Russian publisher has agreed on the worldwide distribution of a new game from Tencent

The publishing house founded by Ilya Salamatov is responsible for the worldwide release of the three-dimensional premium platformer Biped on PC and consoles. The game is developed by the internal studio Tencent — NExT.

Biped
This became known on March 10.

Under the terms of the deal, META publishing house will help the game to be released on Steam, and then ensure the global launch of the project on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

We talked in detail about the situation with the publication with the founder of the Russian publishing house Ilya Salamatov.

App2Top.ru : Tell me a few words about the game.

Ilya SalamatovIlya Salamatov:

This is a physics-based game that can be played both alone and with a friend. We position the game both as a single and as a cooperative product, where players work together to solve puzzles. The perfect game for playing together while sitting on the couch. The graphics are at the level of the first party projects from Nintendo, so we are also waiting for a great success on Switch.

Have you agreed to publish the game with its developer NeXT on the international market at all sites? Can you clarify why the game also has two other companies besides you among the publishers on Steam?

Salamatov: NExT itself is listed there, which is logical in their case: they also started a page on Steam. Bilibili, the Chinese publisher of the project, is also listed there. We are releasing the game to the rest of the world on all platforms.

BipedNeXT is the “daughter” of Tencent.

Why is Tencent not fully engaged in the implementation of the project itself?

Salamatov: She is not just a “daughter”, she is an existing studio within the structure.

As for partnerships with external publishers, this is a common practice for Tencent. For example, Tencent has a Korean office, but Nexon is engaged in Korean publishing of Moonlight Blade (an MMORPG hit from Tencent, which has not gone beyond Asia). The fact is that Nexon has the necessary expertise in Korea, special approaches.

This is also true in our case. We have accumulated expertise, the necessary contacts, an understanding of positioning, clear ideas for promotion.

Tell me how it happened that you agreed to publish this game?

Salamatov: We are old friends, we trust each other. A clear pitch. Knowledge of Asian mentality, business etiquette, understanding of goals.

Tell us about what niche the project falls into and what target audience is it designed for?

Salamatov: We are aiming at an audience that intersects with users of Overcooked, Human Fall Fla t and other physics-based games for “large” systems. This is a fairly wide niche.

Which games do you consider as competitors?

Salamatov: Besides Overcooked, I would mention Mario Odyssey. Of course, we are not talking about competition here, but rather about a guideline, the direction in which we are working.

There are a lot of puzzles in Biped that are close in spirit to Mario Odyssey. It can easily be imagined as a big episode from this blockbuster. The high quality of the product allows.

BipedWhat kind of circulations can a successful project count on in the chosen niche?

Salamatov: I wouldn’t call it a separate niche – quite a family mass product. If successful, such projects outside the franchise history can have from several hundred thousand copies sold.

As your second project, you took a Chinese game, not one made in Russia. Does this mean that it is now more difficult to find a decent single product for Steam with us?

Salamatov: Chronologically, this is our first project to be released. The second one (Uncertain: Light at the End) has not been widely announced yet. By the way, he is Russian.