Mytona

Mytona
IndustryVideo games
Founded2012 (2012)
FoundersAlexey and Afanasiy Ushnisky[1]
Headquarters
New Zealand
Websitewww.mytona.com

Mytona is a mobile game development and publishing company headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. The company operates internationally, with additional offices in Singapore, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and other locations.

History

Mytona was founded in 2012 by brothers Alexey and Afanasey Ushnitsky. The founders’ work in game development began earlier in 2005, when they released their first title, an action game based on the Yakut heroic epic “Uolan Bootur the Swift”.[2][3] Although the game did not achieve commercial success, it provided foundational experience for the team. In 2006, the brothers established Sulus Games, which initially consisted of approximately 50 local developers. Over the following seven years, Sulus Games developed more than ten projects for the Big Fish Games platform, primarily in the hidden object and time management genres.[4] Several of these titles became popular among PC casual game audiences.

Following the expansion of the mobile gaming market, the founders shifted their focus to mobile development and established Mytona in 2012.[5]

Timeline

2012 – Mytona was incorporated in Yakutsk, Russia, and entered the mobile gaming market. During this period, the company developed The Secret Society, a hidden object game released for mobile platforms.[6]

2015 – The company relocated its headquarters to Singapore. In the same year, Mytona began self-publishing and released Seekers Notes, a hidden object game set in the fictional town of Darkwood, which is shrouded in a mysterious curse.[7] Players assume the role of the Seeker, a chosen individual who possesses a magical map and must uncover hidden objects, solve puzzles, and assist local residents to lift the curse. The game has maintained an active player community for over a decade and continues to receive regular updates and events.[8] In 2024, to celebrate its ninth anniversary, Seekers Notes collaborated with YouTube Premium on a special in-game event.[9]

2018 – Mytona established its legal entity in New Zealand. The company released Cooking Diary, a time management game for mobile platforms[10][11] In the game, players manage and expand their own restaurant, prepare various dishes, and serve customers within set time limits to earn in-game rewards. Players can customize their character and restaurant, participate in seasonal events, and join culinary guilds to compete with others. The game has received multiple awards, including the People’s Choice Award at the 15th International Mobile Gaming Awards in 2019 and the People’s Voice Award at the Webby Awards in 2020.[12][13] In October 2020, Mytona collaborated with the streaming service Netflix to release a Cooking Diary x Stranger Things themed Halloween update.[14]

2021 – Mytona became an investor for another game developer studio and co-published two games on Steam.[15][16] The partnership ended later in 2023. At the end of 2021, the company launched its own metaverse, Mytonaverse.[17] The same year the company’s co-founders, Alexey and Afanasey Ushnitsky, were named among the Top 20 Most Influential People in New Zealand’s video-gaming industry by The New Zealand Herald.[18]

2022 – The company relocated its headquarters from Singapore to Auckland, New Zealand.[19] Mytona began expanding its operations within the New Zealand game development sector.[20] The same year the company opened new entities in several countries across the globe, including Thailand, Kazakhstan, Serbia etc.

2023 – The company released another cooking game Chef&Friends.[21] Chef & Friends is a free-to-play cooking and restaurant-renovation game. Players assume the role of a head chef and restaurateur, managing cooking levels to prepare international dishes, renovating cafés and restaurants around the world, and helping aspiring chefs establish their style. The game is set in the same universe as Mytona’s earlier title Cooking Diary, featuring story arcs involving a “Fast Food Empire” rival and regular event updates.[22]

2024 – The company becomes a finalist of the award “Best places to work” in New Zealand.[23] The company also re-released Ravenhill, a hidden object game originally launched in 2015 and later discontinued.[24]

Other games

In 2023, Mytona released two new projects: Outfire (a multiplayer competitive top-down shooter) and Chef & Friends (a time management game).

References

  1. ^ "Two Siberian twin brothers in New Zealand want to build the metaverse". 10 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Even in Siberia, you can make a game with 30M downloads in today's global game market". VentureBeat. 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  3. ^ Obedkov, Evgeny (2022-06-21). "Report: up to 2500 Russian devs lost jobs over last month following mass layoffs at top game studios". Game World Observer. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  4. ^ "Sulus Ltd. Games". MobyGames. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  5. ^ "GI 100 | Game Changers -- Part Nine". GamesIndustry.biz. 17 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Bring Your Friends Into The Secret Society". AppAdvice. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Seekers Notes is celebrating a decade of service with content from the past as well as the real world". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Seekers Notes: Hidden Mystery Update Fixes Problems and Adds New Moon Court Location". Player.One. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Seekers Notes is celebrating a decade of service with content from the past as well as the real world". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  10. ^ "4 best cooking game apps". Softonic. 19 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Cooking Diary celebrates its seventh anniversary with special in-game events". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Cooking Diary fans vote MyTona for People's Choice Award!". 11 April 2019.
  13. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". webbyawards.com.
  14. ^ Partleton, Kayleigh; Writer, Staff (13 October 2020). "MyTona teams with Netflix to bring Stranger Things to Cooking Diaries". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  15. ^ Purslow, Matt (2021-10-15). "Propnight Is a New Multiplayer Horror That Crosses Dead By Daylight With Goosebumps". IGN. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  16. ^ The Day Before: Exclusive New Gameplay Trailer and More! - IGN, 15 October 2021, retrieved 2022-03-18
  17. ^ Obedkov, Evgeny (2021-12-09). "Developer and publisher MYTONA soft-launches its own metaverse". Game World Observer. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  18. ^ "Power players: The 20 most influential people in the NZ video gaming industry". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  19. ^ "The DeanBeat: New Zealand levels up game industry amid a world of giants". GamesBeat. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  20. ^ "NZGDA Studio Members". New Zealand Game Developers Association. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  21. ^ "Best Cooking Simulator Games on Mobile (Android & iPhone)". TheGamer. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  22. ^ "Mytona – Latest Updates for Seekers Notes, Cooking Diary, and Chef & Friends". Gamezebo. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  23. ^ "Best Places to Work Awards 2024". Best Places to Work New Zealand. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  24. ^ "15th IMGA - RAVENHILL®: HIDDEN MYSTERY".

Further reading

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