Playson Employee Killed Fighting in Ukraine

This week casino game designer Playson revealed that one of its employees was killed while defending his home country of Ukraine during the current Russian invasion.

Oleksander Honcharuk had served as a product owner for Playson since May of 2020, and was employed at the company's Kyiv office. He had previously worked for Playtech and NetEnt in Kyiv, and had time at developer Techona in the Czech Republic.

Playson has a number of Ukrainian employees based at their Kyiv office, and a good number of them were working to aid the country during the war. It was reported that some, like Oleksander, had joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while others helped provide food and logistics, and others had worked to fight in other ways.

A company statement on Oleksandr's death read: "We are devastated to lose such a cheerful, witty, kind, honest, and smart individual who we regarded as an outstanding colleague, but a great friend too.

"While his creativity and enthusiasm played a crucial role in the development of Playson's recent top-performing games, his loss will also be felt throughout the wider industry, having worked across many companies during an iGaming career spanning more than 14 years.

"Our deepest sympathies are with Oleksandr's family and friends. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Oleksandr."