As we approach the new year, we’re inviting business leaders to reflect on the successes, challenges, and lessons of 2024 while sharing their vision for the year ahead.
Our new project ‘Navigating Success: 2024 in Review and What’s Ahead?’ spotlights companies across industries, offering insights into their milestones, strategies, and aspirations.
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We aim to provide a platform for businesses to share their journey, highlight their contributions, and reveal their plans for innovation and growth in 2025.
In this installment of our project, we are honored to feature an interview with Roman Gurskiy—a distinguished professional in investment and management.
Roman Gurskiy is a dedicated father and husband, former Transaction Advisory Manager at EY, Senior Appraiser accredited by the American Society of Appraisers, and Managing Director of GEM Capital.
GEM Capital is a leading global investor in the gaming industry, headquartered in Paphos, Cyprus. The company has supported over 25 companies, including renowned names like Mundfish, Unfrozen, Red Rover Interactive, Eschatology Entertainment, AppMagic, Sad Cat Studios, Weappy, and many other exceptional ventures.
Recognized as a pioneer in the region, GEM Capital has secured deals with major gaming industry giants such as Tencent, Microsoft, KRAFTON, and Ubisoft. Due to its significant contributions to the gaming sector, GEM Capital is consistently ranked among the top 10 most active investors globally by renowned industry analysts, including InvestGame and Drake Star.
In this interview, Roman shares his insights on the achievements of 2024 and plans, highlighting key moments and strategies that define GEM Capital’s success.
2024 in Review:
- What were the most significant milestones your company reached in 2024?
As they say, a good beginning makes a good ending. For us, 2024 began with a victory for Atomic Heart by our portfolio company Mundfish, winning the Outstanding Visual Style award at the 2024 Steam Awards following a vote with over 40 million participants. The rest of the year was incredibly fruitful, filled with new partnerships, achievements, and exciting games!
Speaking of new deals, two of our portfolio companies, Eschatology Entertainment and Red Rover, successfully closed their next funding rounds led by the games giant KRAFTON, one of the largest Korean corporations with a market capitalization exceeding $9 billion. We’re super excited about their success and honored to have been their earliest investors, cheering them on from day one.
This year, we also welcomed two outstanding additions to our GEM Family: AppMagic, one of the largest mobile analytics platforms in the world, and Order of Meta, a mobile game studio led by the creators of the hit game Tacticool. We are honored that the founders have chosen us as their partners and look forward to a long and successful relationship. Go team GEM!
Our efforts and contributions to the industry were recognized with a nomination for “Investor of the Year” at the MENA Games Industry Awards, alongside prominent players in the region such as Savvy Games Group. We also maintain a leading position as one of the most active investors in the global gaming industry in the world. This is evidenced by our strong performance in recent industry reports: we ranked third among early-stage funds in the latest Drake Star Q3 2024 report and secured the top position in the InvestGame report for the same period. This recognition means a lot to us and motivates us to keep pushing forward!
And of course, 2024 was packed with amazing game news from our portfolio companies! The gaming community and press alike praised Replaced from Sad Cat Studios, Hollywood Animal and The Eternal Life of Goldman from Weappy, and Nikoderiko: The Magical World from VEA Games. We could talk for hours about how fantastic these games are! Perhaps one of the most memorable moments for us was the announcement of the next chapter in the legendary Heroes of Might and Magic series at Gamescom by the largest French video game company Ubisoft and our portfolio company Unfrozen. We are incredibly proud of the team and deeply honored to be part of bringing new life to this iconic franchise.
- What challenges did you face this year, and how did you overcome them?
Our challenges are pretty much the same as those the whole games industry is facing: layoffs, marketing struggles, and everyone fighting for gamers’ attention. Every challenge is different and needs a unique solution. No easy answers here. Let’s just say 2024 was a tough year for gaming, but that’s when the real gems are made!
- What was the most valuable lesson you learned as a leader in 2024?
For me, the most valuable lesson was mastering the art of balancing a bold vision with the structured execution required to bring that vision to life. Even the most creative ideas hold no value without a clear plan for their realization. At the same time, it’s equally important to ensure that the original vision remains intact throughout the execution process.
A perfect example of this is our portfolio company, Unfrozen. They demonstrated a truly bold vision in creating the next game in the legendary Heroes of Might and Magic series. The team not only dared to dream big but also achieved their ambitious goal. What’s more, they didn’t stop there – they continue to bring their innovative ideas for this project to life.
For instance, just before Christmas, the studio delighted fans of the series with a magical gift: the announcement that the legendary composer of the Heroes series, Paul Anthony Romero, along with award-winning Cris Velasco (God of War, Starcraft II, Mass Effect, Bloodborne), will create the music for the new game.
The team at Unfrozen exemplifies how it’s possible not only to dream of greatness but also to turn those dreams into reality. This is a truly valuable lesson – not only for me and our company but for many others as well.
- How did your industry change in 2024, and how did these changes impact your business?
