Buka: All the projects that we will take on publishing will go to the world

On February 18, the Russian publisher “Buka” announced that together with the German Koch Media will publish games of domestic developers in the USA and Europe. We talked to Alexander Kutekhov, producer of Buki, about the deal, working conditions with the teams and publishing preferences.

Alexander KutekhovWhat is the role of Koch Media in the framework of cooperation with Buka?

Alexander: Koch Media is now a co—publisher and distributor of our retail projects abroad.

Do

I understand correctly that now the games that will be taken to the Buka edition will fall into the physical retail of the USA and Europe?

Alexander: The prospect of retail distribution will depend on each specific game. Now we are ready to consider any projects.

But, probably, there are still any preferences?

Alexander: Our priority is high-quality games with a touch of uniqueness that can be adapted for release on all platforms.

In other words, it’s not just about the PC. We are also ready to consider consoles.

And what are you not ready to take?

Alexander: We do not take frituplay, MMO, PvP and other “royals”. Our profile today is exclusively a good old single/co-op with prepaid.

Is there an agreement with Koch Media on approximate circulations? Can you name at least the minimum level in question (we just all remember that in figure the first three projects you took to the world edition did not even collect 100 thousand sales)?

Alexander: There is an agreement, but we cannot name it for reasons of commercial secrecy. It is logical that thanks to us and Koch Media, total sales on all platforms will be higher.

That is, do you expect that each game published in the framework of cooperation will have sales of more than 100 thousand copies?

Alexander: Let’s put it this way. The third project — “9 monkeys of Shaolin” — has not been sold anywhere yet. This is a brand new product. It is difficult to talk about specific figures now, since the digital/retail market is changing, but both we and the developers expect much greater success.

The press release mentions that now Russian developers can count on a successful launch in the USA and Europe. Will all the projects published by Buka in the future go to the world, or only a small sample?

Alexander: All the projects that we will take on publishing will go to the world. On which platforms and in what form will depend on the specific project.

Who will be responsible for promotion within the partnership? Distributor or publisher?

Alexander: This will be a joint promotion within the framework of copablishing.

Under what conditions will work with developers be conducted? Does the new collaboration mean that their percentage of sales will be less than before when working with you?

Alexander: No, the terms of cooperation with developers will not change. Taking into account the expansion of sales channels, it will be more profitable for everyone.

It is

clear that in each individual case you work with the developer according to a separate scheme, but can you reveal how the process is usually built?

Alexander: The scheme of cooperation strongly depends on whether the project requires direct investment or not. It can be either 50/50 or 70/30. Payments are quarterly. The rights are not “taken away”, we get exclusive distribution rights, usually for 5 years.

I

see, thanks for the answers.