The "Gaming Industry" conference held in Minsk gathered over 400 participants. Here are the highlights
On April 16, a conference for developers, publishers, and marketers of video games called "Gaming Industry" took place in Minsk. Here's a quick recap of how it went, who attended, and, of course, we'll share some final numbers and participant feedback.
Program
The lectures were divided into three streams. There were 41 presentations in total, mainly focused on the business aspects of the gaming industry. Among the speakers were representatives from:
- publishing platforms — RuStore, Yandex Games, and FOGAME;
- organizations supporting game teams — the Agency for Creative Industries (ACI) and the Federation for Computer Sports of the Republic of Mordovia;
- development studios — Axlebolt, Game Stream, Door 407;
- game publishers — Astrum Entertainment, HeroCraft, Potexi games;
- legal firms — Semenov&Pevzner, REVERA law group;
- and many others.
Showcase
The developer showcase featured 77 game submissions. Many of these could be played at the conference itself, offering attendees a chance to meet and chat with the developers behind them.
A majority of the showcased projects — 53% — are being developed for PC. Nevertheless, a large number of projects at the Minsk event were specifically designed for the Android platform — 51%.
The most popular development tool among Russian-speaking teams remains Unity. 64% of the projects shown at "Gaming Industry" were built using this technical solution.
Indie Pitch
For the first time, the conference hosted a public critique of indie developer games by ACI and Indie GO Fund, called Indie Pitch. This allowed young teams to showcase their work to industry experts.
We already discussed it in detail last week. To briefly recap, the jury reviewed 15 projects, highlighting some of them with co-working space opportunities in the video game and animation cluster at Skolkovo and monetary certificates.
Statistics
A total of 434 people attended the spring session of the "Gaming Industry" conference. Of these, 43% identified as top managers/company owners, while another 33% were game developers. Additionally, 14% of attendees were business development and sales managers.
According to gathered statistics, representatives from 202 companies related to the game business attended the "Gaming Industry" conference. A large portion of them — 47% — indicated that they are involved in either game creation or publishing.
Feedback
The event received numerous positive reviews. Here are some of them.
Minsk missed game dev conferences! It was evident! The ease of communication, the amount of networking, and the positive vibes spoke for themselves. I had great pleasure presenting! Even though I concluded the conference, there were many people in the audience. Thank you to the organizers! Onward and upward!
CEO at Creative Anatoli Studio
The conference left an exclusively positive impression. Such events for the game dev audience rarely happen in Belarus. It was wonderful to gather so many industry professionals in one place. Overall, the atmosphere was warm and networking was beneficial. I hope such meetings become regular.
Lawyer in Arbitration & IT Disputes Practice at REVERA law group
It was my first time as a speaker at a game conference. I was extremely pleased with the conference organization and the quality of the audience. I shared our company's growth experience and discussed nuances of operating PC games on Steam.
Co-founder of Door 407
Conferences like this are very necessary for the industry; they help to find new professional connections and establish international cooperation. We presented our video game and animation cluster in Belarus for the first time, talked about our projects, and outlined plans for the future. We met many young and talented specialists and appreciated the outstanding projects of Russian and Belarusian developers!
Head of ACI Moscow
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The next conference will be held very soon — in May, in Vladivostok.
Below are a few more photos from the recent event (all photos can be viewed here).
