In the face of Russian aggression, Ukrainian game developers remain hopeful, pragmatic
Game developers across Ukraine are preparing for the worst on Tuesday as Russian brinksmanship continues along the country’s eastern border. Over the past week Polygon has reached out to more than a dozen teams in that country. Many say they are making contingency plans to protect their staff. Others hope to remind the world that they have been living with war not for hours or days, but for eight long years.
In 2014, following weeks of protests in Kyiv and across Ukraine, more than 100 Ukrainians died in what would later be called the Maidan revolution. As a result, Ukrainian legislators voted to remove the country’s pro-Russian president, an event which Russian president Vladimir Putin labeled an illegal coup. Later, as a new regime settled into place, Putin annexed the eastern province of Crimea. The result has been a protracted conflict throughout that region, with many skirmishes and small battles kicking off over the better part of a decade.
Tensions have escalated over the past month, with more than 190,000 Russian troops massing all along the border — including in Belarus, to Ukraine’s north.
“The current situation on the borders with Russia is tense, and we [have seen] multiple provocations happening over the last few days,” wrote Oleg Yavorsky, business development director at Kiev-based Vostok Games, on Monday night. “We shouldn’t forget though that Ukraine has been in this state of aggression from Russia since 2014, and over 14,000 people [have been killed in that time]. So, unfortunately, we already got used to [living] in this state of danger.”
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Yavorsky called his team and their families the company’s most precious resource, and said a plan for potential relocation has already been made. Many other
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