On April 10th, 2026, five independent studios have come together to form new developer-led studio called Nova Assembly. The five studios that have come together are Unfrozen, Sad Cat Studios, VEA Games, Game Garden, and Weappy. The reasoning behind the collaboration is so that they can share expertise while maintaining and preserving creative independence. Each studio will retain creative control over its own games, and if they need help or resources, the other studios are there to support them in any way. Also, Nova Assembly has announced that 10 games are in the works across various genres.
The biggest reason these studios have chosen to come together to form this new independent studio is in response to how the gaming industry is today. With mass layoffs, shutdowns, and the cost of production going up, the gaming industry is the most volatile it has been in a long time, so the founding of Nova Assembly is a response to it all.
New CEO Denis Fedorov had this to say about it all: “Within Nova Assembly, we have designed a carefully balanced system of motivation and mutual support between the studios. The goal is to ensure that collaboration strengthens everyone involved, while still preserving a strong incentive for each team to perform at its best.
In practical terms, this means that a portion of each studio’s returns is tied directly to its own success, while another portion is linked to the overall performance of Nova Assembly as a whole. This creates alignment across the group, encouraging studios to support one another while maintaining full ownership and responsibility for their individual projects.
As for recruiting, with 10 projects currently in development across different genres, we are always interested in connecting with talented developers. At the same time, one of our key principles is cost efficiency. We are not looking to scale headcount indiscriminately, but rather to grow thoughtfully, bringing in the right people where they can have the most meaningful impact.”
The independent scene of gaming has seen a massive boom in recent years, and with how the state of gaming is now, and triple-A games constantly falling behind in terms of margin or failing to grab players now more than ever, the independent scene is needed now more than ever. And with the formation of Nova Assembly, the hope of combating the volatile nature of the industry has now been lit, and with ten games in the works, players have lots to look forward to as the future of Nova Assembly has now just begun.