Gierka Tokarczuk will be gone soon. The money is not gone yet

I must admit that I did not expect that the topic of the Ibru game and the company creating it would develop in the form in which it has been observed in recent weeks. Perhaps this was to be expected in a world where every issue must be political and ideological? That’s why I’ll point out now that What interests me most about the whole thing is the game itself. Unfortunately, this is a closely guarded secret for Sundog…

At the beginning of February, I published a text about the Ibru project. A very interesting topic, because this is why a game is being created based on the work of our Nobel Prize winner. What’s more, Olga Tokarczuk was personally involved in this project: became a member of the supervisory board of Sundog and invested her money in the company. A name of this caliber was bound to attract media attention. Another magnet was the funding granted by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. Not a trivial amount: nearly PLN 17 million.

Taking these two factors into account, I was surprised that so little was known about Ibru’s game. And the more I tried to learn about the progress, the higher my eyebrows raised. Because the company did not really want to boast about the results of its activities. Meanwhile, Olga Tokarczuk left the company’s supervisory board, somewhat quietly. You can read more about this in the text: There is still no Olga Tokarczuk game. Tokarczuk also evaporated.

After the publication of the above-mentioned article, the Polish-Polish war broke out again. One of the opposition MPs argued on social media that he initiated our actions. There was no logic in it, but his circle picked up on the topic. The media, which did not agree with this MP, came to the aid of the Nobel laureate and his company. And they convinced me that everything was OK in the project. These squabbles exceeded the limits of absurdity when one side questioned whether the video game business brings real benefits to the economy, and the other side threw into the mix CD Projekt RED and Techland, which probably do not play in the same league as Sundog.

Meanwhile, I still knew little about the game itself and the company’s plans. Its representatives did not respond to most of the questions we sent before the publication of the text. They didn’t do it after publication either. To emphasize how absurd this situation is, I would add that PARP provided us with a comment on this matter. Even though we didn’t ask for it. The state institution explains the company, whose management apparently does not have time to respond to e-mails.

Why am I coming back to this topic? Well, the first text and what happened after it apparently prompted the company’s decision-makers to become media active. There is a short entry on LinkedIn from which you can learn that with the arrival of the new year, work is gaining momentum.

Progress in work on our dynamic system for shaping the player’s personality allowed us to start full production of the first game using the InteGra system.

Ibru, a sumerpunk RPG combining the mythology of ancient Sumer and cyberpunk dystopia, will bypass the limitations of classic forms of narrative, offering a game that changes and reacts in real time to the player’s decisions

It was also reported that 25 people work at Sundog. And added that only 16% has been used so far. granted subsidywhich is supposed to indicate the effective use of public funds. End of history? In no case – the company invited you to read the entry on the “new press blog”. What can you learn from it? I hasten to explain.

The year 2025 was an extremely intense period for Sundog Games, in which we focused on the implementation of the “InteGra” research and development project, which is the heart of “Ibru”. Thanks to the advancement of the work, we were able to start full production of our sumerpunk RPG

From the entry you can learn, among other things, that from the end of 2024 the InteGra system (innovative and immersive) will be created, which will take full advantage of psychological research.

Thanks to this, games using InteGra will not be based only on a strictly defined scenario and plot paths, but will comprehensively respond to players’ actions in real time.

The Ibru game, which is in full production, is to take advantage of the system’s capabilities. The team reportedly focused on “developing the main gameplay elements.” The announcement shows that the most important plot threads, key characters and the “complex background of the world” have been identified. This fragment may attract your attention:

A key milestone will be the integration of the InteGra system after the first stage of research and development is completed. Regardless of the integration effects, we plan to complete and release Ibru.

Therefore, it may turn out that integration will not go according to the creators’ intentions. And all innovation will (probably) go to waste. But don’t worry, Ibru will appear on the market even in such unfavorable circumstances. It will simply be less immersive.

The company also shared some financial data. In addition to assurances that 16% will be paid by the beginning of 2026. subsidies, it was declared that:

The company’s own contribution, current operations and other non-project costs are financed from funds obtained from external investors.

The entire budget allocated by PARP is to be completed by spring 2028. Let me remind you that this concerns the creation of the InteGra system, not the Ibru game. Based on this, it should be assumed that the game will not be released before this date.

From the entry we also learn that although Olga Tokarczuk left the company’s supervisory board, she remains its shareholder and supports the project through creative supervision. Therefore, it is still legitimate to write about “Olga Tokarczuk’s game”. The company also assured that:

We plan to share more details about the upcoming game and its unique world in the coming weeks.

I will write that we have informational progress. Forced, but still. I decided to take advantage of this and sent the company representative a few questions to clarify some issues. I didn’t get an answer. The phone of Aleksandra Bieluk, a member of the Sundog management board, is switched off. Since I’ve been trying to call. So for several weeks. The entity does not respond to requests for contact via e-mail or on LinkedIn. Silence. I must admit that this causes me consternation.

Maybe the company thought I was some kind of scoundrel who wanted to hurt the Nobel Prize winner at all costs? Maybe in a moment there will be voices (again) that this company is sacred because it was anointed by an outstanding artist and no questions should be asked? That’s why I’ll emphasize: I just want to learn something about the game that has revolutionize the RPG industry and promote Polish culture around the worldas its creators argue. So much.

Meanwhile, I encounter a communication vacuum. It is significant that the company has made available a larger package of information twice in recent years, and this happened at a time when things were getting hotter around the entity. And it doesn’t have to be this way – it is enough to communicate with the broadly understood market on an ongoing basis. People with experience in the gaming industry should know this. However, I feel that as a media representative I pose a problem for this team. Well, the guy is stubborn and turns his head…