The "Gaming Industry" conference took place in Moscow. Here are the results
On July 9, a business conference for developers and publishers, "The Gaming Industry", took place in Moscow. Below are the main outcomes of the event.
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The recent session of "The Gaming Industry" marked its seventh run, and specifically the third time it was held in Moscow. Previously, the conference had also taken place several times in Saint Petersburg and Minsk.
This time, 510 people from 256 companies attended "The Gaming Industry" in Moscow. Among the guests were representatives from Steel Balalaika Studio, Sobaka Studio, Lipsar Studio, Astrum Entertainment, HeroCraft, Sineus Franchises, CTC Media, the Institute for Internet Development (IID), and many other organizations.
The attendees were pleased with the event:
"The Gaming Industry" once again provided an excellent platform for networking with the professional community, exchanging experiences, and making new connections. It was especially nice to meet with current partners, get acquainted with new companies, and have many productive meetings. Thanks to the organizers for the high level of the conference and the comfortable atmosphere for networking.
Co-founder and Business Development Director of Loot
I can't recall how many times I've attended "The Gaming Industry," but each time it's not just a conference, it's a reunion of friends. Here you can exchange news, see new projects, and just have a great time. This time I came with my younger son, who spent the whole day testing indie games. It's here that you realize our gaming industry has a future.
CEO of Cyberia Nova
Despite the challenging times for the industry, the conference was very strong. It was wonderful to see both seasoned developers and many new faces with interesting ideas. Such gatherings are truly important—they provide opportunities to communicate, share experiences, and move the industry forward.
Marketing Director at G4 Games
A very good conference: many promising projects, interesting lectures, and quality networking. It was great to meet with partners, talk with familiar colleagues, and meet new people. I liked everything.
Head of Sales at Salary.cab
Great atmosphere, strong projects, and good organization. I managed to give a talk, participate in an indie pitch, view games, chat with developers, and find new contacts. Thanks to the organizers—everything was fantastic.
CEO of Sobaka Studio
Program
As per tradition, "The Gaming Industry" ran for one day across three streams. This time, two tracks were dedicated to lectures and one to round tables.
Lectures and round tables covered a wide range of relevant topics—from marketing on Steam and multipliers for evaluating wishlists to project economics, legal aspects of development, and survival rules in game development.
Some discussions garnered particular interest from guests. For instance:
- A presentation by Steel Balalaika Studio founders Nikita Khiletin and Alexander Tochilkin, where developers talked about the real-time strategy game Broken Arrow;
- A lecture by Lipsar Studio leaders Gleb Durnovo and Sergey Shaposhnikov, dedicated to the game "Sparta 2035." They shared both the development story and useful tips for other teams;
- A talk by Sobaka Studio's Executive Director Dmitry Kachkov on post-release support for the roguelite beat 'em up KIBORG;
- A lecture by Loot co-founder Ibrahim Tagibov on new monetization methods through media projects and ecosystems;
- A round table discussion on "Gamification of personal life as a tool for engaging and retaining users," conducted by another Loot co-founder, Dmitry Aleshin;
- A panel discussion on "In which niches do small teams earn while the giants battle for top-grossing?" featuring Denis Sandakov from Take Top Entertainment, Alexander Shevelev from Maningame, Tengiz Tegashvili from Overmobile, and Sergey Manucharyan from HeroCraft;
- An AMA session where IID's Senior Project Selection Manager Andrey Orfani answered questions about the nuances of participating in a prototype competition.
As usual, the conference also featured other activities. For example, a considerable focus was given to a session for aspiring specialists called "I Want to Be in Game Development," as well as a prize draw, an independent developers' game showcase, and an indie pitch. Everything culminated in a game development party supported by Yandex.Games.
Showcase
Let's delve a bit deeper into the showcase. The game exhibition ran throughout the conference, with indie teams displaying projects at various stages of completion and quality.
A total of 80 developers participated in the exhibition. Most of them brought games being developed for PCs—the platform accounted for 83% of all projects.
The most popular genres were adventures (30%), strategies (22%), and RPGs (19%). Unity led among the engines, with a 61% share, followed by Unreal Engine 4 and 5 with a 20% share.
Indie Pitch
Let's recall that an indie pitch is a separate presentation where independent developers show their games to experts. Jury members provide detailed feedback on each project and share valuable advice.
This year, the jury included representatives from VK Play, HeroCraft, Sobaka Studio, the Institute for Internet Development, and MGLA Studio.
At the Moscow indie pitch, five projects were reviewed in total.
Wrong Way by Polevki Games
A puzzle-adventure set in an ever-changing city. Players must help local residents find their way, keeping in mind their quirks: some won’t walk near cats, and others can’t make long treks.
"Star Ocean" by Human Planet Studio
A turn-based strategy with RPG and survival elements. The story centers around a space expedition exploring ice-bound oceans beyond Earth.
Rolling Rogue by Standalone Pixel Studio
A deck-building roguelike about exploring fantasy dungeons using dice. The dice can be modified in different ways, impacting the characters' skills and abilities.
Gambit by Jeriko
Another roguelike, but this time centered around chess. The story follows the end of human supremacy on the chessboard, with all glory taken by AI. However, the protagonist of Gambit challenges the AI, engaging in matches with rules differing from traditional ones.
Mayak by Nikita Nplus1
A philosophical and fantastical visual novel with entirely hand-drawn graphics. It tells the story of a young astronomer who receives a strange countdown signal from space and struggles to understand what's happening.
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Sponsors of the Moscow "The Gaming Industry" were: Loot Games, Yandex.Games, Salary.cab, i-Legal, and CloudPayments.
Below are some photos from the recent event.
