Director Mail.Ru Games Ventures Ilya Karpinsky told App2Top.ru about the success of his company over the past year.
Ilya KarpinskyHow was 2017 for you personally?
The year was very interesting and productive. One of the most important events for me was the launch of the gaming investment division Mail.Ru Games Ventures, which I headed. This initiative is connected with our desire to help talented developers around the world create really interesting and high-quality games and become independent and successful studios.
How was the year for the company?
This year we have launched a number of important projects not only for us, but also for the industry as a whole.
Firstly, the team of the esports division has launched a tournament platform and is starting to develop a Professional esports League, the main discipline of which at the first stage will be the shooter Warface, but with the development of the project, other games will appear.
Secondly, the game direction Mail.Ru The Group held its first WARFEST gaming culture festival, where about 10 thousand people came. In addition, at this festival we summed up the results of the “Atlas of War” esports tournament — its prize fund amounted to almost 10 million rubles.
Game direction Mail.Ru The Group also became Bluehole’s partner in promoting the legendary PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS game in Russia.
We also continued our international expansion with projects such as the mobile blockbusters HAWK: Freedom Squadron and Hustle Castle, the legendary Warface, “Armored Warfare: Armata Project”, SkyForge for consoles and others. All these are our main projects in 2017, but apart from them there were many other victories that we are certainly proud of.
SkyForgeWhat event of 2017 do you consider the most important for the industry?
First, let me be indiscreet, this is the launch of our foundation. This is a really important event for the industry, because we are one of the few companies that is not only ready to invest in games, but also has sufficient expertise for the successful development of gaming projects.
Secondly, the release of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, which became the driver of the development of a new genre of battle royale (royal battle). PUBG is a unique project. He once again confirmed that a good idea and a talented team can make breakthroughs without large marketing budgets and create unique projects that attract an audience of millions.
We are glad that it is the Gaming direction Mail.Ru The Group will develop this project in Russia.
I would also highlight the Nintendo Switch, which was able to compete with mobile platforms and occupy its niche.
What trends of the outgoing year would you note?
The main trend in the gaming industry has become the development of mobile game genres. We see the pace at which mobile technologies are developing — this opens up a huge space for developers to experiment. Today, game genres that used to be popular on desktops or consoles are becoming popular on mobile platforms: MOBA, shooters and full-fledged MMORPGs.
Name the third-party projects of this year that you liked the most.
My favorites are Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Last Day on Earth: Survival.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I would also highlight PUBG, but rather not for the game itself, but for the entertainment of how others play.