Digital Dragons 2026 - Barkour: Varsav Studio's Four-Legged 007

Among the various halls and the indie zone of Digital Dragons, it's easy to stumble upon bizarre ideas that immediately capture attention. One such idea was conceived by Varsav Game Studios, who told us about Barkour, a dynamic, ironic, and adrenaline-fueled action game where the protagonist is a secret agent dog with a penchant for parkour.

We went up to the audience area and intercepted Lukasz Rosinski, CEO of Varsav Studio, to hear how this atypical "four-legged 007" is coming to life and what challenges lie behind the development of such peculiar gameplay.

From Bee Simulator's Bees to Barkour's Dogs

Q: Hi Lukasz, you're working on a game that's, to say the least, "unusual," as we can see from the images around us. In short, a truly unique idea!

Lukasz: Hi Domenico! Yes, definitely. It's a truly unique idea, and we're putting a lot into it.

Q: Taking a small step back in your history: you started with an insect in Bee Simulator, then moved on to giants, humans, and now we've arrived at a dog. Practically ten years of studio history summarized in one sentence! The game is called Barkour: a great title and a fun pun. What can you tell us about this project?

Lukasz: It's true, you've summarized our history perfectly!
Yes, we're returning to the animal world after several years since Bee Simulator. We deeply believe that there's an enormous space for animals in the video game industry.

Often, however, titles starring them tend to focus only on narrative or fall short on mechanics, preferring to "play it safe." In our case, however, the focus is entirely on action and doing fun things. It's a game full of gags, humor, and positive elements. The protagonist is a dog, but not just any dog: he's a kind of 007-style secret agent.

His name is Agent Thunder, and we want him to become more than just a protagonist; the goal is to make him enter pop culture related to this game. With Bee Simulator, we had a bee, but it was an insect "without a soul"; there was no real reason to make it a plush toy or get emotionally attached; it was a great educational game, but that was it. With Barkour, we're moving to the next level: we want this dog to become part of global culture. We're thinking long-term, already considering possible animated series, comics, card games... in short, a real IP. Obviously, the video game remains the beating heart of everything: if the game is excellent and sells well, everything else will expand accordingly.

Barkour Focuses Entirely on Fun Gameplay

Q: I imagine a concept like this requires a lot of work. How long have you been working on it?

Lukasz: We've spent four years developing this game because it's not simple at all. When you see the final design and fluid gameplay, you think: "Okay, great idea!" but it's not something that comes to you overnight. About two and a half years ago, we had to radically change the game's design. Initially, the idea was different: there were no gadgets, and it was simply a military dog, a K9 shepherd dog. Those dogs are fantastic, fast, and perfect for certain situations, but that setup limited the gameplay too much on the stealth front.

We wanted a perfect mix of infiltration, action, and combat. The only way to achieve this was to add a technological "layer" to the dog. So we introduced a high-tech vest, which is the source of all his tools. In addition to normal canine abilities, the player will have access to no less than 35 different gadgets.

Q: Thirty-five gadgets?

Lukasz: Yes, thirty-five! And they all support stealth, combat, and parkour mechanics. It's an aspect that players haven't seen in depth yet, but we'll show it later in the marketing. The approach possibilities are enormous: you can enhance the dog's physical abilities or specialize in using gadgets. If you prefer to play completely stealthily, the entire level design supports this style. The only exception is boss fights...

Q: Speaking of boss fights: the enemies won't be other animals, right? Will they be humans?

Lukasz: Exactly, all opponents in the game are human. We absolutely do not want there to be fights between animals, and I want to specify that there is no bloody violence in the game. When you defeat enemies, you don't kill them: they simply fall asleep. Similarly, the dog never dies. The health bar you see on screen is not the animal's life, but the energy shield of its vest. When the shield runs out, you simply respawn. You will never see the dog on the ground bleeding, we don't need that. We want the experience to remain fun and without pathos. We know that people's emotional bond with dogs is very strong, and we don't want people to suffer saying "Oh my god, the dog died!". We want the reaction to be: "Oh my god, this dog is hilarious!".

