Epic Games have dished out a portion of their $100m MegaGrant to Frogwares.
Feelgood Friday: Epic MegaGrant Goes to Ukrainian Indie Developers Frogwares
Written by Ollie Bradley at 05/20/2022, 03:33 AM
Epic Games are at it again. This week, their continued philanthropy extends to Ukrainian game developers as they attempt to forge ahead with the good work under the worst conditions imaginable. And this is after already raising millions to support victims of war in the last few months.
The Epic MegaGrant is a $100 million fund that Epic Games has been distributing to smaller developers in an effort to nurture innovation and success. "We knew that if done right, we would all benefit, since a rising tide lifts all boats," Epic says on its official blog. And since launched in 2019, Epic has supported more than 1,600 creators and teams across 89 countries.
The latest recipient is Ukrainian developer Frogwares, who developed the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series as well as the H.P. Lovecraft inspired The Sinking City. Recently, thanks to Ukrainian progress, some of the Frogwares team have been able to return to their homes. And work is already underway.
Frogwares announced Project Palianytsia on Thursday, the development of which will be more streamlined to account for the conditions under which the team is working. In an interview with Polygon, Frogwares CEO Wael Amr explained how workplace flexibility was a necessity brought about by the war - but also one that has already been practiced.
"The only silver lining to COVID was that it taught us to work remotely," Amr said. "This workflow, of course, didn't account for air raid sirens, meaning people would need to go to shelters throughout the day, the regular loss of power or internet, and the need to continually be able to cover for people who would become unavailable for hours or days on end."
Frogwares announced on Monday that they received the Epic MegaGrant, though the exact amount wasn't disclosed. Epic Games revealed that a portion of the grant also went to Kyiv-based developer Beatshapers. Whatever the amount, Amr expressed his gratitude for Epic Games' hand in helping the developer "keep the lights on" in this extremely trying time.