Game developers are helping to evacuate families from Ukraine

In Ukraine, the war has turned into a bloody civil war. According to the United Nations, more than 3.5million people fled the country after 26 days’ fighting. One quarter of Ukraine’s population of 44 million people have been displaced, driven from their homes by the unprovoked Russian invasion. Developers of games are trying to make it possible for people to escape the violence. Inside Ukraine, they’re walking away from their work to volunteer with their neighbors.

Polygon spoke last week with Viktorija Trfimova (CEO of Nordcurrent, Lithaunia). This Ukrainian-born executive has more than 120 workers in Ukraine. She owns two studios, one in Dnipro city and the other on the coast of Odessa. Up to now, she’s helped 18 workers flee Ukraine, providing them with transportation and temporary housing. She also provides employment opportunities for their family and 23 friends. The majority of them are women and children. They range from the infants through to the old. More are expected to make their way to the company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania if Russian forces push further north and west.

“City from city, the situation is very different,” Trofimova said. “Both our studios in Odessa and Dnipro have not been directly affected or hit. Both cities have been relatively calm; Dnipro more calm than Odessa.”

Odessa is a resort town located along the Black Sea coast. The fortifications have been extensive in the recent weeks. Anti-tank defenses are being built in Odessa, a city well known for its culture and vibrant nightlife. Ukrainians regard Mariupol’s coastal city as a stark warning. The Russians surrounded the city, with more than 80% of the buildings being destroyed by bombing. There are reports that civilians have been forcibly held and sent into Russia without their passports. A number of Russian warships including amphibious landing craft have been observed off the coast. NPR has reported that small Russian amphibian raiding parties were dispersed.

“Odessa has seen more bombings,” Trofimova said, “but there is no sort of activity on the ground, like you see in Kyiv or Kharkiv. The studios do exist to an extent. They do exist. However, this is not a regular or usual workday. This threat is constant in Odessa [the] next day there will be sort of a direct attack, and that has been going on since day one.”

Meanwhile, in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, normal day-to-day operations have given way to volunteerism.

“Suburban areas of Kyiv are total war zone,” Yaroslav Singaevskiy, lead game designer at Red Beat, told Polygon via email. “The central and western parts of our country are relatively safe (Russia can deliver missiles anywhere still).”

“For our team actual gamedev work [is] still a secondary priority,” he continued, “because our main efforts aimed at defensive needs — volunteer work mostly. Still, we hope. [the] war could end in upcoming weeks, not months, and we make all efforts for it.”

Wael Amr is the CEO at Frogwares in Kyiv, but he seems less optimistic.

“The city is holding strong but when you look at what the Russians did to places like Mariupol, it’s harrowing,” he told Polygon in an email. “Just this weekend they hit a major shopping mall in the heart of Kyiv with long-range cruise missiles. This target has no military significance whatsoever. A little more effort to try [to]You can’t starve people. […] We’re also starting to see early signs of what could be called [post-traumatic stress disorder] among some of our team who fled from the worst hit regions.”

Other game developers from around the globe are supporting the Ukrainian people by continuing to send humanitarian aid. On Monday, Polygon reported that two game bundles — the Ukraine Humble Bundle, and a bundle on itch.io — had collectively raised more than $17 million. Epic Games is the maker of FortniteAccording to, it raised over $36 Million.

Though it’s a lot of money, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the destruction in the country. An official from Ukraine estimated that Russia’s invasion alone had cost $100 billion to its infrastructure.