Alexander Bogdanov's new startup, Studio 42, has raised $3.6 million

The funding round was led by Play Ventures. Studio 42 also received investments from GEM Capital and Arcadia Gaming Partners.

"Their support will allow us to focus on what we do best — creating simple yet profound and engaging games. We believe that genius lies in simplicity, and together we are ready to bring fresh ideas to the puzzle genre," commented Alexander Bogdanov, CEO of the studio, about the round.

The funds raised will be used for the development of the studio's debut project and the rapid iteration of new product ideas.

There is little information about the debut project so far. It is only noted that the new game:

• combines classic puzzle mechanics with a modern hyper-casual approach;
• progressed from concept to live testing in two months.

Currently, Studio 42 has 14 employees. Relying on AI, the team plans to test up to 10 new concepts a year (likely, the startup aims to bring this number of games to live testing within the specified timeframe using generative networks).

Studio 42 was officially launched in February this year by former top managers of Belka Games — Alexander Bogdanov, Ivan Larionov, and Pavel Sudakov.