Windup Minds launches Stay: Your Forever Pet on Steam Early Access with desktop companion app

Windup Minds, an independent studio led by game industry veterans, has officially launched Stay: Your Forever Pet on Steam Early Access and released Stay: Ember's Desktop Adventures on Windows PC via Steam.

Stay: Your Forever Pet costs $12.99 and invites players to build a relationship with Ember, a fox-like magical companion with distinct personality traits. The game focuses on exploration, foraging, and pet care in a low-pressure world. Players can unlock over 60 unique toys, outfits, and accessories to customize their companion at their own pace. The experience draws inspiration from games like Nintendogs and Animal Crossing.

Bernie Yee, CEO and co-founder of Windup Minds, explained the studio's design philosophy: "To really get the bond right, we spent a lot of time studying how people and dogs connect, even teaming up with canine cognition expert Professor Alexandra Horowitz. She reminded us that to a dog, 'the person is always the most interesting thing in the room.' That's exactly who Ember is: a magical canine companion who is always genuinely happy to see you."

Stay: Ember's Desktop Adventures operates as a companion application launching at $4.99. Unlike static desktop widgets, Ember runs on the same advanced NPC behaviors and 3D animation as the main game. The desktop companion tracks cursor movements, returns daily with free accessory envelopes, and respects active workflows by napping quietly when ignored. Ember has hunger, moods, and memories that persist between sessions.

Ben Vance, creative director at Windup Minds, compared the concept to earlier generations of digital pet experiences: "Tamagotchi showed a generation that we could love something that only exists on a screen; lots of games told us that yes, you can pet the dog. Stay: Ember's Desktop Adventures is what happens when you rebuild that idea with decades of NPC game AI. She has hunger, moods, and memories, and if you ignore her today, she might hold it against you tomorrow – just a little bit."