AI-powered script generator that produces hook-first, cliffhanger-every-episode vertical drama series — the first purpose-built creator tool for the $11B micro-drama market.
The original name MicroDraft is taken on both the App Store and .com/.app — it belongs to a fantasy sports app (Juused Inc., id1627538375). Seven candidate names were researched. EpisodeCraft is the strongest: zero App Store matches on iOS or Android, both .com ($11.25/yr) and .app ($14.99/yr) available, and no trademark conflicts found. The name signals exactly what the app does — craft episodes — without clashing with "Episode Interactive" (different category: interactive fiction, not creator tools).
| Name | .com | .app | .io | App Store Clear? | Trademark Risk | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EpisodeCraft ⭐ PICK | ✅ $11.25/yr | ✅ $14.99/yr | ✅ $37.99/yr | ✅ Clear | Low | 9/10 |
| MicroDraft | ❌ Taken | ❌ Taken | ✅ $37.99/yr | ❌ Fantasy sports app exists | High — active app same name | 1/10 |
| DramaKit | ❌ Taken | ✅ $14.99/yr | ✅ $37.99/yr | ✅ Clear | Low | 6/10 |
| ReelDraft | ❌ Taken | ✅ $14.99/yr | ✅ $37.99/yr | ✅ Clear | Medium — "Reel" brand noise | 5/10 |
| DramaForge | ❌ Taken | ❌ Taken | ✅ $37.99/yr | ✅ Clear | Low | 5/10 |
| ScriptReel | ❌ Taken | ✅ $14.99/yr | ❌ Taken | ✅ Clear | Medium — "Script" + "Reel" generic mix | 5/10 |
| EpisodeAI | ❌ Taken | ❌ Taken | ✅ $37.99/yr | ⚠️ "Episode" brand adjacency | Medium — Episode Interactive brand | 4/10 |
Domain data sourced from Vercel domain availability API, April 24 2026. App Store data from searches on apps.apple.com and play.google.com.
The micro-drama (short drama) market has exploded from $500M in 2021 to a projected $7.8B in global in-app revenue in 2026, according to Deloitte's 2026 TMT Predictions. In Q1 2025 alone, short drama apps generated ~$700M in in-app purchases — nearly 4x higher than Q1 2024. Paid installs grew 155% year-over-year per Sensor Tower's 2025 State of Short Drama report. The U.S. is the largest market outside China, projected to reach $3.8B by 2030 (CAGR 28.4%, Variety/MPA 2025).
The entire supply chain is broken on the creator side. Every major platform — ReelShort, DramaBox, FlexTV, GoodShort — is a curated viewer app. They do not provide creator tools. Thousands of indie producers, TikTok drama creators, and aspiring writers are trying to learn the micro-drama format (hook in 3 seconds, cliffhanger every 1–3 minute episode, 10–20 episode arcs) with zero dedicated tooling. John August (Final Draft) wrote about "writing for microdramas" in 2025 specifically because the format is so different from traditional screenwriting — and the tools don't exist yet.
Searches for "micro drama script", "short drama creator tool", "vertical drama writing" return ZERO dedicated iOS apps in April 2026. This will not be true in 6 months. This is a classic first-mover ASO window.
Note: There are NO direct creator-side competitors. The market gap is real. The "competitors" below are: (a) the viewer platforms that validate massive market demand, and (b) general script tools that fail this specific format. This is an unoccupied market position.
$58M+/mo
Coin-based episodic unlocks ($20.99/wk subscription or per-episode coin purchases). Q1 2025 revenue: $130M — up 31% YoY. Cumulative global revenue hit $490M by March 2025 (Sensor Tower).
Heavy TikTok and Meta paid ads featuring cliffhanger clips. Episode previews go viral organically. App Store featured placement in Entertainment. Strong word-of-mouth from binge mechanics.
Extremely expensive — weekly sub at $20.99 equates to $1,000+/year. Unauthorized recurring charges after cancellation. "Ads over a minute long for less than a minute of content." (PissedConsumer, Trustpilot 2025)
$42M+/mo
Coin-based unlock system with subscription tier. Q1 2025 revenue: $120M (up 29% YoY). Cumulative global in-app revenue reached $450M by March 2025. Won Sensor Tower Best Short Drama App 2024.
