My Wife Is a Spy is a palace of secrets, where affection and ambition collide. In this podcast, Transparent Games’ Anna Konchak walks us through a modern soul dropped into a Renaissance-tinted world, a marriage of convenience that might become love, and a court where trust is earned and every whisper matters.

We talk enemies to lovers, villainess or love, and how a suspicion system shapes the fate of the North. There is talk of architecture-driven art, fashion research, and a heroine who learns to move from survival to agency. The conversation touches hard topics like family abuse, handled with care, and circles back to hope as the story’s heartbeat. Read on for podcast highlights from Anna, plus a few exclusive peeks behind the scenes.

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Highlights from My Wife is a Spy Podcast

Anna: You play as a nameable MC who is a victim of family abuse. She gets hit by a delivery van and reincarnates into a Renaissance-esque fantasy world inspired by Korean webcomics. She takes over the body of Sophia, a count’s daughter and side character in that webcomic. She must spy on the Duke of the North to complete her mission and the player chooses whether to betray her new husband and become a villainess or fall in love.

Anna: Not directly, although you may be surprised to see what Saint Esquialra and her knight Antonio are like in the full game.

Anna: I wanted a fish-out-of-water story,the MC is modern and the body she inhabits is from the South, so the North is foreign. The South uses pinks/reds and Renaissance Italian outfits; the North draws from old Swedish castles with a cooler palette. I’m an architect by trade, so I guided backgrounds with real architectural references, while Livia led the fashion research.

Anna: We leaned on the “Duke of the North” archetype from webcomics but made him distinct. He and Sophia are enemies-to-lovers from the start. He won’t openly antagonize her, but his underlying distrust is real. He can’t push her away because of imperial politics, and earning his trust is the point.

Anna: No. You’re married to Zachary in the game; introducing another dateable man would feel like cheating, arranged marriage or not. The focus is Zachary and Sophia—villainess or love—and it’s not meant to be a very long game.

Anna: For Zachary, we looked at Korean webtoon dukes (with some Swedish influence): dark hair, blue eyes, long coat. There’s another sprite outfit that’s not in the demo. For Sophia, we chose pink/red undertones to contrast Zachary’s blue, with five outfits—Renaissance Italy-leaning, plus a duchess look if Zachary accepts her.

Anna: The game began as a single-LI romance or no-romance alternative, but both routes are valid and there are multiple endings (including bad ends). Unlike Saintess, which had only an affection system, here we add suspicion mechanics—what people in the castle hear from Sophia, how they share info, and how suspicious the whole castle becomes. If you pass intel to Sophia’s father in the South, Northern independence gets harder; keep things to yourself and Zachary’s trust grows, changing the fate of the North.

Anna: Both routes are about discovering Sophia’s strength and agency, just in different ways. She starts believing she “amounts to nothing,” but interactions with Zachary and others help her become more sure of herself and take action. She’s lonely and scared of rejection, yet excited to know people—resilient, even with a trauma-repressed personality.

Anna: People joked it’s “Depresso Espresso,” but it’s a game about hope. It may be rough early on so you feel what the MC and Sophia went through, but unless you get a bad ending, it’s not meant to end badly.

Anna: We’ve made another public Steam demo (~40 minutes) to meet Zachary and try the systems; we sent it to influencers/press and many plan coverage in two–three weeks. We’ll update the demo a few times with content, art, and polish. We’re aiming for an extended demo in February up to the wedding, and the full release is end of next year or early 2027. If we run a Kickstarter, release shifts later so we can add features.

Anna: Nothing set yet. There won’t be voice acting without a Kickstarter. VA can be polarizing, so we might invest in art or custom music instead—no decision yet.

Anna: After the Autumn festival, three months post-announcement and first demo, we’re at about 1,700 Steam wishlists and growing faster than Saintess. We feel secure for release and humbled by the support.

Anna: It draws on real experiences of family abuse. I hope it resonates and gives people hope that things can change, without triggering anyone.

Anna: Thank you for your interest in My Wife Is a Spy. We love the comments from players and stream audiences. We’ll deliver the best game we can, even if it takes a little longer.

Exclusive Content My Wife is a Spy

Anna: This is Bridget’s concept—so you can see how it goes from concept to final sprite in-game. We use brushes to speed up CG work; gems/jewelry can be copied into sprites when fully vetted. We work in Studio Plane.

Anna: I think the stuff with Saint Esquialra and the knight Antonia will be fun—for players and for me.

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