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GEM Capital introduced at present that it has invested a mixed $5 million into three recreation improvement studios.
Paphos, Cyprus-based GEM Capital mentioned the funds have been allotted from the most recent $50 million recreation enterprise capital fund that it raised final 12 months. The one factor the three studios share in widespread is they’re all primarily based in Cyprus. And whereas the $5 million just isn’t so much for 3 studios, the cash goes farther for corporations which have decrease prices in Cyprus.
The studios embody Weappy, which can use the cash to develop and self-publish a recreation referred to as Hollywood Animal, which is because of hit Steam Early Entry this 12 months. One other studio is VEA Video games, which is engaged on an unannounced PC and console platformer. And the third studios is Sport Backyard, which is engaged on the smooth launch of a title referred to as Florescence.
“With these three investments, GEM further establishes itself as a leading Cyprus based gaming investment fund,” mentioned GEM Capital Managing Director Roman Gurskiy, in an announcement. “Following the successful announcement of Weappy’s Hollywood Animal and the strong performance of Games Garden’s Florescence, we eagerly anticipate what VEA Games will present later this year.”
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Weappy
Weappy is a recreation studio began in Cyprus in 2015 by founder Vitali Simanau, a former recreation journalist. He nonetheless serves as managing director. Specializing in creating video games for the PC and consoles, the corporate is acknowledged for its This Is the Police sequence, which was printed by THQ Nordic. Within the recreation, you handle a corrupt police division.
Gross sales of the three video games in that sequence have surpassed one million copies. After its first recreation launch in 2016, Weappy noticed vital progress, now accommodating two full-fledged improvement groups. Furthermore, Weappy is branching into self-publishing and help of exterior tasks, indicating its ambitions and future plans.
Weappy’s first self-published title, Hollywood Animal, continues to be within the works. It’s a technique recreation that simulates working a Twentieth-century Hollywood movie studio, full with glamour, debauchery, darkish deeds, and difficult compromises.
This bold challenge represents a brand new peak for Weappy, because it combines a signature story-driven method with the depth and complexity of top-tier financial simulators.
“It has the same approach as the police game, but this time you manage a cinema business,” Gurskiy mentioned. “That is the primary recreation that they’ll do that’s going to be self-published.
The workforce additionally has one other recreation in improvement, and it is going to be introduced later. The corporate has about 14 folks.
VEA Video games
Dmitry Smirnov, founding father of VEA Video games, began the corporate in 2017. He had expertise as a supplier of instruments and plugins for recreation improvement on the Unreal Market.
He held vital roles akin to a producer on Armored Warfare and a stage designer for Allods On-line and Skyforge. His experience didn’t cease at gaming; he additionally pioneered and superior the Sport Graphics program at Scream College. This program has been a launchpad for a lot of of his college students, propelling them to main corporations like Wargaming, Riot Video games, id Software program, CD Projekt Pink, and extra.
VEA Video games is called one of many largest producers of belongings and plugins for the Unreal Engine. Following a change within the Unreal Market’s fee construction to higher help creators, Epic Video games prolonged an invite to VEA Video games to take part in a weblog submit and interview alongside Tim Sweeney.
The workforce is at the moment engaged on an introduced PC and console platformer set to be introduced later this 12 months.
Sport Backyard
Based by Yury Pomortsev, Natalia Mishulina and Alexander Mishulin in 2009, Sport Backyard leveraged their intensive background in gaming to specialise in creating cell video games for households.
The corporate’s first recreation, Fairy Farm, rapidly gained recognition. Fairy Farm generated greater than $8 million in its first three years on a price range of $500,000. The following cell video games Farmdale and Fairy Kingdom generated greater than 7.5 million natural installs. One other profitable title was Love Alternative, focused at feminine cell recreation gamers.
Over 15 years, Sport Backyard expanded its portfolio with over a dozen video games, established workplaces in Los Angeles and Cyprus, and grew to a devoted workforce of about 50 in-house and outsourced professionals.
Sport Backyard’s newest recreation, Florescence, is at the moment in its smooth launch part. This recreation incorporates the favored Merge mechanic and an RPG-style meta, whereas providing a heat, pleasant setting. It’s scheduled for a worldwide launch this 12 months.
Set in a vibrant, family-owned flower store, gamers are welcomed by a form Meemaw as her personal grandchild. They’ll domesticate and improve flowers, choose matching pots, create bouquets, enhance the store and different rooms, work together with the sport’s characters, recruit them to work within the store, remedy a detective story, and compete in opposition to different gamers. Florescence is about to a full world launch later this 12 months.
GEM Capital
GEM Capital is a recreation centered investor primarily based in Cyprus. It was based in 2017 by Anatoliy Paliy, a veteran of PwC. Not too long ago, the corporate raised $50 million from European LPs to put money into 2024 and 2025.
GEM Capital has a portfolio of over 25 corporations valued at greater than $150 million. Among the studios of their portfolio embody Mundfish, Pink Rover Interactive, Eschatology Leisure, Weappy, Unhappy Cat Studios, Order of Meta, Unfrozen and Made on Earth Video games.
GEM Capital is without doubt one of the most lively video games buyers on the earth in keeping with InvestGame. GEM Capital is the most important video games investor in Cyprus. In keeping with Mobidictum, 7 out of the highest 10 video games startups rising from Cyprus are portfolio corporations of GEM Capital. GEM Capital was nominated for Investor of the Yr on the MENA Video games Trade Awards 2024.
Gurskiy mentioned he’s bullish on video games, however he famous it’s more durable to get to the subsequent spherical of funding now given the present market in comparison with 2021. Entrepreneurs nonetheless want good monitor data as firm leaders or greater corporations. But it surely’s a wrestle for the businesses within the center.
Gurskiy mentioned that valuations are extra cheap now because of the slowdown, however he mentioned that content material stays king in relation to gaming’s future. GEM Capital has deployed roughly half the funds since late final 12 months.
