According to team leader Mezukare (Toru Kawakatse), the game was inspired by an unspecified mobile game he and other team members had played that was similar to the party game Werewolf (a.k.a. Mafia). They collectively felt "dissatisfied with the construction of the experience", so they decided to make Gnosia as a variation of that game for their personal enjoyment. It was not initially intended to have a commercial release.