We continue to wrap up the year 2025 with top managers and experts from the gaming industry. Up next is an interview with Daniil Kolesnikov, Business Development Manager at HeroCraft.
How was the year 2025 for your business? What achievements can you highlight? What conclusions have you drawn?
Daniil Kolesnikov, HeroCraft: The year turned out surprisingly well. The coolest events for us include:
- launching our flagship games — Pirate Ships and Space Arena — on the web platform Yandex Games;
- joint participation with AKI at the Russian games booth at China Joy;
- launching a new direction — publishing foreign games in Russia;
- breaking our 2021 revenue record;
- preparing the PC version of Pirate Ships.
The main takeaway for us right now is that you shouldn't fixate on just one thing. These are interesting times with many opportunities!
Pirate Ships
How has the situation in the gaming market changed for publishing from your point of view?
Daniil: The market remains cautious in its decisions, but the industry seems to be moving towards an investment thaw. Money isn't being handed out freely yet, but we're starting to hear news about funding being granted here and there. It won't be enough for everyone, but at least it's some progress!
There seem to be fewer new projects this year compared to last. This is based purely on conferences (I attended about 13 this year) both in Russia and abroad. I hope more projects will emerge next year, and that right now everyone is just prototyping.
Has your practice with developers changed? Has working with them become easier/more difficult? Have they changed in any significant way?
Daniil: Indie developers themselves haven't changed (stay true to yourselves!), but our publishing approach has shifted slightly. We are still willing to support each project with all our resources, but we have become more selective with the projects we choose. Working with indie projects requires tremendous effort, and we've decided to dedicate more time to the projects we've signed.
How was the year for the niche in which you typically release games?
Daniil: We currently focus on two main niches: physical puzzles and builders (in the style of our Pirate Ships and Space Arena).
The first niche is somewhat challenging because it relies on advertising, and good money is still primarily coming from in-app purchases (IAPs).
The second niche is more interesting — here, the main monetization is based on IAPs, so things are going very well. We are working on securing our success.
Our IAP revenue grew by 30% in 2025, while ad revenue increased by 13%.
What conclusions and lessons from 2025 would you highlight for developers preparing for release?
Daniil: Interact more with your peers about potential mistakes whenever possible! There are a lot of conferences and presentations going on, and it's fairly easy to learn something important. Also, read market analyses from major analytical firms like Newzoo. Indie strength lies in ideas, but you also need to execute those ideas correctly!
What trends in your niche do you expect to strengthen or emerge in 2026?
Daniil: I think next year we'll see solutions for cross-platform play between mobile free-to-play and Steam. As a result, there will be a stronger focus on in-game purchases, since Steam doesn’t have advertising. By the way, Steam will soon support Android games!
The web market generally allows us to capture PC players. Some major mobile games are already being developed with a cross-platform focus. We can already see this with major Asian projects (and I'm not only referring to Genshin Impact).
I believe that cross-platform play is indeed necessary for free-to-play game players, but the main questions remain — the quality of such products and the form of execution (full port, web, or all together).
A possible confirmation of my theory is that currently, among successful indie projects on PC, you can see projects that focus primarily on addictive core gameplay. Ball x Pit, Megabonk, Balatro (which was released in 2024, but is still popular). Considering most mobile projects are built on core gameplay, demand for quality mobile projects with purchases on Steam may soon increase.
What are the company's plans for next year?
Daniil: We plan to continue developing our mobile directions, and on PC next year we have several major releases that we are looking forward to. My personal favorites are Victory Banner and Heart Abyss.
Victory Banner