On the eve of the New Year, App2Top publishes a series of materials “Results”, in which it polls top managers of the gaming industry (and related ones) about how the year has passed for their company and the market. Next up is an interview with Sergey Belyaev, co—founder of the Infusion Games studio.
What was the year like for the company? What have you done, implemented, and what in general would I like to highlight in terms of achievements?
The year, of course, turned out to be difficult, as well as for everyone. We had to revise a number of priorities, directions, and take the team out of the Russian Federation.
Despite the difficult time for gaming companies, we continue to attract investments and communicate with venture funds. In the last four months alone, we have raised about $850 thousand and expanded to 55 people in the state.
We are glad that we were able to create the necessary conditions for our employees — several villas in Turkey for unlimited free accommodation, an office and relocation at the expense of the company.
How has the situation in the gaming market changed?
In 2021, the salary market has more than doubled. This has led to increased project budgets and increased business risks. In 2022, there was a rollback and salaries fell by one and a half to three times, depending on the specialists.
This is exclusively our personal experience of hiring since the summer, and we admit that the figures may differ from the statistics of recruiting companies and the experience of other studios. Considering that prices in Russia are growing very much, and incomes are falling, this is very sad, of course.
Those who did not close, left the Russian Federation, moved offices, moved the main part or even the entire team. This led to additional layoffs of employees remaining in the Russian Federation.
For those who have relocated, I think nothing has changed globally, because the cost of living in other countries is often lower than in Russia, and even more so than in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the quality is higher.
How has the situation in the gaming market changed directly for the company?
Yes, in fact, nothing has changed globally, as we communicated at foreign conferences or in social networks, so we communicate. The main change is that now all conferences are held abroad. Being abroad, this is not a problem. But being in the Russian Federation, there are many banal difficulties, for example, with paying for tickets.
What was the year like for the genres in which you work?
In terms of genres, of course, nothing has changed. Just as we wanted to make Cyber Wars a cyberpunk-style mobile shooter with flying cars or Arena Heroes a fighting game between all our favorite characters, so we do. And we know for sure that our future games have their fans who help us make these projects even better. Another question is that we, like most companies, unfortunately, no longer consider the Russian market.
What are the company’s plans for next year?
Grow and develop, of course. We plan to launch two projects worldwide in the first half of the year, and then actively conquer markets, increase the audience, continue to develop the company and start competing with big players.