Gem Capital will invest $50M in Eastern European game studios

03.08.2023 - 13:37 / venturebeat.com / Will

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Cyprus-based investment firm Gem Capital plans to invest over $50 million in game studios in Eastern Europe over the next two years.

The firm is focusing on pre-seed, seed, and seris A-round investments, with plans to invest amounts in the range of $2 million to $5 million. Gem Capital’s current portfolio is valued at over $100 million. With a current portfolio valued at over $100 million, Gem Capital is ranked among the top gaming funds in the world, according to market analyst InvestGame.

Gem Capital is looking to invest in free-to-play and premium PC and console titles, as well as midcore mobile games and game-tech companies. The firm already has one of the largest game investment portfolios in Cyprus, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Kirill Gurskiy and Roman Gurskiy are twin brothers who grew up in Moscow. They migrated to Cyprus, and they’re the managing directors of Gem Capital. I interviewed Kirill Gurskiy for this story.

Kirill Gurskiy said, “What distinguishes GEM Capital from other venture investors is that we have a large share of investments in PC/console projects, including premium ones. Over 50% of the investment portfolio is already allocated for studios like Mundfish, Weappy, and Unfrozen. In such projects, we see the potential for creating global IPs and franchises.”

The war in Ukraine broke out in 2022 and many of Russia’s talented game developers spread out around the world in one of the biggest migrations of game talent ever. Many relocated to Eastern European countries like the United Arab Emirates, Armenia or Kazakhstan.

Cyprus had a unique status as a haven for company leaders who set up their headquarters there. But once the war started, many game developers at the studios relocated there. (One of the biggest Russian game companies, My.Games, split into two parts and half of it relocated to Amsterdam under new ownership). “Cyprus has extremely talented people and the gaming community is very strong,” Kirill Gurskiy said. “We believe strongly in the ecosystem.”

Gem Capital is investing in teams that are outside of Russia itself, though it has funded plenty of Russian-speaking founders. They have chosen not to invest in blockchain games or gambling.

“In our opinion, the intersection of games and blockchain is quite small,” Kirill Gurskiy said.

Gem Capital was founded in 2017 in Cyprus by Anatoly Paliy, a former Gazprom executive who formerly worked in Russia. Its current mission is to help turn Cyprus into a world-class destination for talent. The Gurskiy brothers joined in 2019 and began investing in game companies.

Before joining Gem, Kirill Gurskiy and Roman