The iGaming industry is often accused of being a "copy-paste" factory-churning out endless reskins of the same mechanics, purely to satisfy a spreadsheet. Vitalii Zalievskyi, the CEO of the newly launched Ebaka Games, is here to burn that factory down.
With a background that spans mobile giants like Snap Inc. and DECA Games, plus the crash-game innovation of Aviatrix, Zalievskyi is blending academic rigour (PhD, EMBA) with a punk-rock philosophy he calls "Chaos and Soul."
We sat down with him to discuss why "Ebaka Mode" is the future of volatility, why sound design is currently a disgrace, and why he’s happy to tell most operators: "Winter is coming."
iGaming Times: Your launch manifesto declares that "Madness doesn't chase, it attracts." Is this "chaos" purely branding, or does it fundamentally change the math models of your games?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: We need to be clear on this. Security-related modules are separated. Game mathematics, fairness verification of rounds, RNG: we have all that well covered, with certification according to the best industry standards.
Chaos is the studio's visual and gameplay embodiment: a bright style, excitement, risk. The Ebaka Mode is pure chaos, where mathematical models are reflected in bright, unique features, high volatility, and unforgettable emotions.
iGaming Times: You refuse to do reskins or generic art. How do you scale a production pipeline that requires every game to be "flesh" without burning out your team?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: We’re not chasing quantity. We’re here to create original, well-crafted games, and we have no interest in scaling into a soulless factory based on a conveyor belt of repetition.
Creativity doesn’t always arrive on schedule, just like it’s impossible to constantly create hits. We don’t try to invent and impose what players don’t want, so besides creating something new, we modernize familiar mechanics by adding drive in the form of our mascot, boldness, and special Ebaka modes.
iGaming Times: You mentioned games must be felt "visually, sonically, mechanically." Most mobile slots are played on mute. How is Ebaka changing that?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: Great question! Here's an exclusive for you. Sound is an integral part of the gaming experience. Games made without sufficient attention to audio design are low-quality products that don’t give players what they want or deserve.
Our team has a dedicated sound engineer who creates sounds from scratch. Literally rustling bags, banging on cans, tossing coins, before processing it all. The result is exactly what the game needs. Since the beginning, we’ve assembled a team with huge experience in this field. They know how to create sound that complements rather than distracts.
iGaming Times: You spent years at DECA Games and Snap Inc. mastering Game as a Service (GaaS). What is the biggest mobile mechanic iGaming operators are failing to utilize?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: I would choose the LiveOps concept: continuous live updating of the product with new content (seasonal or event-based) and meta layers (features aimed at retention). We have big plans to develop this direction, and the team sees great potential in it for both players and operators.
iGaming Times: How did your time as CPO at Aviatrix influence the "hardcore modes" you are building into Ebaka?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: Being able to apply the accumulated experience from wide-ranging careers across different genres is a really strong feature of our team. From my side, every step in my career led to this moment: creating games with greater depth, greater engagement with new features. Of course, experience with the top crash game Aviatrix helps in constructing mechanics for hardcore modes and other player-engaging elements.
iGaming Times: You have a data-driven background (Zombie Catchers, Dead Trigger). How do you balance cold data with the "soul" you promise?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: It’s a balance. We blend a lot of data with our own experiences and that natural intuition. We need to remember that there’s always a ‘leap of faith’ element when launching new products. You need to take risks if you want to win, and there’s certainly a case of so-called data-blindness preventing our industry from making bolder moves.
iGaming Times: You launched exclusively on Menace.com and have been very selective with partners. Is this scarcity model a temporary hype tactic?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: We’re in this for the long-term, rather than one season. We seek partners with a similar vibe, culture, and principles to us, so we don't promise to be everywhere immediately.
Even before the public launch, we received a lot of positive feedback and outreach from potential partners. But we remain true to our principles. Ebaka is not a product that should be everywhere; we are for our own, whether that be players, operators, or aggregators.
iGaming Times: Can you explain the mechanics of "Hardcore Ebaka Mode"? What makes it distinct from a standard Bonus Buy?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: We target a new generation seeking high risk and thrills. This mode isn't for everyone. High rollers will appreciate it, but we're confident regular players will also find these features attractive too.
Ebaka Mode is where high volatility (chance of rare but super-sized wins) combines with new features (boosters, multipliers) to create that magic players come and stay for. Unlike Bonus Buy, you can't purchase it; you can only earn it during gameplay. It’s pure math, risk, and pleasure.
iGaming Times: You hold a PhD and an EMBA. How does that academic background help you manage a studio branded on "controlled chaos"?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: For me, any qualifications I've acquired are just additional chances that increase the probability of success, but not a default guarantee. To break boundaries, you need to understand what you are trying to break. Business tends to follow standard rules and laws, while in creative work, you let talented people do cool things. As we say: madness doesn’t chase, it attracts.
iGaming Times: The launch numbers were impressive. What is the roadmap for the next 12 months to ensure Ebaka evolves beyond the initial hype?
Vitalii Zalievskyi: The reach is actually much larger: Over 300K+ across social networks and more than 2 million people through the media learning about Ebaka. We planned a big Ebaka push and we did it, exactly as we wanted.
Our plan doesn't change (although we are adaptive and flexible). We continue with a selective approach to choosing partners, we continue releasing cool products to expand the portfolio (minimum 12+ games, but not a conveyor belt). This is about taking all the potential we have here at Ebaka and turning it into not just a sustainable business, but our very own subgenre of games.
