Thirsty Suitors

The game was developed by Outerloop Games and published by Annapurna Interactive. The studio began their development process by selecting three ideas for games to present to others in the video games industry in a pitch deck; the idea which later became Thirsty Suitors received the most positive attention. Co-founder and creative director of Outerloop, Chandana Ekanayake, noted that most of the individuals to whom Outerloop pitched the game were middle-aged white men, which caused Ekanayake to change his pitching strategy. This change involved focusing on the dearth of South Asian narratives in games, and highlighting successful media with such stories, such as the film Bend it Like Beckham and the television show Never Have I Ever. After deciding to move forward with the idea behind Thirsty Suitors exclusively, Outerloop eventually secured financing from Annapurna. Outerloop increased its headcount to fourteen to develop the game.