[San Francisco, California] — [May 26,2026] — Broken Tail Interactive, an independent game studio focusing on 3D story-first games, today released a free playable demo for Tideheart — formerly The Azure Project — on itch.io. The demo launched during MerMay, the annual month-long mermaid art challenge that has drawn millions of participating artists worldwide since 2016. The Tideheart demo is available now at https://brokentailinteractive.itch.io/tideheart and requires no account or purchase to play.
Trailer at link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo-EMf_sh3s
Alongside the Tideheart demo, the studio is officially retiring the working title The Azure Project and revealing a new title and logo designed by creative lead and co-founder Jamie McNeill. The name Tideheart reflects underwater myth and mystery, as well as the emotional pull of the underwater narrative focused on the bonds we form with the people and world around us. . . Plus a few pieces of lore and story the studio isn’t ready to reveal just yet!
"MerMay is a month when people all over the world make art about mermaids. We have quietly been building a game about a sibling merfolk duo exploring a flooded world in search of a powerful artifact for their village," said Jamie McNeill, Co-Founder and Creative Head of Broken Tail Interactive. "Putting our vertical slice demo out during MerMay immerses the MerMay community in an interactive mermaid themed experience. We want players to dive in, play and share feedback with us!”
The demo, approximately 20-30 minutes in length, introduces players to Tideheart’s central characters, lets players experience its underwater movement system, and includes several puzzles to solve. From this vertical slice / tech demo, the studio is looking forward to player responses on itch.io about the controls, combat, and overall excitement levels for the concept.
Play the Demo Here: https://brokentailinteractive.itch.io/tideheart
Download the Press Kit Here or on Games Press: Tideheart press kit
Follow on Socials Here: Linktree of all socials
ABOUT TIDEHEART
Tideheart is a narrative-focused 3D underwater fantasy adventure centered around exploration, environmental storytelling, and fluid underwater traversal. Descend into the remains of a forgotten world where ancient structures, submerged ruins, and strange lifeforms hide the truth behind a long-lost civilization.
Built by the small independent team at Broken Tail Interactive, Tideheart combines atmospheric exploration, puzzle solving, and character driven storytelling into an immersive underwater journey designed to make players rethink what an underwater game can feel like.
ABOUT BROKEN TAIL INTERACTIVE LLC
Broken Tail Interactive is an independent game studio built by storytellers, artists, and engineers who love bringing fantastic characters and worlds to life! Founded in 2025, the studio focuses on creating story-first games with compelling characters while simultaneously tackling and refining challenging mechanics, such as underwater play. More at https://linktr.ee/brokentailinteractive.
ABOUT MERMAY
MerMay is a month-long art challenge held every May in which artists worldwide create and post mermaid-themed artwork daily, using the hashtag #mermay. The challenge was founded in 2016 by Tom Bancroft, a former Disney animator best known for creating Mushu in Mulan as well as work on The Lion King, Aladdin, and Pocahontas. After a drawing of two mermaids on their “shell phones” went viral on social media, Bancroft challenged himself and fellow creators to draw a mermaid every day for the entire month. Hundreds of thousands of artists participated in year one; the challenge has since grown to millions of participants annually across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, complete with an official prompt list, annual contests, and a global creative community
MEDIA CONTACT
For inquiries and more information please reach out to tanya@brokentailinteractive.com
Press release
