Five studios form developer-led holding Nova Assembly

A group of five independent studios have established Nova Assembly, a developer-led alliance focused on sharing resources and expertise.

The holding includes Unfrozen (Iratus: Lord of the Dead), Sad Cat Studios (Replaced), VEA Games (Nikoderiko: The Magical World), Weappy (This is Police series), and mobile developer Game Garden.

Nova Assembly currently has ten games in development. Its first release will be Sad Cat Studios’ platfomer Replaced, scheduled for April 14, 2026.

The group plans to create its own publishing division to manage marketing, distribution, and direct communication with its audience.

In an open letter, the co-founders said each studio will continue developing its own titles while providing mutual support.

“The formation of a single holding structure bringing together five commercially successful and highly promising game studios will not only enable creators of ambitious gaming projects to share invaluable expertise accumulated over years of experience, but will also allow for more efficient and strategic use of shared resources,” said Unfrozen founder and Nova Assembly CEO Denis Fedorov.

“And all that without compromising creative independence, which ultimately remains the key driver of competitiveness in today’s challenging market.”

Last year, Ubisoft partnered with Hooded Horse to publish Unfrozen’s Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era.

In 2023, Sad Cat Studios secured a $5 million investment led by GEM Capital to fund development of future projects, including Replaced, which was initially revealed in 2021.