adminNova Assembly is a developer-led holding group formed by five independent game studios. The alliance is designed to help its members share resources and expertise while continuing to create their own games. The group says the studios will retain their creative independence as they work together.
Image credit: Nova Assembly
What is Nova Assembly?
The holding brings together studios with experience across several types of games, including strategy, platforming, and mobile titles. Its five members are:
- Unfrozen, known for Iratus: Lord of the Dead.
- Sad Cat Studios, the developer of Replaced.
- VEA Games, known for Nikoderiko: The Magical World.
- Weappy, creator of the This is Police series.
- Game Garden, a mobile game developer.
For players, the key point is that the studios are joining a shared business structure, rather than being described as giving up responsibility for their individual projects. Nova Assembly’s founders say each team will continue developing its own titles.
Shared resources, independent creative teams
According to the co-founders, the arrangement is intended to make it easier for the studios to exchange knowledge built through years of development and to use shared resources more efficiently. Nova Assembly CEO and Unfrozen founder Denis Fedorov said that combining five commercially successful and promising studios could support more effective planning without compromising the teams’ creative independence.
This distinction matters: the group’s stated approach is to coordinate and support its members, while leaving creative decisions with the studios. Readers following the announcement should therefore distinguish between the holding’s shared plans and the separate development work carried out by each member.
Games in development and publishing plans
Nova Assembly has ten games in development. At the time of the announcement, its first planned release was Replaced, Sad Cat Studios’ platformer, which was scheduled for April 14, 2026. The group also plans to establish its own publishing division. Its proposed responsibilities include marketing, distribution, and direct communication with players.
Replaced was first revealed in 2021. In 2023, Sad Cat Studios secured a $5 million investment led by GEM Capital to fund the development of future projects, including the game. Separately, Ubisoft partnered with Hooded Horse to publish Unfrozen’s Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era.
What Nova Assembly’s formation means
Nova Assembly’s model combines studio-level development with group-level support and planned publishing capabilities. The studios have stated that they will continue making their own games, while sharing expertise and resources across the holding. Its future impact will depend on how these plans develop and how effectively the publishing division supports the member teams.
For now, Nova Assembly is notable for bringing five established studios under a developer-led structure without announcing a change to their creative independence. Its ten projects in development and planned publishing division are the main details to watch as the group progresses.
