Sad Cat raises $5M for retro action-platformer Replaced

03.10.2023 - 14:35 / venturebeat.com

Sad Cat Studios announced today that it has raised $5 million in funding, an investment in the studio that it plans to put towards its future games. The studio is currently working on its retro-style action-platformer Replaced, which it announced in 2021. GEM Capital invested in the studio in part to help it launch Replaced sometime in 2024.

GamesBeat spoke to Sad Cat founders Yura Zhdanovich and Igor Gritsay about the investment and development on Replaced. Both founders said that GEM’s investment will help create a more interesting game. “We understood that what we were doing before wasn’t enough,” said Gritsay. “So we started looking for a partner.”

Zhdanovich said that Sad Cat is interested in remaining independent through development of Replaced and its future titles. “We have done a tremendous amount of work throughout development, and we’re taking more time because we don’t want to compromise on that by rushing it out… We wanted to do something that we’ve always dreamt of, that people would turn their heads to.”

Sad Cat announced in September that it was delaying the launch of Replaced to 2024. The game was already delayed in 2022 as the formerly Belarus-based studio relocated their team due to safety concerns over the war in Ukraine. However, the developers say the current delay is due to the amount of work required by the pixel art design.

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“It’s freaking hard,” said Gritsay. “We’ve set a really high bar for ourselves in terms of quality and visual style. We understood that the expectations are so high that we can’t flop on that and put everything we’ve got into the game. At this point it was just impossible for us to release this year because the amount of work is just enormous.”

Roman Gurskiy, managing director at GEM Capital, said in a statement, “We are excited to announce our contribution to the success of Replaced, which is currently one of the most anticipated indie titles. At GEM, we firmly believe that Replaced has the potential to redefine the gaming landscape, captivate audiences worldwide and launch a new strong franchise.”

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