The Game Census
Emily is Away cover art

Emily is Away

Kyle Seeley · 2015-11-20

Steam

AdventureCasualFree To PlayIndieSimulation

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Text

Releases: Nov 20, 2015 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Nov 20, 2015 (Mac)

Emily is Away is an interactive story. Create a screenname and choose your path through the branching narrative.

Emily is Away is a free-to-play Adventure, Casual, Free To Play and Indie game released in 2015, with Very Positive (89% of 32331 reviews) and an estimated 1,000,000 .. 2,000,000 owners.— census verdict as of 2026-09-20

8
playing now
89%
positive of 32k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
67/100
IGDB user rating (151 ratings)
1h
to beat · rushed 1h · completionist 1.5h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Unknown
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: 0
Free
steam price (US)

8 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 11:00 UTC (census sample)

Emily Is Away is an indie visual novel by game developer Kyle Seeley, released for free in November 2015. Set in the early-to-mid 2000s, Emily Is Away tells the story of the protagonist's relationship with a girl, Emily, over the course of five years, from the senior year of high school to the senior year of college. The game is presented through a chat client on Windows XP styled after ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger, specifically their builds in the early-to-mid 2000s, complete with other users' profiles and interface. The choices for profile pictures are generally collected from the culture of the early-to-mid 2000s, including 28 Days Later, The Ring, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, blink-182, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eminem, and Avril Lavigne on the first level. Through special usernames, players can unlock more profile icons referencing early-to-mid 2010s culture, like The Binding of Isaac, Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Portal, and The Stanley Parable.

Trailer

Emily is Away trailer thumbnail

Emily is Away Gameplay Trailer

≈1,000,000 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 8 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 669 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~84/week).
  • · Review velocity up 1% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 28,833 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
23023020182026Week of 2018-01-01: 192 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 121 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 112 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 140 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 129 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 117 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 125 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 85 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 107 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 143 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 149 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 106 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 92 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 115 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 136 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 144 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 92 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 107 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 145 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 151 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 116 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 230 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 177 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 119 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 84 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 103 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 139 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 89 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 113 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 129 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 106 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 80 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 93 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 98 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 66 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 123 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 84 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 117 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 95 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 140 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 72 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 66 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 104 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 81 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 94 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 84 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 56 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 88 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 89 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 79 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 10 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

1752026-09-15 12:00 — 7 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 5 players2026-09-18 03:00 — 10 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 7 players2026-09-20 18:00 — 10 players2026-09-22 02:00 — 9 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 5 players2026-09-24 17:00 — 13 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 12 players2026-09-27 08:00 — 8 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 11 players2026-09-29 23:00 — 10 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 7 players2026-10-02 14:00 — 11 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 8 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 5 players2026-10-06 13:00 — 12 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 7 players2026-10-09 04:00 — 9 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 9 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 17 players2026-10-13 03:00 — 7 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 8 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
8158Nov 2015Aug 2026Nov 2015 — avg 815 · peak 2,747Mar 2016 — avg 115 · peak 315Jul 2016 — avg 69 · peak 138Nov 2016 — avg 45 · peak 99Mar 2017 — avg 34 · peak 69Jul 2017 — avg 48 · peak 107Nov 2017 — avg 24 · peak 56Mar 2018 — avg 21 · peak 52Jul 2018 — avg 22 · peak 41Nov 2018 — avg 12 · peak 32Mar 2019 — avg 12 · peak 32Jul 2019 — avg 16 · peak 37Nov 2019 — avg 18 · peak 52Mar 2020 — avg 15 · peak 35Jul 2020 — avg 17 · peak 38Nov 2020 — avg 12 · peak 32Mar 2021 — avg 10 · peak 25Jul 2021 — avg 20 · peak 37Nov 2021 — avg 20 · peak 41Mar 2022 — avg 19 · peak 55Jul 2022 — avg 14 · peak 29Nov 2022 — avg 10 · peak 25Mar 2023 — avg 11 · peak 24Jul 2023 — avg 18 · peak 85Nov 2023 — avg 13 · peak 28Mar 2024 — avg 15 · peak 32Jul 2024 — avg 15 · peak 31Nov 2024 — avg 11 · peak 25Mar 2025 — avg 13 · peak 37Jul 2025 — avg 11 · peak 23Nov 2025 — avg 9 · peak 22Mar 2026 — avg 10 · peak 21Jul 2026 — avg 12 · peak 26Aug 2026 — avg 11 · peak 23
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Attention

550262026-06-01 — 51 pageviews2026-06-05 — 89 pageviews2026-06-09 — 40 pageviews2026-06-13 — 41 pageviews2026-06-17 — 35 pageviews2026-06-21 — 54 pageviews2026-06-25 — 42 pageviews2026-06-29 — 49 pageviews2026-07-03 — 51 pageviews2026-07-07 — 54 pageviews2026-07-11 — 65 pageviews2026-07-15 — 82 pageviews2026-07-19 — 52 pageviews2026-07-23 — 57 pageviews2026-07-27 — 44 pageviews2026-07-31 — 47 pageviews2026-08-04 — 40 pageviews2026-08-08 — 46 pageviews2026-08-12 — 50 pageviews2026-08-16 — 62 pageviews2026-08-20 — 41 pageviews2026-08-24 — 41 pageviews2026-08-28 — 27 pageviews2026-09-01 — 42 pageviews2026-09-05 — 38 pageviews2026-09-09 — 51 pageviews2026-09-13 — 40 pageviews2026-09-17 — 58 pageviews2026-09-21 — 50 pageviews2026-09-25 — 26 pageviews2026-09-29 — 36 pageviews2026-10-03 — 48 pageviews2026-10-07 — 48 pageviews2026-10-10 — 48 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

20
achievements tracked
68.4%
earned "2002"
10.9%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsFamily Sharing

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)36,96343%20

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

IndieRetroShortCasualRomanceDating SimSimulationStory RichFree to PlaySingleplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Star Control®: OriginsSurvivalistThe Last JourneyForce of NatureWeapon Shop FantasyDream Daddy: A Dad Dating SimulatorDude SimulatorAncient Cities

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗Reddit ↗