May 31, PAPHOS, CYPRUS — GEM Capital announced today a combined $5M investment in three game development studios. The investment rounds were allocated from the latest $50M fund launched last year.
- Weappy will use the money to develop and self-publish Hollywood Animal on Steam Early Access in 2024
- VEA Games is working on an unannounced PC and console platformer
- Game Garden will launch Florescence out of soft launch
With these three investments, GEM further establishes itself as a leading Cyprus based gaming investment fund. Following the successful announcement of Weappy’s Hollywood Animal and the strong performance of Games Garden’s Florescence, we eagerly anticipate what VEA Games will present later this year.
Roman Gurskiy, GEM Capital Managing Director
Weappy
Weappy, a video game developer currently based in Cyprus, was established in 2015 by founder Vitali Simanau. Specializing in creating games for PC and consoles, the company is recognized for its ‘This Is the Police’ series, sales of which have exceeded 1 million copies. Post its first game release in 2016, Weappy has seen significant growth, now accommodating two full-fledged development teams. Moreover, Weappy is branching into self-publishing and support of external projects, indicating its ambitions and future plans.
Weappy’s first self-published title, Hollywood Animal, is a strategy game that simulates running a 20th-century Hollywood film studio, complete with glamour, debauchery, dark deeds, and tough compromises. This ambitious project represents a new peak for Weappy, as it combines their signature story-driven approach with the depth and complexity of top-tier economic simulators. The game announcement was met with high enthusiasm from both players and the press, with Destructoid even labeling Hollywood Animal’s debut video as the best game trailer they’ve seen recently.
VEA Games
Dmitry Smirnov, founder of VEA Games, came into the gaming industry armed with a wealth of experience. He held significant roles such as a producer on Armored Warfare and a level designer for Allods Online and Skyforge. His expertise didn’t stop at gaming; he also pioneered and advanced the Game Graphics program at Scream School. This program has been a launchpad for many of his students, propelling them to leading companies like Wargaming, Riot Games, id Software, CD Projekt Red, and more.
VEA Games is also known as one of the largest producers of assets and plugins for the Unreal Engine. The company’s commitment to quality and meeting market demand has been recognized not only within the industry but also by Epic Games. Following a change in the Unreal Marketplace’s commission structure to better support creators, Epic Games extended an invitation to VEA Games to participate in a blog post and interview alongside Tim Sweeney.
The team is currently working on an announced PC and console platformer set to be announced later this year.
Game Garden
Founded by Yury Pomortsev in 2009, Game Garden leveraged his extensive background in gaming to specialize in creating mobile games for family enjoyment. Their initial release, Fairy Farm, quickly gained popularity, defining the company’s brand. Over 15 years, Game Garden expanded its portfolio with over a dozen games, established offices in Los Angeles and Cyprus, and grew to a dedicated team of about 50 in-house and outsourced professionals.
Game Garden’s latest game, Florescence, is currently in its soft launch phase. This game incorporates the popular Merge mechanic and an RPG-style meta, while offering a warm, friendly environment. Set in a vibrant, family-owned flower shop, players are welcomed by a kind Meemaw as her own grandchild. They can cultivate and upgrade flowers, select matching pots, create bouquets, decorate the shop and other rooms, interact with the game’s characters, recruit them to work in the shop, solve a detective story, and compete against other players. Florescence is set to a full global launch later this year.
About GEM Capital
GEM Capital is a game focused investor based in Cyprus. It was founded in 2017 by Anatoliy Paliy, a veteran of PwC. Recently, the company raised $50 million from European LPs to invest in 2024 and 2025.
GEM Capital has a portfolio of over 25 companies valued at more than $150 million. Some of the studios in their portfolio include Mundfish, Red Rover Interactive, Eschatology Entertainment, Weappy, Sad Cat Studios, Order of Meta, Unfrozen and Made on Earth Games.
GEM Capital is one of the most active games investors in the world according to InvestGame. GEM Capital is the biggest games investor in Cyprus. According to Mobidictum, 7 out of the top 10 games startups emerging from Cyprus are portfolio companies of GEM Capital. GEM Capital was nominated for Investor of the Year at the MENA Games Industry Awards 2024.
GEM Capital has one of the largest PC/console investments shares among the funds that invest in EU and Eastern European countries – over half of the fund’s allocation.
