Brendan Mulligan Liminal is the story of a games executive who spent eight years at Riot Games, helping lead investments, acquisitions and partnerships, and then left to build a game that lets ordinary players tell their own stories. Mulligan is the founder and CEO of Liminal Experiences, a fully remote Los Angeles-based studio that, according to GamesBeat, raised $5.8 million in seed funding from BITKRAFT Ventures, Riot Games and OTK Media Group. Its first title, Liminal: Skies, is a creativity game that is still in development. Here is how Mulligan got there, what the game is meant to be, how the studio handles AI and what remains unproven.
Brendan Mulligan Liminal: Who Is the Founder?
Brendan Mulligan is the founder and chief executive officer of Liminal Experiences, Inc. The company’s studio page lists him as CEO, and the funding announcement calls him founder and CEO. GamesBeat describes Liminal as a fully remote game development studio founded in 2022, while the press release is datelined Los Angeles.
His background comes from the business side of games. GamesBeat reports that Mulligan spent eight years at Riot Games, variously leading investments and acquisitions, strategic business partnerships, League of Legends economy design and more. Few game founders come from that mix of dealmaking, economy design and partnerships, and it shapes how Liminal talks about franchises and creators.
His public voice is that of a storyteller-turned-executive. In the welcome post, which he wrote, the studio describes its mission as helping everyone in the world find their story by igniting imaginations through play. That mission is the core of the Brendan Mulligan Liminal story.
From Riot Games to Founder
Mulligan’s years at Riot Games gave him a front-row view of how a huge game ecosystem works. Leading investments and acquisitions teaches how to evaluate studios and technology. Designing the economy of League of Legends teaches how players spend, earn and value digital items. Strategic partnerships teach how to bring a game’s world into other media.
He credits that history in his funding interview. GamesBeat quotes him saying he is grateful to Riot Games, where he worked for eight years, and noting that he was fortunate to have a believer in Jasper Brand at BITKRAFT Ventures. Both relationships show up on the investor list.
The experience also shaped the pitch. In the funding press release, Mulligan said he hears the same thing again and again from the teams behind favorite universes: they need a gaming and UGC strategy, but current solutions do not make sense for their brand. That observation from the partnership side is the commercial seed of Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
David Lieberman and the Founding Team
Mulligan is joined by technical co-founder David Lieberman, who appears on the studio page as Dave Lieberman. According to GamesBeat, Lieberman was previously group product lead at Riot Games and vice president of engineering at the no-code game engine Buildbox. Gamigion adds that Mulligan co-founded Liminal in 2022 alongside Lieberman.
The pairing is natural for a game about no-code creation. Lieberman has built a no-code engine, so he knows the technical problem of letting non-programmers make games, while Mulligan knows how to turn that into a business with partners and franchises.
Lieberman also writes on the company’s site. The studio’s Bibliography page lists him as the author, which suggests he is involved in shaping the studio’s design philosophy. A founding pair from the same large studio, with complementary strengths, gives Brendan Mulligan Liminal a credible base.
The Idea: A Creativity Game for Storytelling
The product concept is deliberately simple to say. In the GamesBeat interview, Mulligan describes it as a creativity game for storytelling. The studio’s welcome post compares it to Minecraft, but instead of building castles, players build complete, playable stories.
The motivation is a gap he sees between existing tools. The welcome post respects RPGMaker and the way Roblox opened creation to a new audience, but says what inspires the team most are games where creativity is play and not work, such as Tiny Glade, The Sims, Minecraft and even Dress to Impress. These are games, it says, where hours fade away as people get lost in the flow of creation.
Mulligan told GamesBeat the difference is that the studio is not supporting past games but aiming for delightful, fun creative experiences, compared with existing platforms that are much more code and tool oriented. The creativity-game concept is the creative seed of Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
Building Liminal: Episodic Adventures Without Code
The welcome post, published on March 11, 2025, lays out what the studio planned. Players create bite-sized episodic adventures: each episode takes place in one setting and is finished when the adventurer completes all the quests in that area. The post offers an analogy, imagining creating Ocarina of Time one episode at a time, with Kokiri Forest today, the Deku Tree tomorrow and Hyrule Field next week.
The planned feature list included 3D episodic adventure stories without coding, full building, decorating and character editing systems, easy quest creation with advanced gameplay editing, AI-powered storytelling assistance and a game creation concierge, sharing of adventures with one to four players and asset packs with favorite intellectual properties for interactive fanfiction.
The ambition is large: the studio’s vision is a community of millions discovering their creativity and sharing stories, and the post says one day Liminal will be for gaming what Wattpad, Ao3 and Webtoons are for their mediums. That is the long-term goal of Brendan Mulligan Liminal, not a description of the current product.
Liminal: Skies, the First Title
The first title was announced in September 2025. According to a Business Wire release summarized in a search listing, Liminal Experiences announced Liminal: Skies as the beginning of an AI-powered world creation platform, and described it as combining the familiar joy of building and simulation games with AI so that everyone can realize the fantasy of making their own game experiences. At the time, the release said a public demo was planned for later that year and a 2026 launch.
