Maid of Sker (video game)

This article is about the game. For the novel by R. D. Blackmore, see The Maid of Sker.
Maid of Sker
A woman with her hands held over her mouth while crying next to the Sker Hotel with a man in the gates.
Official cover art
Developer(s)Wales Interactive
Publisher(s)Wales Interactive
Director(s)David Banner
Richard Pring
Designer(s)The Wales Interactive Team
Programmer(s)Spas Dimitrov
Artist(s)Richard Lee Rowlands
Writer(s)Matthew Gibbs
Composer(s)Gareth Lumb
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
Release
  • Windows, PS4, Xbox One
  • 28 July 2020
  • Nintendo Switch
  • 26 November 2020
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Maid of Sker (/skɛər/) is a 2020 first-person survival horror game developed and published by Wales Interactive. The game is set in 1898 in the Sker Hotel, on an imaginary island called Sker Island. The protagonist, Thomas Evans, is invited by his lover, Elisabeth Williams, to uncover the mysteries of the hotel after she notices her family's strange behavior. While exploring the hotel, Thomas learns cult followers called "The Quiet Ones" control the place. He finds notes and gramophone records scattered around the hotel that reveal the history of Elisabeth's family.

Several Welsh and British folklore tales provided inspiration for the story. One particular source was Sker House—a historic place situated just outside the town of Porthcawl, near Bridgend, Wales—made famous by The Maid of Sker, the three-volume novel written by R. D. Blackmore. The folklore story of the same name titled Y Ferch o'r Sger in Welsh also influenced the game. The game has been compared to Outlast, The Evil Within 2, and Silent Hill. Its saving system was compared to that of Resident Evil, with the typewriter switched to a gramophone in the saving rooms.

The game was released on 28 July 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and on 26 November 2020 for Nintendo Switch. Critical reception to Maid of Sker was mixed, with reviewers praising the visuals and plot while criticising the gameplay mechanics. A spiritual successor, titled Sker Ritual, launched in 2024 for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.