A group of volunteers from the companies InGame Job, Values Value, GDBAY, Games Gathering and DevGAMM, as well as individual industry representatives have initiated charitable projects in several areas: helping Ukrainian game development specialists, helping Ukrainian game studios and businesses, and supporting volunteers from the gaming industry in Ukraine.
Below are the details and in-between results.
Helping Ukrainian game industry professionals
Many Ukrainian specialists have lost their jobs. Investors left the country, and companies were forced to cut employees. Many professionals stopped working with employers because of their Russian or Belarusian roots.
By 2021 Ukrainian games industry had more than 30 000 employees and freelancers. Some of them (lucky ones) have kept their jobs and income, but some need relocation or a new remote job (for example, men who cannot leave the country due to martial law).
The project aim is to collect a database of candidates in need of a job and distribute it to global gaming companies that are open to help. To date (May 27, 2022), 965 people have filled out the application.
“I received an offer very quickly, I am already working for a new company”.
“A superb company found me, and we have been working for the third week. It is just amazing! Thank you very much!”
“Thank you very much for such an initiative. It is very useful! I received some offers and feedback shortly after filling it out. Fortunately, my previous job resumed, and the need to find a new job disappeared. However, it was nice to see the support and, most importantly, opportunities”.
“Your idea is excellent because I had to leave home and seek refuge in other parts of the country. As a result – and work as well. So thank you for such an initiative!”
Helping Ukrainian game industry businesses
Another branch of the initiative was to collect applications from Ukrainian teams and ask them which difficulties they are currently experiencing and what help they need. The goal of the project is to connect Ukrainian teams with foreign companies that offer help.
According to a research of 2021, there were 400+ game studios, businesses, indie teams and branches of international companies in Ukraine. Another research stated that top 30 companies in Ukraine had 10000+ employees.
The range of assistance offered is quite wide, from discounts and special conditions for various services and working tools for relocations, to searching for investments, publishers, clients for outsourcing, and service businesses.
The organizers of the initiative report that Ukrainian studios most often ask for financial assistance and help with the search for clients. Many outsourcing companies have ceased cooperation with the Russian market and they need new clients.
58 companies and businesses filled out an application for getting some help and 257 global companies offered to help (as of May 27, 2022).
The geography of countries that offered assistance is wide: Europe, South Africa, Singapore, Gibraltar, USA, India, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Argentina, Korea, Israel, Colombia, Thailand.
Helping volunteers in Ukraine
The purpose of this initiative is to provide information support to our colleagues in the industry who, voluntarily, help people suffering from war. Volunteers can fill out a special form, leave details for fundraising and talk about their activities. A list of verified initiatives was published on the website. Support the guys, together we can do more!
I was very supported that many companies became interested in candidates from Ukraine and offered help.
For us, the InGame Job platform, this charitable initiative is an organic continuation of our mission – to help game dev specialists or those who aspire to game dev find a safe and decent job.
I thank all the media and channels that helped spread the word about the initiative.
It was vital for me to not only volunteer as an individual but also to make an impact in the gaming industry, which I know well.
It was important not only to fundraise but also to enable Ukrainian companies to receive real help and provide global companies with information about real assistance tools.
And I also wanted to show the world that there are so many gaming teams in Ukraine: offices of local companies, representative offices of large global corporations, small indies, etc. I wanted to tell the world about 30 thousand professionals, many of whom suffered from the war.
Our initiative involved 10% of all Ukrainian companies and 3% of all Ukrainian game development specialists.
Companies from all over the world responded, and there were especially many offers to help from Germany. We actively interacted with the German government, and thanks to their informational support, we reached many (almost 300) German companies and specialists.
Behind the scenes, a lot of work has been done, and it continues.
You can read more about all branches of the initiative here StandUpForUkraine.
Ukrainian Games Industry in The Times of War / Tanja Loktionova on DevGAMM stream
