The WN Conference Cyprus’26 took place in Limassol. Here are the highlights
Last week, the WN Conference Cyprus’26 took place — the fifth consecutive Cypriot conference for game developers and publishers by WN Media Group. Here’s a recap of how it went and what participants thought about it.
Participant Statistics
This year, WN Conference Cyprus’26 was attended by 503 people from 251 companies, including representatives from Owlcat Games, Wargaming, Deconstructor of Fun, Nexters, Playrix, Helio Games, MY.GAMES, FLEXUS, Easybrain, AppMagic, Holyday Studios, and Utmost.games.
Over half of the event’s attendees (specifically 52%) were owners, founders, and CEOs. Another 18% identified as business development and sales managers.
Feedback
Attendees of WN Conference Cyprus’26 were pleased with the conference. Below are some of their reviews.
It was especially great to finally meet in person people I had previously only known online. I also had the pleasure of connecting with numerous prospective clients and partners, opening the door to exciting opportunities for future collaboration.
Marketing Lead, VAIZ
We had some great debates, but what I found most interesting was how differently people see the current state of the industry. For some, these are dark times. For others, the same changes create new opportunities. And both sides made great arguments.
Publishing Game Producer, Hypercell Games
September 17–18 — WN, which was intense, productive, and brought some really good results (and quite a few conversations to follow up on).
Partnerships Manager – EMEA, Adjust
It was an absolute pleasure watching such talented indie teams showcase their projects and having the opportunity to share our feedback.
Managing Director, GEM Capital
Program
As per tradition, WN Conference Cyprus’26 lasted for two days, from September 17 to 18, primarily focusing on networking. While there were classic lectures, the main emphasis was on group work and roundtable discussions.
Some discussions attracted particular attention. For example:
- The roundtable titled “Welcome to the End Times: The Future of Games” included veteran game developers like Sergey Orlovsky from Helio Games, Vladimir Nikolsky from Utmost.games, Ilya Karpinsky and Andrey Chemlekchiev from Owlcat Games, Sergey Bruy from Vizor Interactive, Marat Karpeko from Wargaming, Elena Grigoryan from MY.GAMES, Alexander Pavlov from Playkot, and several more experienced specialists.
- A public interview about the Cyprus gaming market, its present and future, governmental support, the status of local companies, and more. The dialogue featured Cyprus’s Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Dr. Nicodemos Damianou, and Tanya Romanyukha from TechIsland.
- A public interview with Phillip Black from Deconstructor of Fun, Pavel Istomin from Hypercell Games, and Nikolai Shapovalov from Playducky. During this, experts discussed the nuances of scaling games and strategies for a successful release.
- A panel discussion titled “Data and the Leap of Faith: Investing in Games in 2026” moderated by Managing Director of GEM Capital, Kirill Gurskiy;
- A public interview with Semyon Kozyura from FLEXUS and Yulia Lebedeva from WN Media Group. They discussed the buzz around Dear Passengers — a cooperative airplane crew simulator that quickly amassed 3 million wishlists, climbing to the third spot in Steam’s top anticipated games.
During breaks in the WN Conference Cyprus’26 program, OHM supported a raffle where participants won PlayStation 5 Pro and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, as well as the Meta Quest 3s VR headset.
Showcase
WN Conference Cyprus’26 also featured an indie game showcase, supported by GEM Capital.
Twenty teams participated in the showcase. The majority were PC games, accounting for 76% of the projects. Next in line were Android (40%), iOS (36%), PlayStation (32%), web (28%), and Xbox (24%). Note that some developers create multiplatform titles, leading to percentages over 100.
Unity was the most popular engine showcased there, used for 46% of the games. Unreal Engine 5 came in second with a 29% share, and Godot was used for 7% of the games.
The top three genres featured were action (28%), adventure (24%), and roguelike/soulslike (20%).
During the showcase, developers not only presented their games to all conference attendees but also competed for prizes from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Ultimately, two games received awards.
Mirrorbane by Dekovir LTD
A tactical roguelike deck-builder set in a dark fantasy world. The creators were awarded $5,000 in AWS credits.
Midnight Watcher: Village by RainStyle Games
A survival horror game about a shift worker. The story follows the protagonist tasked with overseeing an abandoned village in the Siberian taiga, visited at night by its not-so-peaceful former owners. The creators were awarded $2,000 in AWS credits.
Indie Pitch
The showcase was accompanied by an indie pitch — a separate presentation where independent developers present their games directly to investors and experts. The jury gives detailed feedback on each project and shares advice.
The indie pitch jury at WN Conference Cyprus’26 included representatives from GEM Capital, Steam Power Investments, HypeTrain Digital, and MY.GAMES.
At the indie pitch in Limassol, four games were evaluated.
Through Your Eyes by Omeelia GmbH
A thriller set in the near future, where security has become a pretext for total control over people’s lives. The protagonist is the inventor of an innovative technology, which has unwittingly become a tool for surveillance.
Anicards by Dragocat
A card strategy game for four players. Each round, users play as new heroes, with matches lasting about 25 minutes.
World of Sea Battle by Thera Interactive
A free-to-play MMO sandbox where players sail seas and oceans. They have access to historical sailing ships, which can be turned into pirate ships, war schooners, and peaceful trading vessels.
Synvector by North Souls Games
A sci-fi action RPG with real-time battles inspired by Everspace, Mass Effect, Elite Dangerous, and Mount & Blade. Players command a squad of space mercenaries and embark on adventures on the outer edges of the explored galaxy.
Cyprus Game Industry Awards
The highlight of WN Conference Cyprus’26 was the Cyprus Game Industry Awards ceremony, which celebrated achievements in the Cypriot game development sector. It took place on the first evening during the networking party.
Winners were determined through several stages. During the first, anyone could nominate a candidate deemed most deserving of an award. This was followed by an open vote that formed a shortlist of nominees. In the final stage, a specially created expert jury voted.
The jury included WN Media Group and GameXCap founder Pavel Ryaykkonen, General Manager of the Cyprus Game Developers Association CYGMA Andrey Ivashentsev, co-author of Deconstructor of Fun Phillip Black, and GEM Capital Managing Directors Kirill and Roman Gurskiy.
Below is the list of winners.
- Mobile Games Achievement of the Year — Standoff 2 (AXLEBOLT).
Other nominees: Westland Survival (Helio Games) and Age of Magic (Playkot).
- PC Games Achievement of the Year — Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era (Unfrozen).
Other nominees: World of Tanks: HEAT (Wargaming) and Dear Passengers! (FLEXUS).
- Publisher of the Year — AppQuantum.
Other nominees: MY.GAMES, Ducky, and Mystery Tag.
- People & Workplace Award — MY.GAMES.
Other nominees: Playkot, Wargaming, and Mellow.
- Growth & Marketing Partner of the Year — OHM.
Other nominees: Magify and Aleph.
- Games Commerce & Payments Partner of the Year — Xsolla and Unlimit.
Other nominees: payabl.
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Sponsors of WN Conference Cyprus’26 included Loot, Xsolla, GEM Capital, Xiaomi GetApps, Unlimit, Moloco, AWS, Salary.cab, AppFollow, Malpa Games, OHM Agency, Garna, Jungle Technology, AVOW, AppGrowing, AppMagic, Playducky, and Kleos.
Several photos from the recent event:
