Indie studios and pay issues

Two April 9 stories captured the squeeze on game developers: workers accused Gunzilla Games of missing pay, while five smaller studios said they were pooling resources under a new holding company. (gamesindustry.biz, gamesindustry.biz) GamesIndustry.biz reported that current and former Gunzilla staff said salary problems had lasted for months, with some Ukrainian workers saying they were owed around six months of pay and some contractors saying delays stretched back to October 2025. The outlet also said some United Kingdom and Germany staff had been paid throughout, though some March pay was still outstanding when it published. (gamesindustry.biz) The same report said Gunzilla’s United Kingdom arm changed its name to Geofvision on April 6, according to Companies House, and that workers also described missed pension contributions between May and September before back payments arrived in October. Gunzilla’s website says the company operates from Frankfurt, Kyiv, and London and was founded in early 2020 by Vlad Korolev and Alex Zoll. (gamesindustry.biz, gunzillagames.com) Gunzilla is not a small unknown studio. It makes Off the Grid and, on March 25, 2025, announced that it had acquired Game Informer and brought back the publication with its original editorial team. (gunzillagames.com, gameinformer.com) On the same day the Gunzilla story spread, Nova Assembly said five studios had formed a developer-led holding: Unfrozen, Sad Cat Studios, VEA Games, Weappy, and Game Garden. GamesIndustry.biz reported the group has 10 games in development and said its first planned release is Sad Cat’s Replaced on April 14, 2026. (gamesindustry.biz) The new group said each studio would keep making its own games while sharing expertise, technology, and other support through a common structure led by Unfrozen founder Denis Fedorov. Game World Observer reported that all five studios are part of investment firm GEM Capital’s portfolio, adding a financial link behind the alliance. (gamesindustry.biz, gameworldobserver.com) Nova Assembly’s open letter framed the move as a response to layoffs, closures, canceled games, and pressure from generative artificial intelligence tools, arguing that studios needed a way to share resources without giving up control of their own projects. The group also said it wants to build a publishing division for marketing, distribution, and direct contact with players. (novaassembly.com, gamesindustry.biz) Taken together, the two stories show different survival strategies in the same market: one studio facing public claims over unpaid wages, and five others trying to spread risk by joining forces. The next test comes quickly, with any further response from Gunzilla and with Nova Assembly’s first release scheduled for April 14. (gamesindustry.biz, gamesindustry.biz)