We continue to summarize the results of the year 2025 with teams that are either part of or related to the gaming industry. Next up is an interview with Oleg Beresnev, the founder of Beresnev Games.
What kind of year was 2025 for your team? What were you able to achieve, what are you proud of, and what, on the contrary, did you not manage to accomplish?
Oleg Beresnev, Beresnev Games: The year 2025 was a year of deepening rather than extensive growth for the team.
LiveOps of products
There was an increased focus on lifecycle management, event economy, and their impact on retention and LTV. The team delved deeper into the product – not just individual mechanics, but the overall user experience.
The main focus shifted to the core loop: its readability, depth, and resilience. Simultaneously, we clearly realized that retention is an area that needs further strengthening, and this remains one of the key tasks.
Marketing and AI
In 2025, we managed to:
- restructure the creative direction;
- establish a shorter and faster production cycle;
- fully integrate AI into marketing.
In the last quarter, we began testing significantly more diverse marketing hypotheses, which resulted in noticeable improvements in effectiveness, as seen in our marketing metrics.
The Team
We are undergoing a natural maturation phase: weak decisions and unsuitable roles are being cut out, forming a team capable of operating at the level of a mature product studio.
This is a challenging but necessary process.
What we didn't accomplish
- Not all internal tools and systems were brought to the final stage.
- Some product hypotheses were consciously put on hold due to overload and shifting priorities.
What we are proud of
We withstood significant operational and legal pressure, so to speak, we survived our own version of Larisa Dolina. Thanks to this, our team has notably matured, especially concerning partnerships, risk assessment, and long-term decisions.
What conclusions have you drawn as a development studio by the end of 2025?
Oleg: There are three key takeaways.
Expertise is the foundation of business
A strong studio is a combination of deep, diverse expertise: product, marketing, analytics, technology, LiveOps. Our goal is to systematically strengthen each direction.
Processes and data are critical
A successful studio is impossible without clean data and correct analysis. This year, we invested a lot of time and resources into data quality, understanding what exactly we measure, and how we make decisions based on that.
The market does not forgive amateurism and naivety
Errors in calculations, partnerships, hiring, expectations, and risk assessments are very costly. The industry is maturing; expertise and professionalism become more valuable and costly every year.
Has your practice of interacting with publishers/investors changed? Has it become easier/harder to work with them?
Oleg: Yes, and this is a structural change in the market.
The market has shifted further towards strong studios and quality products.
Teams that can take responsibility not only for development but also for economics, LiveOps, marketing, and long-term product development have a fundamentally different level of dialogue with partners.
For us, partnership is a collaborative effort where interests and responsibilities are balanced.
We have a clear understanding of how to build an open, honest, and productive collaboration model and what value we can create. We increasingly look at the market from the viewpoint of those capable of not only creating products but also taking responsibility for their development and growth. It is from this point that we evaluate potential partnerships and collaboration formats.
What kind of year was it for the niche/genre in which you work?
Oleg: 2025 was a year of resetting expectations for our genre.
High CPIs and overall rising acquisition costs made mistakes extremely expensive: there is even less room for unsuccessful hypotheses, weak data analysis, and long iteration cycles in the market.
In these conditions, teams that can:
- work with retention, not just acquisition;
- build long-term economics and understand the user's lifetime value;
- operate the product after release survive and thrive.
The ability to operate a product carefully and slowly, develop it through LiveOps, content, and economics comes to the forefront.
What strengthening or emergence of trends in your niche/genre do you expect in 2026?
Oleg: I see four trends.
- Further strengthening of LiveOps
LiveOps becomes the foundation of the product rather than an additional layer. Teams that can plan content, events, and economics months in advance are victorious.
- Personalization and segmentation
Universal solutions for the entire audience are becoming less effective. The role of segmented content, personal offers, and adaptive gaming experience is growing.
- Cautious evolution of successful formulas
Instead of drastic experiments, the market is moving toward the thoughtful development of already proven mechanics. Small, precise improvements become more effective than radical changes.
- Market consolidation
Weak and unprepared teams will leave. Studios with strong expertise, processes, and resilient products will continue to strengthen and capture a larger share of the market.
What are the team's plans for the coming year?
Oleg: Further development of LiveOps as a systemic part of the product.
Strengthening work on retention, the core loop, and the economy.
Investing in team expertise and process quality.