Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One developer Frogwares has talked about what it’s been like to develop games in Ukraine during the war with Russia.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and is currently in an ongoing conflict with the country. The invasion has forced millions to seek asylum, while other Ukrainian game developers have been forced to halt work entirely.
In an interview with IGN, Frogwares has talked about shipping the M For Mystery downloadable content (DLC) on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5, and Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter for Nintendo Switch during the conflict.
“Despite being embroiled in a horrendous war, the majority Ukrainian-based team managed this through external partners and a handful of remote-based staff. They are now aiming to adapt to the situation and do what they can to keep the studio semi-functioning and afloat,” said Frogwares, which is located in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. Credit: Frogwares
Frogwares CEO Wael Amr added that: “Nobody on the team is expected to work, only those who can and want to. Some on the team have become full-time volunteers in the humanitarian efforts around the country. Others have joined the defence forces. The rest are in various, safer locations abroad or around the country and have made themselves available to work remotely. And we continue to pay all of these people on the team.”
Many developers and publishers have been donating and standing by Ukraine, whilst others located in the country like Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World have “shifted [development] to the sidelines.”
“It’s up to us alone and through the support of our players wanting to play our games that will keep this studio alive,” added Amr. “And as this war drags out more and more, we and people all around Ukraine are seeing that even if they are not involved in the fighting directly, they need to somehow keep things moving forward. So that when this is all over and it’s time to rebuild and restart, we are not starting from zero.”
In other news, the developer of Bloodborne PSX has officially announced Bloodborne Kart, after it was shared as an April Fool’s joke last year.
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