Entertainment

Ukraine developer defies war to release new game The Serpent Rogue

March 18, 2022

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It takes some real dedication to still release your video game during a crisis like this (pic: Sengi Games)

No one would have blamed it for delaying its game, but Ukraine based Sengi Games says The Serpent Rogue is still on track for April.

Game development at Ukrainian studios has obviously been greatly affected by the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. STALKER 2 studio GSC Game World, for example, has paused development entirely and even renamed the subtitle to reflect the Ukrainian, not Russian, spelling of Chornobyl.

The safety of the people working on games is far more important after all, but one studio, Sengi Games, is committed to releasing its upcoming game on time.

In a statement shared on Twitter, and by the game’s publisher Team17, Sengi Games says that The Serpent Rogue will still arrive on April 26 as originally promised.

‘Although the situation we’re in is hard and unprecedented, we made a decision to stick to the original plan and launch our game, The Serpent Rogue, on April the 26th as promised!’ it reads.

‘The game is coming on time and it is the most ambitious thing we’ve ever made, stay tuned!’

Although the situation we’re in is hard and unprecedented, we made a decision to stick to the original plan and launch our game, The Serpent Rogue on April the 26th as promised!

The game is coming on time and it is the most ambitious thing we’ve ever made, stay tuned! ð£ pic.twitter.com/Mw3llEwLlv

— The Serpent Rogue (@TheSerpentRogue) March 18, 2022

Sengi Games is an independent studio based in Rivne, in the north-west of Ukraine, and The Serpent Rogue will be its first game release. Currently slated only for PC via Steam, it’s an action adventure focused on crafting and making potions, which you use to defend yourself from the titular Serpent Rogue.

The game encourages experimentation as you can create a variety of potions with unique effects, and even transform yourself into different creatures to obtain new abilities.

You can learn more via the game’s website and a free Steam demo is available to download so you can try it out ahead of next month’s release.

Ukraine has a vibrant game development community, including not just GSC but Metro Exodus creator 4A Games, Sherlock Holmes developer Frogwares, and offices for Ubisoft and Gameloft, amongst many other smaller studios – such as the Kyiv based Weasel Token, who we interviewed at the beginning of the war.

The games industry as a whole has not ignored the Ukraine-Russia conflict, with most companies cutting business ties with Russia and many making major donations to related charities.