The studio’s homepage now describes Liminal: Skies as the opening chapter of a new creative universe, where players build their town, design their own characters, bring them to life with dialogue and craft entire worlds through play. It links to a Steam page with a “Wishlist Now” button, and the site lists social channels on TikTok, Discord, YouTube, Instagram and X.
In the sources reviewed, the game was still at the wishlist stage, so readers should check the Steam page for the current release status. The public timetable has also shifted from earlier statements, which is normal for games in development. Skies is the first test of Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
Liminal and AI
AI is the most debated part of the studio’s identity, and Mulligan addresses it directly. In the funding release, he said AI in gaming is a sensitive topic because many developers worry about being replaced and players grapple with its ethical issues. His position is that a positive vision should recognize AI’s power to ignite the imaginations of players of all ages.
The welcome post goes further. It says the studio wants to plant a flag as one that believes AI can expand human creativity and bring communities closer together, if leveraged correctly, and that the team believes in the sacredness of the creative process and does not want to shortcut it with any technology. It promised to share more on what the studio will and will not do with AI when the game is revealed.
The September 2025 release adds a design principle: for players not interested in the AI tools, the game lets them take control of every creative choice themselves. Mulligan also told GamesBeat that he sees the concern about replacing developers as real and wants to center humans in the creative process.
These are company statements, and the gaming community’s debate about generative AI is unresolved. Some players and developers object to AI in games on principle, while others welcome tools that lower the barrier to creation. How the final product handles opt-in, data and ownership will matter. The AI stance is the most scrutinized part of Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
The Values and the Bibliography
The studio publishes unusually detailed statements about how it works. The studio page lists six values: respect the power of story, create joyfully, bring a humble brain, collaborate with compassion, make space for 1,000 faces and be the protagonist. They emphasize psychological safety, diverse perspectives and ownership.
The Bibliography page collects influences. Entries include Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which the team says inspired the name Liminal, Chaim Gingold’s Building SimCity, the original Sims design documents, Max Kreminski’s “trashifesto” about creativity tools and Kate Compton’s essay defining casual creators, which describes software that privileges enjoyment of the creative process above productivity.
The bibliography also quotes the team’s goal of providing “Magic Crayons” for everyone, a reference to Gingold’s talk on Spore’s Creature Creator. Sharing reading lists signals a design-first culture, and it builds credibility with the creator community the studio hopes to attract. The culture is part of the identity of Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
Inside the $5.8 Million Seed Round
On March 11, 2025, Liminal emerged from stealth. According to the Business Wire release, it had raised $5.8 million to date in seed funding. The investment came from BITKRAFT Ventures, Riot Games and OTK Media Group, with participation from angel investors including Marc Merrill, founder of Riot Games.
The welcome post says the team had been quietly working toward its vision for two years, and describes the investors as “very cool people” who share it. The funding supports building the game and growing the team ahead of its first public content.
For a game studio, $5.8 million is a modest seed, enough for a small team but not for a large production. For comparison with other recent rounds across consumer technology, see our story on Shijia Liao’s Fish Audio, and for more on how funding shapes young companies, see our Funding News section. The seed round gave Brendan Mulligan Liminal the runway for its first title.
The Investors Backing Brendan Mulligan
The investor list reads like a games industry directory. BITKRAFT Ventures is a venture firm focused on gaming, esports and interactive media. Riot Games is the developer of League of Legends and Mulligan’s former employer, and OTK Media Group is a creator-led entertainment company. Marc Merrill, the Riot co-founder, joined as an angel.
Each backer fits a different part of the strategy. BITKRAFT brings games-focused capital and relationships. Riot signals confidence from a studio that knows how large game universes work. OTK connects to the creator and streaming community that could help a creation game find its audience.
The risks are the usual ones for a concentrated cap table: dependence on a few strategic investors and expectations tied to their industry. For now, that mix of capital and credibility strengthens Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
A Team From Riot, Blizzard and Niantic
Beyond the founders, the studio describes a team of experienced developers who have worked on games from Riot, Blizzard, Niantic, BioWare, Electronic Arts and others. The studio page lists staff including a senior producer, a gameplay engineer, a technical designer and senior engineers, along with a product marketing lead.
It also credits a long list of contributors, including Chaim Gingold, whose work on Spore and SimCity the studio cites, and Isaac Karth, who writes about players participating in imagination. Naming outside contributors shows the studio’s ties to the creativity-software research community.
The studio is fully remote, according to GamesBeat, which helps recruit specialists across locations. A seasoned team from large studios gives Brendan Mulligan Liminal the production experience that first-time founders often lack.
Where Liminal Stands in the UGC Market
User-generated content is a crowded, capital-intensive category. Roblox and Minecraft dominate creation-focused games, while Fortnite’s creator tools and various no-code engines compete for creators. The welcome post pays respect to RPGMaker and Roblox, and positions Liminal as something different: a game where creation is play.
