"I don't believe that indies will die out, but it will shock everyone pretty much," Ilya Maksimenko from FlyinDogs about the results of 2023

We continue to summarize the results of 2023 together with the game teams. Next up is an interview with Ilya Maksimenko, founder of the FlyinDogs indie studio.

What was the year like for the studio? What have you done that I would like to highlight in terms of achievements?

I would like to start with the words "The year was not easy ...", but it was a normal year. Clearly better than 2022.

Among the achievements: as a studio, we released our first game — The Tales of Bayun on PC. And at the end of the year, the ports on the console will be ready, plus we have ordered as many as three books on the Bayun universe. So, the IP is quite looming and living.

The Tales of Bayun

We also started making our second project, Betroyal. And at the beginning of 2024 we will look for a publisher for it.

How has the situation changed for the studio in the market? What new challenges did she face?

For the better. We released the game. In general, we remain an indie studio, but many people have already heard and know about us. I am glad that the audience is slowly growing interest in projects in the Slavic setting, this helps the sales of Bayun.

Of the new challenges, of course, is a new project, which is many times larger and more complex than The Tales of Bayun, but I am sure that we will cope with it.

Betroyal

What was the year like for the indie scene as a whole?

Tough. A lot of failures, a lot of studio breakups and layoffs. Steam is literally overflowing with projects. Competition has increased, and so has the cost of development. Many studios and publishers are going through far from the best of times.

But I think the market is the market. Everything will come to life again and be reassembled in a new format in 2024-2025. I don't believe that Indies will die out, but it will shock everyone pretty much.

What are the studio's plans for next year?

Plans for The Tales of Bayun: to release books, make a board game, start making a second game in the same universe, but in a different genre.

Plans for Betroyal: find a publisher, find financing and successfully merge.