The Belarusian SWAG MASHA was acquired by the gaming division Mail.ru Group
The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
SWAG MASHA is a young studio from Minsk, which was founded a year ago by a team of three people. She received the start-up capital for the creation and launch of the first project at the same time from Mail.Ru Games Ventures (MRGV).
The studio’s debut game was mobile Love Sick. The project was released in January 2019. It belongs to the genre of visual interactive novels and is aimed primarily at a female audience.
According to official data, since the launch of the installation, Love Sick has reached the mark of 3 million. About revenue Mail.ru The Group does not report, however, according to a third-party service, they could amount to $ 2 million.
On the part of MRGV, the project was led by producer Ilya Eremeev. He also notes that SWAG MASHA is proof that for success in the gaming industry it is not necessary to have your own capital, the right connections and an extensive track record.
“Two of the three founders of SWAG MASHA had no experience in the gaming industry. No one was standing behind them. They just sent us a letter and hooked me with their passion and vision. There was no company, no portfolio, only three guys, a raw demo and absolute faith in what they do,” Yeremeyev writes.
This is also reported by Alexey Korneev, managing director of the SWAG MASHA studio: “At the first meeting with the investment division of MY.GAMES, we only had a presentation on the game and a team of three people.”
Today, the studio already has 30 people.
Previously, the work between SWAG MASHA and the gaming division Mail.ru The group was built as follows: the studio independently worked on the game, the investor helped with expertise and money.
It is not reported whether the format of work will change after the takeover. But, apparently, SWAG MASHA will continue to deal with visual novels. At least, MRGV director Ilya Karpinsky explains the deal by saying that Mail.ru Group believes in projects of this genre.
For the gaming division Mail.ru Group is at least the second purchase in a year. In May, it was reported that she was also going to acquire a controlling stake in the Russian-Finnish Panzerdog.
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