The Fullbright Company built a prototype of the game in Frictional Games' HPL2 engine, and asked if they could use the engine in the final game. They were turned down as a matter of policy, and encouraged to use the Unity engine instead, which the game was eventually completed in.

After playing the final version, and being informed of its history, Thomas Grip of Frictional Games later asked to see the prototype, stating that he had "Mail Steve about Amnesia: Gone Home" written on his todo list for six months.