One of the key changes in the games industry this year was the shift toward cross-platform projects spanning both mobile and PC/console. This approach not only provides studios with an additional revenue stream by expanding their player base but also reduces the risks associated with relying solely on a single platform. The success of the highly acclaimed Balatro this year underscores this trend, with more companies aiming to launch their projects across multiple platforms.
This change has positively impacted our business, as we maintain a balanced portfolio with roughly equal shares of both PC/Console and Mobile studios. Even before this shift, we prioritized building a diversified games portfolio across all platforms, unlike many other venture capital firms that primarily focused on mobile games. By avoiding putting all our eggs in one basket, we’ve achieved greater resilience and adaptability to changing market trends, which has served us well this year.
- What contribution did your company make to society or the environment this year?
Our primary contribution to society this year – and always – has been providing investment support to companies that embody the core values needed to create a better society.
A standout example of this commitment is our portfolio company, Gameram. As the leading social networking platform for gamers, Gameram connects players from across the globe. It fosters a safe and inclusive online community where individuals can collaborate, play, and thrive in a vibrant digital environment. By actively combating toxicity and discrimination, Gameram is working to make gaming a welcoming space for everyone. Supporting initiatives like this is crucial to driving positive change in the industry and, ultimately, in society as a whole.
Beyond our investment activities, we’ve shared our expertise with the community by participating in major regional industry events such as WN Cyprus, Google Gaming Summit, WN Abu Dhabi, GDCy, Startup World Cup 2024, and Reflect Festival. We also contribute valuable insights to the industry through our columns in Forbes and The Entrepreneur. Additionally, we are proud to be long-time sponsors of the Developer Showcase at WN Conferences – a contribution we believe is particularly impactful during these challenging times for the games industry.
What’s Ahead:
- What are your top strategic priorities for 2025?
Our top strategic priority for 2025 is to continue discovering GEMs and supporting them with investments from GEM II which we successfully launched last year.
In addition, we will focus on strengthening and expanding our relationships with key partners – leading players in the industry – to collaborate on joint deals and explore new opportunities together. By working closely with these partners, we aspire to create more captivating success stories, such as the development of the next installment in the legendary Heroes of Might & Magic series.
2. How do you plan to innovate or expand your offerings in the coming year?
From the very beginning, we have embraced the principle of “smart money,” offering our portfolio companies more than just investments. This approach is the reason many promising startups have chosen us over other investors as we highlighted before.
In the coming year, we plan to uphold this principle while expanding the value of our offerings through enhanced expertise, supported by our advisory board, which consists of leading professionals across key areas such as PC/Console, Mobile, and Analytics. Additionally, we aim to strengthen our network, building new partnerships and deepening existing ones to further support our portfolio companies.
3. What new markets or opportunities will you explore in 2025?
We remain steadfast in our belief that games are the new Marvel and the largest form of entertainment, so we will continue to focus on the games market. Specifically, we are interested in projects with the potential to create strong IP, like the critically acclaimed Atomic Heart (a game from our portfolio company Mundfish), which has great potential for expansion into other entertainment formats like films and TV series.
The opportunity to expand game IP into video content, like films and TV series, is a significant trend that continues to make waves in the media industry. This year’s success of the Fallout TV show, which attracted widespread attention and recognition, clearly illustrated how game IP owners can attract new audiences and boost game sales through cross-media opportunities.
Another promising opportunity we plan to explore in 2025 is the rise of alternative mobile app stores. Following the legal battles between Epic Games and Apple/Google, significant regulatory changes have emerged, particularly with the introduction of the Digital Markets Act across the European Union. These changes have opened up a previously inaccessible market, creating new opportunities for developers and platforms alike, and potentially leading to the rise of new industry leaders.
Our portfolio company, Skich, is already actively participating in this trend by developing its alternative app store, focused on game discovery and personalized recommendations. We believe this space holds tremendous potential, and we look forward to contributing to its growth.
4. How do you expect market trends to influence your industry in 2025, and what opportunities or risks do they present?
We expect 2025 to present significant opportunities for investors in the games market, supported by several key trends.
Firstly, the recovery of investment activity. According to InvestGame’s Q3 2024 report, the number of venture capital deals in the games sector has increased compared to last year (372 deals in the first nine months of 2024, compared to 333 in the same period of 2023).
Secondly, the creation of new funds. Many game investors have announced the launch of new funds this year. This influx of new capital will drive market growth in the coming years.
We plan to continue increasing our investment activity to capitalize on this unique opportunity window.
5. How do you envision your company contributing to broader societal or environmental goals in 2025?
As always, we will continue our efforts to contribute to society by supporting companies that share values aligned with making a positive impact. We will keep supporting the games community by sharing our insights and expertise, as well as sponsoring industry events designed to support game studios.
We are also considering expanding our efforts to make a more significant contribution to environmental causes in 2025. As residents of our beautiful island, we feel a deep responsibility to help preserve and improve the local environment. Our goal is to help create a flourishing, sustainable future for both the games industry and the community we are part of.
