Sad Cat Studios

Sad Cat Studios is a video game development company creating its debut title, a 2.5D sci-fi retro-futuristic action platformer called REPLACED. In the game, players control R.E.A.C.H., an artificial intelligence trapped inside a human body against its will. The gameplay combines free-flow action combat with a story-driven, cinematic platformer set in a dystopian, alternate 1980s America. The game features hand-painted pixel art visuals enhanced with modern effects.

The studio was founded in Minsk, Belarus, in 2018 by Yura Zhdanovich and Igor Gritsay. Zhdanovich has a background as an artist and visual designer in game development, while Gritsay has experience in IT and e-commerce. The founders' goal was to create story-driven, single-player games for the premium market, moving away from their previous experience in mobile game development. The studio has since relocated its headquarters to Limassol, Cyprus, and also operates from an office in Gdansk, Poland.

Sad Cat Studios' business model centers on the development and sale of premium video games for PC and console platforms, specifically PC, Xbox, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. The company has partnered with publisher Coatsink and is set to release REPLACED via Xbox Game Pass. After initially being scheduled for a 2022 release, the launch has been postponed to 2025 to meet the high expectations for the title. In October 2023, the company secured a $5 million investment from venture firm GEM Capital to fund the development of future games, including REPLACED, and to buy out shares from angel investors. This followed a pre-seed round from Kolas Ventures in 2022.

Keywords: video game development, action platformer, 2.5D, pixel art, sci-fi, retro-futuristic, dystopian, cinematic platformer, indie games, single-player, PC gaming, Xbox, Coatsink, REPLACED, Yura Zhdanovich, Igor Gritsay, GEM Capital, artificial intelligence, narrative-driven, game development studio, Cyprus, Poland, Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox Game Pass