"Ranked in the top 25 best turn-based RPGs," — Alexey Belyakov from Synthetic Domain on the results of 2025

We wrap up the year with representatives from gaming companies. Next up, we have an interview with the CEO of the development studio Synthetic Domain, Alexey Belyakov.

How was the year 2025 for your team? What were you able to achieve, what are you proud of, and what, on the contrary, did you not have time for?

Alexey Belyakov, Synthetic Domain: First of all, we celebrated our 5th anniversary in December. For any indie studio, that's quite an achievement. This year, we focused on releasing our long-term project Lords of Ravage. We viewed it as the studio's business card, but the release was quiet; we were overshadowed by Devolver's hit BALL x PIT. A couple of weeks later, we unexpectedly found ourselves in the Hidden Gem category with some influencers, which amused us greatly. Those who were waiting for the game warmly received it, and we even made it into the top 25 best turn-based RPGs of 2025 according to an industry publication. There were surprises too: we surpassed Keeper from Xbox/Microsoft in peak concurrent players on Steam.

Lords of Ravage

Our first project, Mainframe Defenders, finally received its first award and a trademark statuette five years later. We stopped updating the game back in 2023 but continue to seek opportunities to launch the development of the next installment.

Mainframe Defenders

We also announced a visual novel called "Notes from the Bunker" and got it featured on IGN. It’s both the easiest and the hardest game we've developed: it was created with interruptions and in our spare time, purely for enjoyment. During production, we went through four artists and are still completing illustrations based on staged photographs for new endings. Additionally, we created original sound effects for the game. The release is scheduled for 2026.

"Notes from the Bunker"

This year, unfortunately, we were unable to launch a couple of projects for gaming communities. Specifically, we're talking about a database of Steam festivals, sales, showcases, and publishers, access to which was planned via a Telegram bot+Excel with customizable notifications. Currently, we share this database on Telegram with the "STEAMizdat" community. Greetings to them, by the way!

What conclusions have you drawn for your development studio by the end of 2025?

Alexey: The market demands short production times and budget optimization, as well as genre expertise. Genres usually considered "unprofitable" are becoming avenues for innovation and opportunities to break even with minimal investment, unlike trends where the "success casino" spins continuously with increasing investments.

I believe that in the coming years, the AA games market will continue to strengthen. This was bound to happen sooner or later under the influence of numerous factors: many industry veterans have already spoken about the general situation, and there’s essentially nothing more to add. Time will tell.

Based on feelings and changes in Steam, there’s a gradual negative impact on new releases: diluted visibility due to the number of games being released, a reduction in gaming hours, personalization (a personal "release calendar" as one solution to the problem), continued emphasis on external traffic and, consequently, rising marketing costs.

Personally, I hope that "AI in gameplay" turns out to be the joke of 2025.

Have practices for interacting with publishers/investors changed? Has it become easier or harder to work with them?

Alexey: Only the investment range is changing: after the pandemic, it was higher, now even $150,000 is considered risky. Otherwise, I think nothing fundamentally will change. Either there’s proven potential for profitability, or a significant number of wishlists, as a way to save time and money for publishers whose job is to convince the market by any means necessary that they are needed and indispensable.

If there’s strong expertise, like Playstack and Devolver have, or an excellent scout, everything runs smoothly.

How was the year for the niche/genre you work in?

Alexey: Very good. Strategies and RPGs continue to thrive and remain top-notch, as does the loyalty of the audience willing to keep supporting developers. Innovative approaches and ideas are welcomed if they are made wisely and with passion. The flip side: when a studio strays from its genre and loyal audience, like Paradox did with its latest releases.

What strengthening or emergence of trends in your niche/genre do you anticipate in 2026?

Alexey: A high entry barrier. Few publishers take on strategies because they don’t know how to handle the genre. On the other hand, look at the explosive rise of Hooded Horse and their work with the Chinese market in the niche, and it’s only been a couple of years since they were founded. I think this is the best example of what the genre can offer in the right hands.

What plans does the team have for 2026?

Alexey: Next year is about rebooting our strengths and capabilities in development, solidifying experience and expertise in self-publishing. We are releasing two games. One is in a very early stage for announcement, although we plan to release it in 2026. We will continue to actively participate in the development of the gaming community and support indie games. Additionally, we are launching the first Steam sale of pixel games, and we invite everyone to join!