Amber, a full-service game development agency, has announced it is opening a new location in Kyiv, Ukraine. The new location will support the AAA and PC game development community in the area.
According to Amber, Matthew Manolovits, former studio production manager at Ubisoft Odesa, will head up the new studio. Amber plans to expand its workforce in Ukraine to 60 people by the end of 2022.
Manolovits said in a statement, “Amber’s growth into Ukraine is such an exciting opportunity, offering Ukraine’s most talented game developers a chance to contribute to massive games & cutting-edge technology on a global
scale.”
Amber CEO Jaime Gine said in a statement, “Amber strives to be the development agency of choice for the games industry, by delivering world-class creative services out of its international studios. An extensive talent pool within a thriving games community, and a strong cultural link with our other Eastern European locations, made it a logical decision for Amber to expand it operations into Ukraine, creating a new platform for growth.”
GamesBeat reached out to Amber about the timing of the announcement, given the unrest in Ukraine. Mihai Pohontu, Amber’s executive chairman and former CEO, said in a statement: “The timing of our announcement is a statement of support for the Ukrainian game development community.”
Gine, who echoed this statement, said, “Our presence in the Ukrainian market will not only strengthen our creative capacity, but also send a timely and strong message of our support for our team in Kyiv and the wider Ukranian game dev ecosystem.”