Owlcat Games Accused of Chauvinism: Alleged Promotion of Anti-Ukrainian Sentiment and Boasting About Crimea Employment Sparks Outrage

The recent launch of the game Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader by Owlcat Games, a russian studio based in Cyprus and backed by the GEM Capital fund, sponsor of the controversial Atomic Heart developers, has sparked controversy. Some users on the X platform (formerly Twitter) have uncovered consistent displays of chauvinism towards Ukrainians by the studio.

Owlcat Games, renowned for the Pathfinder game series and the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, was founded in Moscow in 2016. Despite officially being headquartered in Nicosia, Cyprus, as of January 2023, the company was actively hiring staff for its Moscow office. This suggests that the Nicosia headquarters may be a strategic move to avoid potential sanctions from Western countries and distance itself from a state accused of supporting terrorism.

Surprisingly, the studio's leadership seems to have not completely distanced themselves from russian sentiments. Instances of their repeated mockery of Ukrainians and their pride in employing staff in the occupied Crimea have come to light.

Nikolay Samborsky, lead cinematic artist at Owlcat, used the ethnic slur "khokhol" against Ukrainians on the X platform (formerly Twitter). Upon being exposed, he chose to block and delete his account.

Another employee, Anatoliy Shestov, executive producer at Owlcat, boasted about hiring in Crimea immediately after its annexation by russia in 2014.

In response to the exposure, Owlcat Games resorted to blocking the accounts of critics. "@40kRogueTrader commented on X, 'Owlcat Games, a company that turns a blind eye and a deaf ear. They were informed about these issues, but silence speaks louder than words. In reality, all inquiries were met with blocking. Ignorance - bliss, isn't it?'"

Owlcat Games is financially supported by GEM Capital. Earlier investigations by AIN.Capital revealed that Owlcat Games is one of the studios directly financed by GEM Capital, a russian investment company headquartered in Cyprus, with directors Kirill Gurskiy and Roman Gurskiy, both russians. The fund, founded by Anatoliy Paliy, formerly associated with the state-owned transnational energy corporation Gazprom, has close ties to the russian state bank VTB, currently under sanctions.

Moreover, the GEM Capital fund is a major investor in another russian-Cypriot studio, Mundfish, the developer of Atomic Heart, a supposedly apolitical game that ridicules the killing of Ukrainians.

The significance of this situation lies in Owlcat Games being a russian studio funded by a russian fund, with russian employees continuing to exhibit a chauvinistic tradition that denigrates the lives of others through ethnic stereotypes. Many Ukrainians, who have already suffered from russian missiles and bullets, are calling for transparency, accountability, and a boycott of the studio and its game, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.