SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 26 January 2022 – Virtuos, a leading global game
development company, today
announced the completion of its acquisition of Volmi Games (‘Volmi’), a 2D and
3D art production studio with 140 employees based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The
expansion is a key part of Virtuos’ growth strategy, as it increases its global
footprint to better meet the growing demands of its clients.
Volmi
was co-founded by Vladimir Loban, Chief Executive Officer, and Miroslav
Baranenko, Chief Operating Officer, in 2016. Prior to Volmi, both Loban and
Baranenko held leadership positions at Wargaming Kyiv. The Volmi team has
extensive experience in the area of content creation for video games. Core
competencies include photo-realistic, stylized 2D and 3D content, concepts and
illustrations, casual game graphics, and animation. Volmi has contributed to notable
games such as Diablo 2: Resurrected, Metro Exodus, Sniper: Ghost Warrior
Contracts 2, Smite, Paladins, and Gwent: The Witcher Card Game.
Following the acquisition, Volmi will rebrand
itself as “Volmi – A Virtuos Studio”. Loban and Baranenko will continue to helm
the studio as General Director and Operations Director, respectively.
Virtuos’ expansion into Kyiv marks the
company’s first foray into Eastern Europe, tapping into Ukraine’s growing pool
of tech talent. The new studio will function as a key node in Virtuos’
expanding global footprint and bringing the company closer to its European
clients, while bolstering its game development and art production offerings.
Gilles
Langourieux, CEO at Virtuos
comments, “We’re kicking off the new year on a high by welcoming another
passionate team to the Virtuos family. What Volmi has achieved in the five
years since its inception is truly remarkable. We are excited to leverage the
team’s deep art production expertise and high growth potential to ensure our continued
success. Looking forward to working with and growing alongside Volmi, as we
expand our capabilities together as a team.”
Vladimir
Loban, General Director at Volmi – A Virtuos Studio adds, “Joining Virtuos is a natural next step in
Volmi’s growth journey. Supported by Virtuos’ global portfolio of AAA projects,
end-to-end art production and full-stack game development solutions, we are
confident of accelerating Volmi’s growth and moving up the value chain to
provide even better content for our clients.”
Miroslav
Baranenko, Operations Director at Volmi – A Virtuos Studio adds, “Both Virtuos and Volmi are culturally
aligned in our pursuit of excellence and having talent development at the core
of our businesses. Together with Virtuos’ support, we aim to grow the Volmi
team from about 140 to 500 employees within three years, in tandem with our
wider growth ambitions.”
The establishment of Volmi – A Virtuos Studio
builds on Virtuos’ track record of studio acquisitions and integrations in the
past decade, including CounterPunch Studios in Los Angeles in 2020, Black
Shamrock in Dublin in 2017, and Sparx* in Vietnam in 2011. In 2021, Virtuos
also secured a USD150 million investment from Baring Private Equity Asia and opened a
studio in Lyon, adding on to a growing list of studios within its global
network.
#Virtuos
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