well as a concept on a Steam page or a funding application. It is whether a small team’s bet on stillness, on grief and garden puzzles and the smell of a forest that is not really there, can hold a room built for spectacle. Will patience actually win out over noise on a show floor that has never promised either one?
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F.A.Q.
When does My Dear Emma come out?
My Dear Emma is set to be released soon, as the Steam page currently lists it as “Coming Soon.” The developer, Soulven Games, has indicated that a full release is expected in 2027, but a specific date has not yet been announced.
What type of game is My Dear Emma?
My Dear Emma is a narrative-driven adventure game that emphasizes exploration and relaxation. Players take on the role of a biologist named Emma, exploring beautiful landscapes and engaging with local wildlife while uncovering her family’s history through puzzles.
Is My Dear Emma worth it?
While My Dear Emma has not yet been released, its unique premise and focus on storytelling and nature exploration suggest it could appeal to players seeking a calming gaming experience. The game avoids combat and time pressure, offering a reflective gameplay style that may resonate with fans of narrative adventures.
What platforms is My Dear Emma on?
My Dear Emma is currently listed on Steam as its primary platform. As it is still in development, further details about additional platforms or console releases have not yet been confirmed by the developer.
Does My Dear Emma have multiplayer?
No, My Dear Emma is a single-player game focused on personal exploration and storytelling. The gameplay experience is designed for individual players to engage deeply with the narrative and environment without multiplayer elements.
What features does My Dear Emma have?
My Dear Emma features a relaxing gameplay style centered around nature exploration, puzzles, and storytelling. It employs a unique Scentbar technology that enhances the experience by releasing scents corresponding to in-game environments, allowing players to engage their sense of smell along with sight and sound.
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