MEET THE TEAM!
Elena
Jana
Andrew
David
Niko
Jack
Our Story
Founded in 2020, Yaldi Games began with a single idea…
"Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent," Holmes tells Watson in Arthur Conan Doyle's A Case of Identity.
That line stuck with Elena, our founder. Given how wonderful and strange reality, and nature, is, why do so many games ask players to escape it instead of discovering it?
We wanted to build something different: games that don't pull you away from the real world, but pull you closer to it.
Over the years, we’ve won over 12+ grants and awards, all supporting the development of our first title, Out and About.
In 2025 we launched our game Out and About into Early Access on Steam, and have kept growing it ever since with the help of our community.
Looking ahead, we dream of growing Out and About into the largest, most complete nature game there is, one that goes beyond plants and mushrooms to birds and insects, capturing the beauty of ecosystems and regions all over the world.
This way, our players can fall a little more in love with the world around them.
READ ABOUT US
“Cozy foraging game Out and About shares a new trailer as part of the Wholesome Direct, and there's a playtest you can take part in right now“ — PCGamer June 2025
“Out and About: Mit Pilzen, Kochrezepten und einem guten Schuss Zelda: Breath of the Wild gegen den Einheitsbrei“ — Eurogamer June 2025
“Wholesome Direct 2025: Out and About“ — Gamegrin June 2025
“Cozy foraging game Out and About shares a new trailer as part of the Wholesome Direct, and there's a playtest you can take part in right now“ — Msn June 2025
“7 Cozy Game Demos Not to Miss During Steam Next Fest“ — Comicbook Feb 2025
“Out And About Sure Is Cute For A Game Where You Can Forage Poisonous Plants“ — Aftermath Feb 2025
“10 Games From The 2025 Steam Next Fest You Should Check Out“ — Fingerguns Feb 2025
“Out and About Is A New Cozy Game That Might Actually Improve Your Next Nature Walk“ — Inverse Feb 2025
“Adorable Foraging Adventure Out and About Reveals New Trailer“ — Sixoneindie.com Feb 2025
“10 game demos you need to try during Steam Next Fest 2025“ — Dot Esports Feb 2025
“Discover all winners & nominees for the gamescom award 2024“ — Gamescom Aug 2024
“Gaming for Climate Action“ — OneBillionReslient May 2024
“10 Best Cozy Games Coming to PC in 2024“ — ProGameGuides May 2024
“Designing for Community“ — ArshtRock Mar 2024
“30 Cozy Games We're Excited For In 2024“ — GameSpot Jan 2024
“Out and About Blossoms to Kickstarter Success“ — GamePress Oct 2023
“Scottish Edge gives £1.4 million boost to 24 firms with high-growth potential: full list of winners“ — ScottishEdge May 2023
“Wholesome won an Epic Mega Grant“ — LinkedIn Jan 2023
“Cost of living: Recruitment slows for game developers“ — BBC News Dec 2022
“We saw so many upcoming Stardew Valley-like games this week” — PCGamer June 2022
“Cottage-core simulator 'Wholesome: Out and About” — GoNintendo June 2022
“Wholesome Direct 2022: Wholesome - Out and About” — GameGrin June 2022
“Young Innovators Success Stories: Elena Höge, Yaldi Games, Scotland” — KTN March 2022
“Silicon Valley Programme Cohort Announced by Startup Grind Scotland” — Startup Grind March 2022
“Startup Survival Podcast: Happiness with Elena Höge” — StartupSurvival March 2022
“Successful Alumni Who founded Startups” — TechRound Feb 2022
“The Very Big Indie Pitch 2022” — PC Games Insider Feb 2022
“Creative Enterprise announces the 2022 Accelerate: Games cohort” — Creative UK Jan 2022
“Round 8 Funded Companies Announced” — UK Games Fund Jan 2022
“New online game for ‘positive screen time’ and why all of us should spend more time in nature” — Social Shifters Nov 2021
“UK Game of the show finalist” — MCV August 2021
“Ahead of the game” — Edinburgh Impact June 2021
“In the Spotlight: Elena Höge” — Scotland4Kids page 14, May 2021
“Introducing the Tentacle Zone Incubator Cohort 2021” — Tentacle Zone Incubator April 2021
“Using Gaming To Encourage Outdoor Play And Exploration” — Teaching Times April 2021
“Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park inspires new foraging video game” — Edinburgh Evening News April 2021
“Interview with Elena Höge, founder of Yaldi Games” — Talented Ladies Club March 2021
“Five young entrepreneurs from Scotland win national award” — European Business Magazine Jan. 2021
“Young Innovators Awards 2020/21 Winners: Young inventors working for a better world” — KTN Jan. 2021
“Yaldi Games Scoops Converge Prize” — The Scottish Games Network Sept. 2020
“Clean sweep for female entrepreneurs at the 2020 Converge Awards” — High Growth Scotland Sept. 2020
“Female-led firms sweep board at Converge Awards” — The Scotsman Sept. 2020
“Student entrepreneurs show the winning ways of Startup Summer” — Edinburgh Innovations Sept. 2020