Liminal’s differentiators are clear. It focuses on episodic, narrative adventures instead of open-ended sandboxes. It plans AI assistance as optional, not mandatory. It supports asset packs from favorite intellectual properties, which could attract brands and fan communities. And it comes from a founder with partnership experience.
The risks are significant. Creation games need a critical mass of creators and players, which is notoriously hard to reach. AI features raise community and legal questions. IP-based packs require licensing deals. And a small studio is competing for attention with giant platforms. In a crowded field, Brendan Mulligan Liminal competes on a clear idea and a human-centered stance.
Risks and Open Questions
A fair look at an early-stage studio should name the open questions.
Release timing. The game was announced for a 2026 launch, and the sources reviewed show it at the wishlist stage.
Gameplay proof. The studio held off showing gameplay in early announcements, so the creation tools have had little public testing.
AI reception. Some players oppose generative AI in games, and the studio has promised more detail on what it will and will not do.
Network effects. A creation platform needs both creators and players, and the studio has not published user numbers.
Funding runway. The only disclosed round is the $5.8 million seed, so future capital depends on the game’s reception.
IP licensing. The plan for asset packs with popular properties depends on deals that have not been announced.
None of these is unusual for a studio at this stage, but together they define the risk. Naming them is part of an honest look at Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
Leadership Style and What’s Next
Mulligan’s style comes through in the studio’s writing. The welcome post is candid, joking about proving to families that the team has real jobs and admitting the team does not have all the answers on AI. The values page emphasizes psychological safety, low egos and room to fail.
He also pitches clearly. In interviews, he frames Liminal as a creation game for the next generation of UGC players and positions it against code-heavy platforms. The roadmap visible from the website includes the Liminal: Skies release, community building on Discord and social channels, and continued hiring, with a careers page on the site.
The test will be showing gameplay that lives up to the vision and building a community around it. The welcome post’s last-updated date of June 2026 suggests the studio is maintaining its public updates. That discipline will define the next chapter of Brendan Mulligan Liminal.
Lessons From the Brendan Mulligan Liminal Journey
The Brendan Mulligan Liminal journey offers five practical lessons for founders.
First, use the problem you saw from inside. Years of partnership work at Riot showed Mulligan that franchises wanted UGC strategies that existing tools did not serve.
Second, pair a business founder with a technical founder. Mulligan’s dealmaking and Lieberman’s no-code engine experience cover both sides of the product.
Third, take a clear position on a controversial topic. Addressing AI early set expectations and gave the community something specific to respond to.
Fourth, build culture in public. Published values and a bibliography attract like-minded creators and hires.
Fifth, raise from backers who understand your market. Games-focused investors bring relationships as well as capital.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Brendan Mulligan?
Brendan Mulligan is the founder and CEO of Liminal Experiences. He spent eight years at Riot Games leading investments, acquisitions, partnerships and League of Legends economy design.
What is the Brendan Mulligan Liminal story?
It is the story of a Riot Games executive who left to found a studio building a creativity game for storytelling, raised a $5.8 million seed round and is developing its first title, Liminal: Skies.
What is Liminal Experiences?
Liminal Experiences is a fully remote game studio based in Los Angeles that is building creativity games where players build worlds, design characters and tell stories.
What is Liminal: Skies?
It is the studio’s first title, described as the opening chapter of a creative universe where players build a town, design characters, bring them to life with dialogue and craft worlds through play. It is in development, with a Steam wishlist page.
Who founded Liminal Experiences?
Brendan Mulligan and technical co-founder David Lieberman founded the studio in 2022.
How much funding has Liminal raised?
Liminal announced $5.8 million in seed funding in March 2025, from BITKRAFT Ventures, Riot Games and OTK Media Group, with angels including Marc Merrill.
Does Liminal use AI?
Yes. The studio plans AI-powered storytelling assistance and a game creation concierge, and says players who do not want AI can control every creative choice themselves.
When will Liminal: Skies launch?
Earlier announcements mentioned a 2026 launch and a public demo. Check the Steam page for the current status.
What inspired the name Liminal?
The studio says Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces inspired the name.
Where is Liminal based?
The company’s press release is datelined Los Angeles, and the studio describes itself as fully remote.
Conclusion
Brendan Mulligan Liminal shows how a business executive from a major game studio can turn a partnership insight into a creative product. By pairing a no-code technical co-founder with games-industry backers, publishing a clear stance on AI and designing a game where creation itself is play, Mulligan built a small studio with a large ambition. The open questions are whether the game delivers on its promise, whether players and creators arrive in numbers and whether the AI approach earns the community’s trust. If it does, Liminal could become a new kind of storytelling game.
For more founder journeys in AI and software, see Stephen Haney’s Paper, Francesco Decamilli’s Uniti and Runlayer’s Series A on Denote Press, or browse all Founder Stories.
