Frogwares, a Ukrainian studio known mostly for their Sherlock Holmes games, have somehow kept working through Russia’s unprovoked invasion of their country. And now, thanks to a large injection of cash, they’ll be able to keep on doing that.
Writing on the company’s blog, Frogwares’ Alex Striuk has said the team is “proud to share that we’ve received an Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games”. MegaGrants are large grants handed out by the publisher to help with the development of “creative, noteworthy, and innovative projects built in and around Unreal Engine, and to projects that enhance the open source 3D graphics ecosystem”.
Those grants can range in size from $US5000 ($6,941) to $US500,000 ($694,100), and while Frogwares didn’t disclose how much they received, what they’re doing with the money suggests it was towards the larger end of that scale. “The war has negatively affected our production workflows and led to the partial disorganization of our studio”, Striuk says. “The funds from the Epic MegaGrant will be crucial in relocating employees to safer areas and will help those who’ve moved to remote regions of Ukraine, or to other nations in the EU, maintain their financial stability.
As we reported in March, Frogwares has offices in both Kyiv and Dublin, and while those international employees have continued to work through the war, some locals have “become full-time volunteers in the humanitarian efforts around the country,” while others have even “joined the defence forces” and are or will be fighting the Russians.
You can read Striuk’s full statement below:
As of right now in Ukraine, the war still keeps going. During this time, we as a studio need to feel strong, maintain a positive mindset, and do everything we can to keep the business operating while also providing our team with the support that they require.
This is why we’re proud to share that we’ve received an Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games. The war has negatively affected our production workflows and led to the partial disorganization of our studio. The funds from the Epic MegaGrant will be crucial in relocating employees to safer areas and will help those who’ve moved to remote regions of Ukraine, or to other nations in the EU, maintain their financial stability.
The war has also created a financial gap for the studio that has impacted our business. We’ve been working hard these past couple of months to renew and maintain the usual pipelines, and the MegaGrant will assist us in supplying our team with specialised equipment that’s vital for game development, and to migrate our data infrastructure.
In short, the Epic MegaGrant will be used to soften the financial blow from the war and stay on our feet, and we’d like to thank Epic Games for their support during this trying time.
We also want to thank our community for all of your kind words of encouragement. We’re hopeful for a safe and peaceful future and look forward to sharing more about our exciting projects with you soon.
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