"We have created and sent for approval a roadmap for the development of the video game industry until 2030," Alexander Mikheev from A PRIORI about the results of 2023

We continue to summarize the results of 2023 with the gaming (or related to the gaming sector) teams. Next up is an interview with Alexander Mikheev, CEO of the A PRIORI Gaming Association.

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

It has been a very productive year for us. In less than a year of work, the Association has succeeded:

• to combine the efforts of key players in the Russian market (such as VK, the Russian Computer Sports Federation, Innova and Astrum Entertainment). In less than a year, the number of members of the Association has increased more than fivefold. Now there are a PRIORI more than 18 market players. There are both large teams and indies among them, as well as companies that produce high-tech near-gaming services;
• jointly identify priority areas of activity for themselves — creating a landscape for game development and distribution of games in Russia, developing measures to support the gaming market, developing export potential and forming an expert community to create ecosystem products;
• to create a website of the Association, where there is all the necessary information about us, about our founders and a convenient application form for joining A PRIORI;
• take part in 37 industry and major IT and economic events, starting from SPIEF, RIF 2023 and ending with the PROTOTYPE vol.1/23 game dev meetup;
• to announce the creation of a working group on the development and import substitution of gaming software in the framework of the panel discussion "Software for game development: problems and prospects" at RIF 2023;
• to hold several meetings with colleagues from friendly countries such as South Korea and China. In September, more than 30 industry representatives shared their experience in developing game projects and adapting them to the local market during a closed meeting with a delegation of representatives of the Chinese gaming market. The discussion was attended by members of the association Astrum Entertainment, VK Play and Innova, as well as representatives of RuStore, the guests of the meeting were companies such as Esprit Games, Ninsar Games, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development of Communications and Mass Communications. The Chinese delegation was represented by BEIJING SIWEN INFINITE CULTURAL, Snail Games, Aged Studio, HAPPYALL GAME, XINXINJOY, BEIJING PARFAIT CULTURE, MetaApp and 223 Playground.

By the way, in October, the site of the ANO Digital Economy also hosted a meeting of the Russian gaming industry with representatives of the largest gaming association of Guangdong Province – the executive president of the Association, Ms. Lu Xiaokun, and the Secretary General of the organization, Ms. Chen Wenyuan, at which experts discussed the possibilities of strategic partnership. The meeting was organized by ANO "Digital Economy" together with A PRIORI.

Also this year we managed to:

• take part in the launch of the ASI game dev accelerator. According to the agency's plans, several similar accelerators will be launched in the coming years, the first of them will be focused on Asian markets, primarily China. Representatives of the leading companies of the Russian video game industry (VK Play, A PRIORI, 1C Game Studios, the Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry and ANO Digital Economy) will be engaged in expert training of teams in the accelerator;
• to create and submit for approval a roadmap for the development of the video game industry until 2030. Now the map is being updated with comments from industry players and experts from relevant departments;
• Together with Astrum Entertainment and VK Play Indie, we will launch the Prototype.indie indie incubator based on the largest indie community in Russia - indymaker. Prototype.indie is designed to become an expert and networking platform to support Russian indie developers.

And separately, I would like to highlight one of the most important achievements was the involvement a PRIORI in the fulfillment of the President's instructions on video games.

A PRIORI, it will develop and implement a set of measures aimed at:

• support and development of the market of domestic video games and gaming services, attracting investments in their development, increasing the competitiveness of Russian developers;
• classification of video games based on the way they are distributed, the format of their use and content;
• monitoring of content in video games and monitoring its compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• organization of monitoring and accounting of financial transactions in the territory of the Russian Federation with the involvement of the public law company "Unified Gambling Regulator".

How have the working conditions for the organization changed over the year?

The level of expertise of industry participants and interested departments has increased, so it turned out to build a real dialogue and convey the real urgent needs and problems of the market.

What are the organization's plans for next year?

First of all, this is the adoption and coordination of the roadmap not only by relevant departments, but also by market players. We have just presented the second draft card, taking into account the first comments from the industry.

Strengthening work with the indie community with the help of prototype.indie, there are plans to launch on the site the functionality of applying for mentoring, holding industry events and pitches of indie projects.

We also face the task of finding partners to conduct high-quality industry research and reports. For example, we recently signed an agreement on the establishment of a Reference Center for Research on Gaming Educational Technologies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, including for conducting comprehensive studies of the phenomenon of gaming as a social practice of developing the abilities of a modern person within its framework.

To systematize work with representatives of friendly countries, for example, entering the BRICS market through ASI acceleration programs.

Cooperation with VK Education and key universities of the country in the framework of work on the creation of new educational programs in the field of game development, the development of a map of professions in the industry and a list of existing educational programs.

And also to continue the work of the Technologies and Software group and the subsequent support of the Nau Engine.