Topped global download charts in 2025. Heavy investment in TikTok/YouTube short clip ads. Curated original series strategy — they own the content, not creator-generated. No creator tools whatsoever.
Coin pricing is confusing and misleading — users don't realize how many coins a series costs until mid-binge. Unauthorized charges continue after cancellation. No way to track which episodes you've paid for. (Trustpilot 2025)
$17M+/mo
Freemium with coin-based episode unlocks. ~$11M/mo iOS + $6M/mo Android (Sensor Tower Aug 2025). Rose to 5th place globally in Aug 2025 with 7.71% month-on-month revenue growth. 66% of revenue from US market.
ReelShort, DramaBox, GoodShort together account for ~50% of all short drama app downloads globally. Strong iOS-first strategy. No creator tools or API for content partners.
Coin costs per series are too high relative to content length. Episodes too short to justify the unlock price. Limited genre variety compared to DramaBox.
~$500K/mo
Weekly VIP subscription at $30 (higher than competitors at $20). 65 coins per episode; 500 coins = $5, making a full series cost $30+. Financed through Mega Matrix Corp (public company).
Multi-region content strategy targeting SEA, LATAM, and US. MIT Technology Review 2024 cited as "China's next cultural export." Organic growth through clip virality on TikTok.
Most expensive short drama app — $30/week VIP vs $20 at competitors. Coins get used up before finishing a series, forcing additional purchases. Inconsistent content quality.
Unverified (early stage)
Free tier with limited daily usage; paid plans starting at $20/month for higher usage limits. Web-only — no iOS app. Focused on 60-100 episode series for ReelShort/DramaBox pitch. Closest to the EpisodeCraft concept but web-only and no mobile native experience.
SEO-driven content marketing targeting "microdrama screenwriting" queries. No App Store presence. No mobile-native experience. Caught in the gap between generic AI writing tools and dedicated micro-drama format tools.
Web-only with no iPhone/iPad app. No offline mode. No export to Final Draft or Fountain format. No series bible / project management. Generic AI that doesn't understand hook-in-3-seconds micro-drama structure deeply enough.
Every major short drama platform is a viewer app with no creator tools. The one web-based tool (Jenova AI) has no iOS app and no mobile-native experience. Thousands of creators are learning the vertical drama format from YouTube tutorials and blog posts with nothing built for iPhone. EpisodeCraft is the first-mover in an empty category — the creator-side complement to a $7.8B viewer market. The closest analogy: CapCut didn't exist before TikTok needed editors. EpisodeCraft is CapCut for scripts.
As of April 2026, keywords specific to micro-drama script creation are effectively uncontested on the iOS App Store. General screenwriting terms are dominated by Final Draft, Celtx, and Arc Studio Pro — but micro-drama specific terms return zero dedicated apps. This is a rare first-mover ASO window that Sensor Tower data confirms will close within 6 months as the market matures.
| Element | Recommended Copy | Char Count |
|---|---|---|
| App Store Title | EpisodeCraft: Drama Script AI | 30/30 |
| Subtitle | Write vertical series & hooks | 29/30 |
| Primary Category | Productivity | — |
| Secondary Category | Entertainment | — |
This is one of the clearest first-mover opportunities in the research pipeline. The micro-drama market is at $7.8B in 2026 and growing at 28%+ CAGR outside China. The creator side is completely unserved — no native iOS app exists for this purpose. ASO keywords are empty right now. The Foundation Models tech stack is straightforward for this use case. The only risk is execution speed: this window closes as the market matures and bigger players enter. Build it now, get ranked, and lock in the first-mover name recognition. The $6.99/mo subscription model has proven precedent in the category (all viewer apps use recurring billing), and creators have higher willingness-to-pay than casual viewers because this is a professional tool for earning income.
