Ukrainian game developer to open new studio in Vilnius

Melior Games, established in 2010 in Kiev, focuses on the US and European markets. So far the company has created more than 90 games. Their most successful releases have been games for smart phones, which include Emily’s Adventure and The Little Story. However, Melior Games does not limit itself to games for smart devices: the studio’s latest project is the Laser Tag system designed for outdoor games with laser guns.

According to Denis Oleynik, the founder of Melior Games, the company was attracted to Lithuania not only by favourable business conditions, but also by the attitude of the authorities towards creative IT companies: ‘We were amazed by the positive attitude of the Lithuanian government towards game developers. We couldn‘t believe that state institutions, and Invest Lithuania in particular, were so dedicated to game developers and their needs. They have even created a new hashtag #lithuanialovesgamedev! for this purpose. Much to our amazement, we always received a prompt answer to all our questions or fears, even if this meant an hour-long video conversation on Skype. Such an attitude, the business conditions and the idyllic environment in Lithuania were fundamental in our decision to move part of our team from Kiev to Lithuania,’ says Denis Oleynik.

Two new games from Melior Games, The Little Story and LUNA, will see daylight in Lithuania in the very near future. The studio also provides game development services to external clients, the majority of which will soon be provided from the Vilnius office.

Melior Games has future plans to undertake education projects. According to Denis Oleynik, once the new offices are established, the company plans to organise clubs and training sessions where children will learn the basics of games, animation and 3D model development and will also learn to create simple games themselves.

According to Justinas Pagirys, director of the Investment Development Department of Invest Lithuania, the wave of creative IT businesses flowing to Lithuania continues to grow: ‘There is huge interest in Lithuania from Russian and Ukrainian creative IT businesses; negotiations are presently underway with a few more companies in the sector. We are having discussions with education institutions about the training of specialists with the required competencies.’ And Mr Pagirys is keen to emphasise the significance of these companies to Lithuania. ‘These companies are businesses creating high added-value products and providing well-paid jobs. They successfully export their products abroad and bring valuable competencies to our country.’

In 2014, Invest Lithuania has attracted 25 foreign investment projects, which combined will create almost 1,800 new jobs. About one fifth of the projects attracted in 2014 have been game development studios, including the high profile arrival of Game Insight and Charlie Oscar that were recently announced.

Invest Lithuania