Studio Élan first began as an amateur game development group under the name Alienwork. Between working on another project within Alienwork, Syon Santeria pitched fellow member Josh Kaplan on creating a yuri visual novel as a smaller side project, the idea interested Kaplan and the pair began development of Highway Blossoms.[2]Sekai Project announced the game at Anime Weekend Atlanta on September 26, 2015,[3] and in 2016 opened a Steam Greenlight page for the game.[4]Highway Blossoms was initially released without any voice acting and its sound was limited to an acoustic soundtrack. An adult content patch was made freely available.[5][6] The developer later released a remastered version of the game featuring voice-overs for the characters.[7]
Highway Blossoms received positive reviews for its visuals, story, and soundtrack.[8][9][10][11] Kaplan also noted that the game "ended up being unexpectedly successful," stating that "it found an audience of primarily LGBT readers who appreciated what they felt was a more realistic approach to same-sex relationships."[12] Due to the game's success, Kaplan went on to found Studio Élan in February 2017.[1][12] In October, Highway Blossoms's publisher Sekai Project announced that Élan would be working on two further visual novels.[13] One of these was Heart of the Woods,[13] which would be released in 2019.[14] The studio's work would go on to garner a reputation for commonly featuring LGBTQ+ and sapphic themes.[15] In a 2018 interview, the head of the studio stated that "the majority" of studio members are LGBT women.[16]
In 2019, the studio announced Lock and Key, a magical girlyuri visual novel.[17] In February 2020, Studio Élan announced that they would begin publishing visual novels under their newly formed "Bellhouse" label, with First Snow as their first title.[18] They further released Highway Blossoms: Next Exit, downloadable content (DLC) for Highway Blossoms in 2020.[19] Also in February, the release a trailer for Summer At the Edge of the Universe, which was set for release in 2021.[20][21] In April 2021, Studio Elan announced plans for a console port of Highway Blossoms.[22]
In October 2022, the studio merged with Studio Coattails.[23] In November, the studio released Please Be Happy.[24] In April 2023, Heart of the Woods received a limited physical release.[25] Later in October, the studio published Twofold, a visual novel following non-binary college student Olive Penn.[26]