| Biggest Risk | Biggest Opportunity |
|---|---|
| A well-funded player (Celtx, Final Draft, or a Chinese drama studio) launches a direct competitor within 6–12 months — the ASO window closes fast once the category gets attention. | First native iOS app for micro-drama script creation in a $7.8B market with 155% YoY paid install growth. Near-zero keyword competition right now. Viral potential via TikTok creator community sharing AI-generated script clips — the output IS the marketing. |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What do users HATE about existing tools? | General AI writing tools (ChatGPT, Squibler) produce scripts that look right on paper but fail as micro-drama because they use traditional long-form logic. They don't understand hook-in-3-seconds, paywall-aware structure, or cliffhanger placement per episode. |
| What feature is missing from ALL top tools? | A dedicated "Series Bible" that manages a 10–20 episode arc with consistent characters, escalating stakes, and per-episode cliffhanger hooks — exported to PDF/Fountain/Final Draft format for actual production use. |
| What underserved audience exists? | Independent creators trying to pitch to or license content to ReelShort/DramaBox/GoodShort. These platforms are hungry for content but receive unprofessionally formatted pitches. A creator who submits a properly structured 20-episode series bible has a massive advantage. |
| What would make someone switch from #1 tool? | EpisodeCraft works on iPhone, has micro-drama-specific AI templates (romance, revenge, supernatural thriller — the actual top genres), and exports directly to industry formats. Jenova AI is web-only with generic output. |
| One-liner pitch | EpisodeCraft is the only iOS app that generates hook-first, cliffhanger-every-episode short drama scripts in the exact format ReelShort and DramaBox buy. |
Bundle ID and IAP product IDs must be created in App Store Connect first. Mismatches are the #1 cause of upload failures.
com.episodecraft.appRegister in Apple Developer Portal → Certificates, IDs & Profiles → Identifiers
$6.99/mo monthly subscription (unlimited episode generation). $14.99 Series Pack (one-time, generates a complete 10-episode series with series bible — no subscription required). Free tier: 1 pilot episode per series, 3 series max.
18–35 year old with a story idea and a phone. Wants to pitch to ReelShort/DramaBox, build their own production brand, or create content for their social channels. Currently writing scripts in Notes or Google Docs with zero format guidance. Follows vertical drama TikTok accounts. Has never used Final Draft.
| # | Feature | Why It Matters | Session |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AI Episode Generator — genre, premise, characters in → formatted episode script with hook + cliffhanger out | This is the core value prop. Users must get a usable script in under 60 seconds or they churn. Foundation Models on-device = fast + private. | S2 |
| 2 | Series Bible — auto-generated character sheets, world rules, episode arc planner (Ep 1–20) | What Jenova AI fails at. Professional creators need a series bible to pitch to platforms. This is the $14.99 Series Pack paywall feature — the conversion hook. | S5 |
| 3 | Genre Templates — pre-built structural frameworks for Romance/Revenge, Boss/Secretary, Supernatural Thriller (top 3 micro-drama genres) | Lowers the blank-page barrier. Users pick a template and fill in names — the AI handles the rest. Drives first-session engagement and repeat use. | S2 |
| 4 | Export Engine — PDF, Fountain (.fountain), and plain text export with proper micro-drama formatting | Makes the app production-ready, not just a toy. Fountain export means scripts open in Final Draft, Highland, and Arc Studio Pro. This is the "real tool" credibility signal. | S6 |
| 5 | Hook Analyzer — paste any episode's opening 3 lines and get an AI critique of hook strength (rate 1-10 + rewrite suggestions) | Highly shareable feature — creators screenshot the score and post it. Viral loop. Also excellent onboarding: shows users what's wrong with their existing scripts before they generate new ones. | S7 |
| Factor | EpisodeCraft | Jenova AI (closest web competitor) | ChatGPT / Generic AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Native iOS app — iPhone, iPad, offline | Web only — no mobile app | Web + mobile web, no dedicated app |
| Format knowledge | Purpose-built for micro-drama: 3-sec hook, 90-sec episode, cliffhanger engineering | Micro-drama focused but generic AI backend | General purpose — output fails micro-drama structure |
| Series Bible | Auto-generated, exportable as PDF pitch deck | Partial — requires manual work | Manual — user must structure everything |
| Export formats | PDF, Fountain, plain text | Copy-paste only | Copy-paste only |
| Price | $6.99/mo or $14.99 one-time Series Pack | $20/mo for heavy usage | $20/mo ChatGPT Plus |
| On-device AI | Foundation Models — private, fast, no API cost | Cloud API — slower, requires internet | Cloud only |