Last week, the capital of Belarus hosted the "Game Industry" conference for game developers and publishers. Here's what happened there, and of course, we provide its metrics.
Feedback
The "Game Industry" conference in Minsk, with Salary.cab as one of the key sponsors, took place for the second time and received positive feedback from guests.
Participating in the "Game Industry" conference in Minsk for the first time, I did not expect the event to be so large-scale and strong. The organization was of the highest level: precise timing, excellent technical preparation, no glitches, giving the sense that everything was in its place. It's one of the best-organized conferences I've ever attended. I'd like to specially note the precise mix of speakers, guests, venues, and parallel activities — it seems that developers, publishers, and investors could find something truly important for themselves. One such event in Minsk is enough for a year of fruitful industry development in the city and country.
Co-Founder of Multifora Digital
For the second year in a row, the conference leaves only positive impressions. Minsk is always open to knowledge, communication, and great networking. A warm atmosphere, full audiences for speaker presentations, and interesting lecture topics. We look forward to the next event.
Product Leader and Strategic Partner Kitchen941 (former Swag Masha)
As always, the conference was excellently organized, with a great congress center and a convenient hub for meetings. But most valuable are the new useful contacts for collaborations! Thanks for the invitation as a speaker. I’ve long wanted to give a lecture on mobile game licensing. The audience was very engaged and appreciative. I look forward to meeting everyone in Moscow in July!
Head of Digital at "STS Media," "Three Cats"
The Minsk conference was a success! Due to attending KII events regularly, we were pleasantly surprised to meet so many new faces and potential collaborations. As always, there were plenty of current market insights that work right now, not yesterday.
Marketing Director at Take Top Entertainment
In total, the event was attended by 448 people from 191 companies. An interesting point is that the companies participating came from 21 countries, making "Game Industry" truly international.
Program
As per tradition, "Game Industry" in Minsk took place over one day across three streams. This time, more than 30 speakers shared their expertise in 19 lectures, two panel discussions, two dialogue sessions, a workshop, and a roundtable.
Discussions at the conference covered a wide range of topics, from working on game trailers and early access nuances to express-checking the viability of game hypotheses, choosing a niche in game development, and creating an MVP.
Among the speakers were representatives of:
- domestic publishers — Astrum Entertainment, Mirra Games, HeroCraft, Multifora Digital;
- development studios — Ninsar.Games, Game Art Pioneers, Book Burner Games, Contrast Games;
- gaming platforms — "Yandex Games," VK Play;
- media outlets — IXBT Games, "STS Media";
- support structures — RVI, Indie GO Fund;
- and many others.
There were other activities at the conference as well. For example, there was a successful closed investment breakfast with GameXCap, as well as an indie game showcase and pitch. We'll cover the last two in a bit more detail.
Showcase
Fifty-five teams participated in the developer exhibition — the showcase. Attendees could meet and talk with them and play most of the projects they presented.
Notably, a significant portion of the showcase games are developed exclusively for mobile (Android and iOS) — accounting for 37% of the projects. Pure PC games made up 28%. The rest are developed for other devices or are cross-platform.
Unity remains the most popular development tool, with 67% of the showcase games being created on it. Unreal Engine takes second place with a notable 11%, mainly among graphically complex and PC-oriented projects.
During the conference, showcase participants competed for the audience's choice award. The winner was the atmospheric psychological horror You see me? by zeneki.
Additionally, a game marathon was part of the showcase — conference guests had to play games presented at the exhibition and collect tokens. The winners were Boris Filin and Alexey Kurzov.
Indie Pitch
Recall, the indie pitch is a separate presentation where independent developers show their games to experts. Jury members provide detailed feedback on each project and share valuable advice.
At the indie pitch in Minsk, five projects were reviewed.
Akatori by Contrast Games
A pixelated metroidvania with action-platformer elements, where you play as a young girl traveling across different worlds to save them from destruction.
Tales of Tiolis by Omne Lab
A mystical detective set in post-Soviet futurism. The main character, an inventor, is searching for his missing fiancée. He travels to a city in Altai, where residents' thoughts become reality.
SteamPanic: Last Shift by JDF GAMES
An engineer simulator at a steampunk factory. Mechanisms constantly break down, and the hero must repair them as quickly as possible.
Condition A by Project A
A tactical strategy in a fantastic setting with horror elements, inspired by "At the Mountains of Madness" by Howard Lovecraft and John Carpenter's "The Thing." The events unfold in the icy wastelands of Antarctica. An accident occurs at a research base, followed by the rise of a second sun over the planet, affecting people's consciousness and changing them beyond recognition.
Dark Trip by iWorlds
A psychedelic escape room where the main character is a detective investigating the disappearance of a businessman's daughter. To solve puzzles, he takes medications that blur the lines between reality and hallucinations.
The expert jury, including representatives from VK Play, Mirra Games, Indie GO Fund, and RULER Productions, named Akatori the best project of the indie pitch. The other games were also recognized:
- Tales of Tiolis — Mirra Games' choice;
- SteamPanic: Last Shift — RULER Productions' choice;
- Condition A and Dark Trip — VK Play's choice.
If after the conference you find yourself wanting to take the next step — to systematically develop your game and prepare it for the market: on May 18, the educational project WN Academy will start the STARTUP: BUILD, PITCH, RAISE course. Through six practical online sessions, you'll be able to turn an idea or MVP into a structured product: with clear business logic, metrics, and a strong pitch deck. Our readers get a 10% discount on the course using the promo code App2Top
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The next "Game Industry" conference will take place soon — on July 9, in Moscow.
Below are some photos from the past event (all photos can be viewed here).
