We continue to wrap up the year 2024 with teams from the gaming (or gaming-related) sector. Up next is an interview with Vladimir Obruchev, head of the gaming division at the publishing house "Bombora."
How was the year for the publishing house?
The year was quite decent for the publishing house, with the only downside being the regular increase in printing costs — leading to higher book prices while our readers' budgets remain unchanged.
For the gaming division, it was a year of stability and growth. The team's composition stabilized, and we released 20% more new books related to games than in 2023.
Among the game-related books, we'd like to highlight:
- "Persona's World Guide. The Search for Self and Hidden Meanings";
- "The Last of Us. How the Series Explores Human Nature and Offers a Unique Gaming Experience";
- "Red Dead Redemption. The Good, the Bad, the Iconic. The Birth of a Western by Rockstar Games";
- "Yakuza Saga: Like a Dragon. How Japan's Criminal World Was Turned into a Video Game";
- "BOOM. What are Boomer Shooters and How They Changed the Game Rules" by Daniil "Cortez" Petruchik — the first book in a long time by a Russian-speaking author dedicated specifically to games.
Last year, we delighted Bloodborne fans with a gift edition, "Bloodborne. Anthology. Echoes of Blood." This year, we released a two-volume gift edition for Dark Souls fans, "Dark Souls Mythology. Abyss Archive," which delves into the series' lore and mythology.
These are our most prominent game-related releases, but the list is not exhaustive.
From books somewhat connected to game development, we want to mention "Think Like a Game Designer. Creative Thinking and Efficient Game Project Management" by Justin Gary and "Translation and Localization: An Introduction to the Profession. Basics, Tips, Practice" by Elena Khudenko.
We continued the excellent tradition of working with game voice actors: Alexander Khoshabaev, the voice of the main protagonist in Death Stranding, narrated the book about this game, and Denis Nekrasov, who voiced one of the main characters in Gears of War, worked on the audiobook of Cliff Bleszinski's autobiography "Control Freak." Besides them, we've attracted many actors known for their dubbing work in games and movies.
The gaming division also launched the Telegram channel BOMBORA GAMES, where you can find all the most exciting news about our projects.
How did the Russian market for game-related books change in 2024?
While this segment experienced active growth and development in 2023, 2024 was noticeably calmer. There were fewer new releases on the Russian market compared to the previous year, but overall, things remained stable and calm.
Western publishers for books on games and development are still not fully cooperating with Russia, but publishers are finding various ways and remain optimistic. For instance, we've already reached the Spanish market.
What strengthening or emergence of trends in books about video games do you anticipate for 2025?
We see a noticeable shift towards collaborating with authors specifically connected to the Russian gaming market, including developers and journalists. For various reasons, books from foreign publishers cannot meet the audience's needs, prompting Russian publishers to turn to local authors.
What are the company's plans for the coming year?
The main news is that Jason Schreier's book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment is already translated and currently undergoing editing. We plan to release it in the spring of 2025. We are currently coordinating the title with the rights holder — if everything goes well, the title will be iconic.
In the fall, we plan to release a large gift edition on Elden Ring, with a breakdown of its mythology by the same publishers who created the encyclopedias we've released on Dark Souls and Bloodborne.
Many books dedicated to gaming franchises are in progress. Readers can look forward to books on Dishonored, Silent Hill, Castlevania, Assassin’s Creed, and more.
Semen Kostin finally began writing a book about games from the Harry Potter franchise. We plan to release it next year.
As for development books, things are similar to games — some projects ("The Game Design Workshop" by Tracy Fullerton and a book on Nau Engine) have been postponed to 2025 for various reasons.
Russian authors are preparing many projects for us — specifically, Oleg Dobroshtan has finished a book on managing game projects, and Vasily Ovchinnikov is nearing the completion of a book on gaming stereotypes in society.
There are also new game design books in the works — for example, Writing for Games: Theory and Practice by Hannah Nicklin.
Additionally, the publishing house has decided to venture into the tabletop games sector — we are preparing Scott Rogers' book Your Turn!: The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design for print, focusing on creating tabletop games.
Naturally, our plans don't end there — we are engaged in numerous negotiations with authors for various "unannounced projects," so we definitely plan to delight our readers with new and exciting releases in 2025.