April 2026: Gamepack studio turns 10.

Some companies celebrate a decade with a press release and a cake. Gamepack’s version is a bit different: a new PC game in development, an opened British entity, and a founder who once kept the studio alive through one of the hardest periods in recent history. Well, yeah, we’ll have some cake too.

Let’s traditionally roll back to the very beginning.

The Beginnings

It started, like a lot of good things do, out of necessity. Around 2013-2014, Ruslan Zelensky – artist, then-UI designer started job hunting on Upwork. For some time, he worked on freelance gigs, and the gigs kept growing. Projects got bigger and the workload started stacking up fast.

The turning point came with a big client from Canada, and along with that a realization: one artist couldn’t deliver that much volume alone. So, he started routing tasks to other designers. Before long, Ruslan was leading a small crew of junior freelancers, barely finding the time to draw on his own, and thinking: why not make this a real thing?

And thus the story began.

“Gamepack” – the idea of packaging a game and handing it over complete. The name was simple but it struck the chord. In April 2016, the studio officially existed.

The studio that lived in Discord

The first five years were all about building a team across cities and countries with no office to anchor anyone. And yet, it never felt like a cold setup. Our team found its rhythm, met up when they could, and built something that felt genuinely close-knit despite the distance. Close enough, in fact, to attract one of the studio’s largest clients and fund an in-house product department.

Then February 24, 2022. Team members relocated from the hot spots, but the studio kept pushing through regardless. By mid-2022, a refreshed logo and new website sent a clear message to clients and team alike: we’re still here.

Our own game line

Alongside the outsourcing work, Gamepack was building its own products. In 2020, the team dove into hyper-casual games and shipped over 80 titles: Crowd King: Stickman Defense, Bomber Clash, Idle Tower Defense, and many more.

In 2021 the studio stepped into more considered mobile territory: Candy Merge and Raccoon Tycoon. Then the war hit, and internal development paused for a few years.

It’s back now. In 2026, Gamepack is building a stylized PC roguelike in Unity, targeting a Steam release. The team is already taking it on the road with more details coming very soon! 

Where the grind took us

2023 was about recovery and rebuilding from the inside out. With a significant part of the team based in Ukraine, the studio focused on strengthening internal processes, HR, and adapting to the new reality. That groundwork paid off: by 2024, Gamepack had kicked off partnerships with several major clients, exploring new directions. 

In 2025, the team leveled up across the board – new art directors in 2D, animation, and UI, plus production and marketing directors to match. The year 2026 brought a full brand refresh: new visual identity, website, and a sharpened sense of who Gamepack is and where it’s going.

Today, Gamepack has turned into a full-service game art partner with a UK presence, global clients across PC, console, mobile, and indie, and its own games in the pipeline. But what we’re building next isn’t just about art for other people’s games. 

“I want us to become a strong product company,” says Ruslan. “Not just outsourcing or chasing quick wins, but creating projects that actually shape the industry.” 

Ten years ago, one freelance artist needed a name for an Upwork profile. Now, that name stands behind a team of over a hundred people with a vast portfolio and original games in active development.

So, level 10 complete, next stage loading. And we’re just getting started!