"We need to deliver a product that surpasses the current usual level for players to have a chance at getting a reaction from the audience and the Steam algorithms," said Anton Mikhailov from Tortuga Team on the results of 2024

We continue to wrap up the year 2024 with gaming (or game-related) teams. Up next is an interview with Anton Mikhaylov, the creative director of the indie studio Tortuga Team.

How was this year for the studio? What achievements would you like to highlight?

Throughout the year, we focused on refining and porting our games Spaceland and Knights of Braveland to mobile devices. We also implemented full cooperative play in Spaceland.

In addition, we announced our new game, Sand Nomads. The game already has a page on Steam. It's a turn-based strategy with an open world set in a mystical future, featuring the unique culture of nomads. This is currently our most challenging project, apart from the long-developing Braveland Heroes.

Sand Nomads

In your view, how has the situation on the gaming market changed?

Steam banned cross-promotion on game pages, making it harder to promote games. There are also changes at the demo festival—now there are no guaranteed showcases in streams: Steam decides where and how often to show your game at the festival. For some developers, this reduced the number of wishlists from 2,000 to 500 per festival. But if you meet Steam's criteria, you might see an increase in wishlists. However, the bar for quality and player expectations are definitely rising.

Sand Nomads

How was this year for the genre in which you operate?

Our niches are turn-based tactics and beat 'em ups with online co-op (our Knights of Braveland falls into this genre).

We haven't observed any significant explosive changes in our niches. The situation remains roughly the same: we need to deliver a product above the current standard to win audience and Steam algorithm reactions.

Since the level of games is quite high now, not many developers surpass this threshold, so the audience is less receptive than in previous years.

Knights of Braveland

What trends in your niche do you anticipate strengthening or emerging in 2025?

Web games are developing well. We already have one midcore tactical game, Braveland Heroes, on "Yandex Games."

Braveland Heroes

What are the studio's plans for the coming year?

We plan to release Knights of Braveland and Spaceland on mobile platforms. Our space strategy Spaceland has left Apple Arcade this year, so we are preparing to re-release it on iOS and Android. We will also be focusing on our new game Sand Nomads, where players will lead a team of nomads searching for wealth and glory on a distant desert planet of the future.

Spaceland