Updated 20/05/2022 - Frogwares officially revealed that it's working on a new game codenamed "Palianytsia" and showed first concepts. According to the team, the upcoming project is a horror and mystery experience that fans of both The Sinking City and Sherlock Holmes should like.
Kyiv-based studio Frogwares, known for its Sherlock Holmes games and The Sinking City, has received financial help from Epic Games to relocate its employees to safer areas.
As reported by the Ukrainian studio on its official blog post, Frogwares is proud and thankful to receive an Epic MegaGrant while the war with Russia continues across the country. In recent months, the studio faced "partial disorganization" and many challenges in providing its staff with the support they currently require. The undisclosed funds from Epic Games will now help to relocate Frogwares staff outside of Ukraine to other European countries. It will also maintain financial stability of those who already moved to remote regions and therefore have issues preventing them from fully returning to work.
According to Frogwares, the ongoing war "created a financial gap" that has impacted the studio's business. Thanks to MegaGrant, the team will get specialized equipment and will migrate their data infrastructure that is vital for future projects in the works. Epic's MegaGrants usually range from $5000 to $500,000, and any developer working in and around Unreal Engine can apply for the funds on the company's website. Ukrainian studio's latest games, including The Sinking City and Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, are built on Unreal Engine 4.
Frogwares also expressed their gratitude to the gaming community for the ongoing support, all the kind words and encouragement in these troubled times. The Ukrainian developers hope to share the first look at its new project soon.
This money the studio received from MegaGrant is separate to the funds previously raised by Epic Games from Fortnite. During the two-week period, the company raised over $100 million to support humanitarian relief for people and game developers affected by the war in Ukraine. According to research data, over $200 million were raised by gaming companies as of mid-April — and this figure still doesn't reflect the total amount donated by the gaming community at large by today.