[STEAM] After 4 years of war, Ukraine will show up at GDC with 10 games to see | exclusive

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Ukraine has suffered through four years of war with Russia, but it is still making games. And the Ukrainian Games initiative will host its own festival and show off 10 games during the GDC Festival of Gaming.

Ihor Pospishnyi, CEO

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and cofounder

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initiative, said in a exclusive messsage To GamesBeat, “This isn’t about sympathy. It’s about showing the world what Ukrainian creators build when they’re given a platform. We have studios shipping games while air raid sirens sound outside. Fortunately, nothing can stop determination and creativity rooted in our centuries-old culture.”

The Ukrainian Games event will take place on March 10 to March 11, from 12 p.m. Pacific time to 5 p.m. at 530 Bush Street in San Francisco, during GDC week.

And on March 10 at 2 p.m., the group will hold a panel dubbed “Navigating games distribution through uncertain times.” The event features Maria Grygorovych (executive producer/head of creative at GSC Game World, maker of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2), Olena Lobova (head of strategic partnerships at Burny Games), and Irena Pereira (CEO at Unleashed Games and Infinite Realms).

In a statement, Grygorovych at

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said, “We’ve been busy after the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to keep the momentum going – in a year and a half, countless updates have come out for the game, and the PS5 version has been released. Ahead of us – two story DLCs and many new adventures.”

She added, “We love the attention we’ve drawn to Ukrainian game dev – and we’re trying to amplify the impact. Of course, this means continuing to be sensitive to the players, keeping on doing what we love, and taking part in joint Ukrainian events – like the one happening right now at GDC. We want more Ukrainian games, and for people to dare more often to bring their emotions to life – it’s incredibly inspiring. Light must shine even in the darkest times.”

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The dangerous world of Stalker 2. Source: GSC Game World
Ruslan Salikov, developer of 

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 and founder of 

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 Games, said in a statement, “Pushing your game to the global audience is more challenging if you’re not based in Seattle or LA, believe me. Imagine a Ukrainian indie team showcasing a game at E3 before the Steam indie *****? Yes, this was unreal and I feel exactly the same way as about E3 10 years ago. I can’t travel as well as my working schedule now synced with the air raid alert monitor.”

Lobova at 

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said in a statement, “Over four years of full-scale war, Ukrainian game developers have learned to adapt fast: building distributed teams across countries, keeping production running through blackouts, and designing operations that stay resilient under constant uncertainty. Showing up at global events like this is part of that resilience: it’s about staying visible, connected, and present in the global industry, even when conditions at home are anything but normal. “

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Maria and Ievgen Grygorvich of GSC Game World, maker of Stalker 2, at Gamescom 2024. And Stas Shostak, developer of 

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 and founder 

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, said in a statement, “All I can say is that for the last 4 years I’ve been in the army – it’s something like gamedev, but deadlines are too real.”

The game showcase will feature hands-on demos of anticipated and critically acclaimed Ukrainian titles including STONKS-9800, Hollow Home, Becastled, Tukoni, Warfactory, Titan Chaser, and more. It will feature Ukrainian food, a photo zone and a charity auction.

All proceeds of the charity auction will benefit Leleka Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit
delivering life-saving medical supplies to frontline medics in Ukraine.

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Organizers include Palaye, Ukrainian Games, Leleka Foundation, and the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco.



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