To share the story of Bear Games, we are joined by Mykhailo Kharkivskyi, the company’s founder, and Denys Denysenko, co-producer.
With over 20 years in the game development industry, Mykhailo has produced more than 50 projects. In the past, he was a professional Counter-Strike player and led the legendary Ukrainian esports organization pro100. When not creating games, Mykhailo enjoys collecting figurines, beer mugs, and sneakers — he owns over 250 pairs! He also loves building custom computers and boxing.
In the industry since 2012, Denys has gained diverse experience in various roles. He started in customer support, quickly rising to lead a team that expanded significantly under his guidance, managing several game projects simultaneously. He dabbled in manual QA but realized it wasn’t his path. Later, he successfully launched several casual projects for social networks. Most of his career was spent as a project manager, overseeing processes, ensuring product quality, and managing staff recruitment. Currently, at Bear Games, he is involved in project activities and production, working on an ambitious project filled with strong ideas. In his free time, he plays popular games, cuddles his cats, hangs out with friends, and volunteers to support the Ukrainian army.
The History of Bear Games
Bear Games was founded in 2002 in Luhansk, Ukraine, by a group of enthusiastic friends who wanted to create interesting games at a time when few could even imagine doing so. Initially named Crystal Clear Soft, the founders were just finishing school at the time.
Mykhailo Kharkivskyi, Founder:
“Back in 2000, my friends and I were playing Counter-Strike. We had a team, competed in tournaments, and were very passionate about it. One day, someone offered us to test a PC game. At that time, the concept of QA/testing didn’t even exist. But we were experienced gamers, a complete team of five. After that job, we were asked to write texts for a website, then to code websites. Two years later, on my birthday, we officially signed a scrap of paper declaring the establishment of our company. We named it Crystal Clear Soft because, back then, coding quality was highly valued, and strong programmers were rare. We wanted to emphasize that we had that, that we could write good code.”
Initially, Crystal Clear Soft focused on creating web portals, copywriting, rewriting, and SEO promotion. Later, they transitioned to games, working on both outsourced projects and their own. Funding sources varied, including outsourcing, proprietary projects, partnership development, and external investments in individual projects — all running in parallel.
The company’s successful projects included various casual games, Facebook games, and farming games. They provided outsourcing services to various clients, including Western companies.
The Name Change: Where Did the Bear Come From?
Mykhailo Kharkivskyi, Founder:
“I think it was around 2012. I was sitting in the break room playing Mortal Kombat. One of the artists sketched me as a big bear. Everyone liked the drawing. Our artists had long been saying that our current name and logo with a crystal were outdated and needed to be changed. The topic was discussed in the company for a while, and then I was informed: now we’re Bear Games, with a bear resembling me as the logo. The website was redesigned quite quickly. It was beautiful. I didn’t argue. My team wants Bear Games? Okay, let’s do it. That’s how our democracy works here.”
The War: 2014 and 2022
By 2014, the company had about 140 employees. The main office was in Luhansk, but then the war came, and they had to relocate. They chose Kharkiv. Until the full-scale war in 2022, Bear Games was headquartered in Kharkiv, and by 2022, the number of employees had grown to 200. The company was growing, publishing its own projects.
Mykhailo Kharkivskyi, Founder:
“Even before Russia’s full-scale invasion, I knew there would be a big war. I already had experience in Luhansk, where I was even captured for half a day. I expected the war sooner, so I managed to prepare the company for hardships. We suspended all business contacts with Russian partners before 2022.”
Now, the Bear Games team works remotely from various cities in Ukraine for safety reasons — Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Mukachevo, Kyiv, Dnipro, and also from Europe — Spain, France, Poland, and Germany. They hire only Ukrainians, striving to support the national game development industry. Around 80 people are working on different projects, with an additional 20 on outstaff.
