D
Doki Doki Literature Club!
ddlc.moe
Free psychological horror visual novel disguised as a dating sim.
2M+ downloads within ~4 mon…
DS
Dan Salvato
Creator of Doki Doki Literature Club and founder of Team Salvato
Dan Salvato at a glance
- Known for
- Doki Doki Literature Club!, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! and FrankerFaceZ
- Based in
- United States
- Indie since
- 2017
- Active products
- Doki Doki Literature Club!, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! and FrankerFaceZ
Facts checked 2026-10-22
About Dan Salvato
Dan Salvato is an American programmer, writer and composer who created Doki Doki Literature Club!, the psychological horror game disguised as a cute dating sim. Before making games he was known in the Super Smash Bros. community as a competitive Melee player and modder, a key developer on the Brawl mod Project M and creator of the 20XX Tournament Edition, and he also built the FrankerFaceZ extension for Twitch.
Salvato founded Team Salvato in 2017 and spent about two years developing Doki Doki Literature Club, handling design, programming, writing and music. Released free on itch.io and Steam in September 2017 with a pay-what-you-want option, it became a viral hit, passing one million downloads within three months and two million about a month later, and won People's Choice awards from IGN.
In 2021 Team Salvato released Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, an expanded paid edition with new side stories, on PC and consoles with publisher Serenity Forge, followed by mobile versions in December 2025.
Products by Dan Salvato
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!
store.steampowered.com
Expanded paid edition with side stories, on PC, consoles and mobile.
FrankerFaceZ
frankerfacez.com
Browser extension that adds custom emotes and features to Twitch.
Timeline
- 2017 — Founded Team Salvato and released Doki Doki Literature Club in September.
- 2018 — DDLC passed 2 million downloads and won the SXSW Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award.
- 2021 — Released Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! with Serenity Forge.
- 2025 — Released DDLC on iOS and Android.
How Dan builds
- Subvert a genre's expectations to surprise players.
- Give the game away and let word of mouth do the marketing.
- Own every part of the craft: code, writing and music.
Dan Salvato FAQ
Who is Dan Salvato?
, the psychological horror game disguised as a cute dating sim. Before making games he was known in the Super Smash Bros.
Who made Doki Doki Literature Club?
Doki Doki Literature Club was created by Dan Salvato and his studio Team Salvato, who designed, wrote, programmed and composed it, and released it on September 22, 2017.
Is Doki Doki Literature Club free?
Yes, the original game is free on Steam and itch.io with a pay-what-you-want option; the expanded Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! (2021) is a paid version.
How many people have downloaded Doki Doki Literature Club?
DDLC passed 1 million downloads in its first three months and over 2 million about a month later (early 2018).
What did Dan Salvato do before DDLC?
He was a competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee player and modder, a key developer of Project M and creator of the 20XX Tournament Edition, and he made the FrankerFaceZ Twitch extension.
Where is Dan Salvato based?
Dan Salvato is based in United States.
What is Dan Salvato doing now?
As of October 2026, Dan Salvato's active products include Doki Doki Literature Club!, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! and FrankerFaceZ.
How long has Dan Salvato been an indie maker?
Dan Salvato has been building independently since 2017, about 9 years.
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