"There are currently between 300 and 700 game projects in development in Russia," said Danila Kamenev from FatPony and Indie GO Fund

On the topic of what indie is, how many game developers there are in Russia, and what their main problem is, the editorial team of App2Top spoke with the co-founder of the marketing agency FatPony, the head of publishing at Indie GO Fund, and author of the Telegram channel "Weary Publishing" Danila Kamenev.

This is how a neural network sees an indie developer from Russia

Alexander Semenov, App2Top: Danila, hello! Let's start with the basics. Can we say that we are witnessing the golden age of Russian indie today?

Danila Kamenev

Danila Kamenev, FatPony and Indie GO Fund: Hi, Alex! I would say we are in a renaissance stage of the Russian industry. After a significant decline, growth is apparent: numerous mobile developers have changed their strategy and shifted to indie PC.

Before we go further, let's define some terms: what does an indie developer/team mean today?

Danila: That's a complex question. I would say indie encompasses several characteristics:

• Low development costs;
• The game's release on Steam;
• A small team size;
• Ideological commitment to the project;
• Innovative gameplay solutions.

So, we've clarified the terms. Going back to the renaissance, what do you think has caused it? What factors contributed and are contributing to it now?

Danila: The events of 2022 greatly changed the market. Many industry players left, and working in the mobile segment became a real challenge, with stores creating various problems. Unlike PC, where Steam helps developers stay afloat. Hence, the logical trend: developers started looking towards PC rather than mobile.

Interesting position. It turns out Russian PC game development is on the rise thanks to Steam. Okay, let's move on. We see more and more announcements and releases. However, is it possible to roughly estimate how many such teams and projects exist in our industry today?

Danila: An interesting question. Judging by STEAMizdat, I think there are a couple of thousand developers. And around a thousand teams, as not everyone is in this chat. So, by my estimates, there are certainly 300 to 700 projects.

What does an average Russian indie team look like? Who are they, how many are there, are they full-time?

Danila: Typically, it's a team of 1 to 5 people working on a game part-time but are sincerely passionate about the project and believe in it. They are always looking for opportunities to move to full-time development.

Here, I cannot resist asking how common is the solo development model, where a person is either a jack-of-all-trades like Eric Barone (creator of Stardew Valley) or essentially an outsourcing manager like Grzegorz Styczeń (creator of Manor Lords)?

Danila: Solo developers doing everything themselves are rare. Usually, there are 2-3 people on the team. Outsourcing managers sometimes appear, but in most cases, roles are strictly defined. I think it's related to industry development — the development process has become more transparent and understandable for market participants.

Many years ago, it was believed that Russian-speaking teams focus too much on creativity and ignore the business side. What's the situation now?

Danila: Oh... That's a tough topic. As a professional, I often have to critique projects — after all, we're discussing business. From a creative standpoint, there are no bad games, but from a business standpoint, there's a lot of trouble. Many get upset and call me toxic because they expect praise and applause, thinking their creation will be the next Miside (hello, guys!). But unfortunately, that's often not the case. Creativity and business rarely coexist. So I can say that the focus on creativity still dominates in the indie scene.

By the way, I heard a good remark that our indie teams have learned to create great presentations. But because of this, it's become harder to filter projects. Is that true?

Danila: That's true! The guys have indeed started creating great presentations and are analyzing their products more thoughtfully. But as I said before, this trend has not yet reached its peak of development.

So, is there a lot of trash?

Danila: There is no trash. There are projects that are weak in terms of:

• Commercial potential;
• Manageable risks;
• Market trends and financial model alignment.

The combination of these factors shapes the overall perception of a project.

And one more question: if we're not talking about business but about the product, what are developers most inclined towards today? Which niches do they most frequently explore, and what do they strive to create?

Danila: Oh! I even have my own top genres that I often come across:

• Horror games;
• Simulators;
• Roguelikes.

I see these most often in development.

Do indie teams have any common problematic patterns, pitfalls that almost every team encounters?

Danila: I identify several key issues:

• Failing to account for the need to survive until the first sales revenue;
• Not realizing the extent of commissions (Steam takes 30% + 16-17% VAT);
• Unrealistic assessment of development timelines — projects often turn out too ambitious.

Can we call this pitfall inflated budget requirements? I'm asking because a young team at our "Game Industry" conference a year ago was seeking $400,000 for a simple project, which surprised me quite a bit.

Danila: Um, well. I wouldn't say it's widespread, but there are developers who sincerely believe $300,000-400,000 is the baseline. Although, in practice, it's not the case at all.

Since we're talking about budgets, what is a realistic budget that an indie team could expect to work with when partnering with a typical indie publisher?

Danila: I recommend not exceeding an overall budget of $300,000. According to Steam statistics, the profitability of projects that cost more involves extremely high risks. To return the investment, you'll need to double the budget at the gross stage (before commissions and taxes), and for actual profit — even more.

A similar question, but from a different angle: what is the average timeframe for developing small games in Russia that pay off and hit the jackpot?

Danila: I don't have exact numbers, but I can note that the average development time is 1-3 years. This lengthy period is explained by the fact that in the early stages, indie developers can often only dedicate limited time to the project (they need to support themselves and their families).

Lately, I've occasionally encountered the opinion that good games are not needed in the gaming industry. Due to market saturation, players are willing to pay only for the best. What do you think about this?

Danila: Players pay for the gaming experience they want to have. That's why we occasionally see projects with weak graphics become wildly popular. The key is offering players something fresh — that's the main catalyst for purchases.

The last question was related to the fact that solid indie projects of recent times are often far from ideal. Yet, they manage to gain necessary visibility through guerrilla marketing and original presentation. Does this mean that the only way for indie developers to earn now is to be original and excel in buzz distribution (BD)?

Danila: Viral effects and hype — what worked 9 years ago still works now. Solid indie projects take off on one powerful idea or unique feature that gives them an incredible boost in popularity.

What do indies expect from publishers today? And should they have such expectations?

Danila: The magic pill. However, a good publisher is a reliable partner who helps distribute risks and, whether they like it or not, shares valuable experience, guiding you through collaboration.

With the rising popularity of blogs and channels about self-publishing and working with Steam, do you observe a decline in interest from teams towards publishers? Is there a sense that they are no longer needed in the traditional sense?

Danila: No, publishers will always be necessary; the resources of self-publishing are quite limited compared to a publisher who already has an audience. Additionally, the sales tail with a publisher is significantly longer than with self-publishing. Blogs on marketing and self-publishing are beneficial as they develop the audience's expertise. It makes me happy. At least it helps people avoid working with shady marketers who charge for unclear services.

Got it. Thanks for the interview!