Culture, Communication, and Hiring
The company has abandoned large offline corporate events but supports lively informal communication among employees online. Bear Games’ structure is completely horizontal, allowing anyone to directly talk with anyone else on any topic: to share thoughts, solve problems, or express concerns. Communication in chats happens on equal footing, often with a dose of humor.
Denys Denysenko, Co-producer:
“In our team, everyone is an experienced and mature specialist. Each person is responsible for their part of the work, sees their contribution, and feels their value and significance. We’ve freed ourselves from bureaucracy: no daily or weekly calls; we only set up calls if there’s something that needs to be discussed. This way, we don’t waste each other’s time and show the team maximum trust. We don’t have informal calls either, but we might play games together in the evening after work.”
Bear Games hires strong middle-level employees and above. Currently, the team is so busy that there’s no capacity to train and onboard juniors. The recruitment process involves several stages: resume review, interview, test assignment (some candidates can skip this step if they have a portfolio with released projects — experience that can be “touched”), final interview with the founder, and job offer. Then comes the probation period, usually lasting 2-3 months, but the company often shortens it when a specialist shows good results quickly. Long-standing employees who make significant contributions to a project are offered stock options.
Current Projects
The company is currently working on two projects. One of them, Comix Zero, is a souls-like exploration open-world RPG platformer. The second is unannounced. The team is very proud of its main project, approaching its development with enthusiasm. The game has a large budget and ambitious plans. Mykhailo describes the project as: “We’re making a powerful game; it’ll be something like Ori and The Blind Forest. A cool metroidvania platformer with associations with Elden Ring.”
Why Do Employees Value Bear Games?
“Three reasons why I love my job and company:
1) We have Western investors, which gives us a sense of security.
2) Our company supports Ukraine. There are battalions we know personally, and we support them financially. We’ve been doing this since 2014. For me, this war is personal. Four men from my family have died in the war, and now my nephew and cousin are at the front.
3) And the third reason — we make ambitious games. Our project has huge potential to become a hit. We give it our all, not skimping on development.”
“I’ve been with the company for a long time, starting as a marketer and growing into a co-producer. What keeps me at Bear Games is the transparency and honesty of the decision-makers. Here, everyone always fulfills their commitments. I also really like the company’s products: we’ve never made crap games; if we took on something, we did the best in the genre. Before starting a new project, we always conducted extensive market research. Now we’re developing a very strong game — there’s nothing like it on the market: platformers with this kind of visual style simply don’t exist right now.”
“I’m grateful to Bear Games for my professional growth. The mentorship has significantly improved my skills and confidence.
I like the culture of collaboration and inclusivity. Everyone is encouraged to share their ideas and opinions, and it feels great to be part of such a dynamic team.
The flexible schedule and the ability to work remotely allow me to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
And the tasks here are really interesting.”
“I like that the game is attractive and stylish. Also, that I’m creating effects that I enjoy. The relatively flexible schedule gives me a great opportunity to grow creatively and professionally. I would improve the coordination and interaction between team members, especially when it comes to more complex tasks.”
“I’m fortunate to be involved in creating a game I can be proud of. The project is still in its early stages, but we see its potential. I think every specialist in our field secretly or openly dreams of creating something cool. And we’re making that cool thing! The story, lore, mechanics, and awesome art — it’s all here.
As for the studio, it’s simple: a group of talented people making a game they’ll brag about for years! We tackle challenging tasks that require serious skills, but we don’t do anything unnecessary, which allows us to focus on our work. Plus, the management is genuinely flexible and always accommodating.”
Check out Bear Games’ job openings on the InGame Job portal and join us in creating the next big hit!
- Top Job openings 5 September — 11 September 2024
- Top Job openings 29 August — 4 September 2024
- How GameDev Companies Spend Summer: Common Scenarios. Stories from InGame Job Friends
- Top Job openings 22 August — 28 August 2024
- Bear Games: Not Just a Workplace — A Ukrainian Company Thriving Despite the War
