Moldovan Video Game Creators Gain Global Attention
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“We don’t just make games. We create art that speaks, excites and lasts,” says Dimitr Gibinski, founder of ArtDock, a Moldovan game studio that won the People’s Choice Award at Nordic Game this year.
Before relocating to Moldova and founding ArtDock in 2022, Gibinski was running his business in Ukraine, surrounded by family and friends. Then, in a single moment, everything changed. “It was shocking,” he recalls. “I was living near Kyiv airport when the first explosions started at 4 a.m. on February 23, 2022. I never imagined a real war could happen.”
They gathered only the essentials and set out toward the Polish border. With hearts heavy, they waited in Poland, hoping the war would end. But it became clear it wouldn’t.
A friend suggested relocating to Moldova, a country with a growing IT sector and supportive policies for tech startups.
It didn’t take long for Dimitr to settle in Chișinău and open ArtDock. What started as a team of eight in Ukraine has now grown to 47 colleagues: Ukrainians, Belarusians, Moldovans and Russians. “MITP gives stability and predictability,” he says about Moldova Innovation Technology Park. “The taxation system we get through MITP makes forecasting much easier. I know future salaries, costs and extra taxes, without worrying that rules might suddenly change.”
On his desk, small figurines from the video games the team created are lined up. As Dimitr talks about his games, his face lights up. Each project takes up to six months, from concept and design to coding and testing. Catching the audience’s attention from the start is crucial. “People have no patience now. If a game doesn’t catch them from the start, they move on.”
Their first game, SOS OPS, launched in November 2023. It’s a cooperative action game where players team up to save the city. It quickly found its audience, with roughly 150,000 players so far.
Then came Penguin Helper, a 3D adventure full of humor and chaos. Next up is Pao Pao, a culinary game where players run
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