Game Preview is Nearing Completion

Q: You're here at Digital Dragons to show the game to the industry. Are you looking for a publisher right now?

Lukasz: Yes, we are looking for a publisher right now. We came to Digital Dragons to pitch and present the game. We are looking for a partner who not only gives us marketing funds but someone who truly understands the potential of this IP and wants to build a global franchise with us, expanding it into the sectors I mentioned earlier, such as toys or animated series.

Q: And how are the meetings going? Are you finding interest?

Lukasz: The feedback so far is incredible, honestly much higher than our expectations. You know, when you have such a bizarre idea, you always wonder if it's "too crazy" or "just crazy enough."

The publishers' response is confirming that we are just crazy enough! They love the humor and the fluidity of the parkour. We showed them a private gameplay trailer, it's not public yet, and they were amazed by the quality and the absence of stiffness in the movements. We already have several follow-up meetings scheduled for the coming weeks, so I am extremely positive.

Q: Can we expect a launch window already, or is it too early?

Lukasz: It's still a bit early because it will depend a lot on the publisher we choose: some prefer to invest more time in marketing, and some ask to refine the product further. From a technical point of view, however, I can tell you that the game is content-complete. We are in the cleaning, optimization, and bug fixing phase. It's not a prototype; it's a real game and almost ready. We are aiming for next year, but the exact date will be announced together with our partner.

Q: What platforms will it be released on? Will it be current-gen only, or will it also support older consoles?

Lukasz: It will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. No old generation. The game is quite demanding in terms of physics and graphics: every wall, pipe, or obstacle you see in the scenario is interactive and can be used for parkour, so we need all the processing power of the new CPUs. We are also evaluating the Nintendo Switch version, but we will probably look at its next generation of consoles, because the current model is a bit too limited for our graphics engine.

How Do You Record a Dog's Motion Capture?

Q: Speaking of the studio, how many people are working on Barkour? Is it the entire team, or do you have other projects in parallel?

Lukasz: Currently, the core team in Warsaw consists of about thirty people working full-time on the game. Obviously, we collaborate with external outsource partners for animations, some 3D models, and the soundtrack.

Music is fundamental for us: being a spy game, it must have that tense 007 feeling, but it must also be able to transform and become super dynamic during parkour and action phases. If we count external collaborators, the total number is much higher, but the fixed base is thirty people. We only have a very small secondary team doing research and development for the future, but 90% of the studio is focused on finishing Barkour.

Q: Speaking of the sound department, from the first videos, a great attention to detail is noticeable. How did you work on the dog's sound design? I imagine a dog doing parkour sounds totally different from a human.

Lukasz: It was one of the most fun parts of development! We recorded real dogs. One of our designers has an imposing German Shepherd: we brought him into the studio to record his barks, how he breathes when he's tired, and the sound of his paws on different surfaces. Clearly, being a cinematic action game, we had to exaggerate and pump up some sounds. When the dog slides or makes a heavy landing, we mix real samples with mechanical and cinematic effects to give a sense of power and impact. It was a huge job for the sound designers, but we had a blast.

Q: What was the biggest challenge in creating a title where the protagonist moves on all fours? The camera, the animations, or the level design?

Lukasz: Undoubtedly the combination of camera and animations. A dog has a completely different physical conformation from a human: it's long, low to the ground, and moves on all fours. In third-person games, the camera is calibrated to the human skeleton. If you keep it at the same height with a dog, you end up framing too much sky and losing sight of obstacles; if you lower it too much, the player gets nauseous due to the speed of movement. We had to develop a dynamic camera system that changes height and distance based on what the dog is doing: if you run fast, it moves away; if you stealth in tight spaces, it gets closer. And then the animations... making a quadruped turn in confined spaces, jump on pipes, or run on walls credibly was our animators' nightmare. But they did an extraordinary job.

Q: Well, from what we've seen, the result is incredibly fluid. Thank you very much, Lukasz, it was a real pleasure to discover the behind-the-scenes of Barkour, and I wish you the best of luck in finding a publisher here at Digital Dragons.

Lukasz: Thank you very much, Domenico. Thanks for the interview, and see you next time!