Russian invasion of Ukraine forces FPS studio to stop work and flee Kyiv

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Vostok Games says it has "taken a break" and some of its team has relocated from the capital of Kyiv to other parts of the country.

Survarium
(Image credit: Vostok Games)

Survarium developer Vostok Games says it has "taken a break" from work on the game as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that some of its team has now left the city of Kyiv, where the studio is based, for safer parts of the country.

"As expected we have taken a break from our work, due to obvious reasons," the studio tweeted. "We've taken (and continue to take) efforts to ensure our team are safe (as much as we can do in this current situation."

"Part of the team has moved from Kyiv (to Western part of Ukraine or other places in the country). The rest are in Kyiv and are currently staying at their respective homes. So far everyone is alive and safe. We plan to get back to normal working routine as soon as this is over. In the meantime, we're doing our best to support all the studio activities remotely from homes. Thanks to you all for your support!"

The tweet doesn't mention the Russian invasion specifically, but it does carry the #standwithukraine hashtag, and Vostok followed it with an image of Kyiv's Independence Monument and the hashtag #slavaukraine—Glory to Ukraine. It also linked to a page of resources on "real ways you can help Ukraine as a foreigner," which includes everything from donation links to pre-made protest posters, links to official Ukrainian government and media sources, and even instructions for joining the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, which for the record you really should not do unless you're an experienced military veteran.

Vostok is the second Ukrainian developer forced to suspend work on an in-development project as a result of the war: One week ago, Stalker 2 studio GSC Game World announced that it was pausing development so it could focus on ensuring the safety of its employees and their families. It took a slightly more upbeat attitude about when it would return to work on the game, though, saying that development will continue "after the victory."

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.