We continue to summarize the results of 2021 together with top managers and experts of the gaming industry (and related ones). Next up is an interview with Andrey Iones, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Saber Interactive.
How did 2021 go for the company?
For Saber Interactive, 2021 turned out to be eventful. There have been several major announcements and releases, and our geography has expanded significantly.
Seven new studios have joined us in a year*. In February, Saber Interactive was joined by industry veterans — the American Aspyr studio, which has 25 years of development and porting experience. In the summer we added five more teams: 3D Realms, Slipgate Ironworks, Demiurge Studios, Fractured Byte and SmartPhone Labs. Bytex, specializing in testing, was the last to join our family.
Now Saber Interactive consists of 20 studios. They are located all over the world, including Russia, the CIS and the countries of Europe, North and South America. Taking into account all the changes, the company now employs more than 2,500 employees.
2021 has become a key year for our publishing. At Twitch Winter Gathering, we held our own publishing showcase for the first time, where we presented new games. These are futuristic Redout 2 races from the Italian studio 34BigThings, the Circus Electrique role-playing game from Zen Studios and the Dakar: Desert Rally rally simulator, which is being developed by our Portuguese team.
A little earlier, in October, we announced A Quiet Place from iLLOGIKA studio — an adventure horror based on the film of the same name.
The last big announcement was Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, which we are doing together with Focus Entertainment. We showed the first trailer of this game at The Game Awards ceremony held in December, and we did not expect how warmly it would be received.
I also note that another incredible announcement this year was made by Aspyr — the studio presented a remake of the legendary Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
We continued to develop our released projects. In September, they released a major update for World War Z: Aftermath, and in November they published the game on Switch. It was a very difficult project, comparable in complexity to The Witcher. Nevertheless, our team coped with the task perfectly. Now the total audience of the title has almost 20 million players.
SnowRunner also received several additions and was released on Steam and Switch.
In the fall, we released a reissue of the Crysis series — Crysis Remastered Trilogy — and console versions of projects from our internal studios. This is the hardcore shooter Insurgency: Sandstorm from the New World Interactive team and the tactical strategy Phoenix Point from our Bulgarian studio Snapshot Games.
*We interviewed Andrey Iones shortly before it became known about the latest purchases of the company. Since then, two more studios have joined Saber Interactive: Shiver Entertainment and DIGIC.
What event or trend of 2021 do you consider central within our niche?
Like last year, the most significant trend in the industry, I would call the merger of studios and the growth of investments. Major players continue to conclude mergers and acquisitions, new investment funds are emerging, and non-core investors are still looking for an opportunity to enter the trend.
On the one hand, it’s great. More money in the industry means more financing opportunities. But on the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult for developers to understand this abundance of opportunities. It is no longer just about where to find financing, but also about how to choose the right partner and subsequently not be disappointed in your decision.
I would like to mention the latest technological solutions for developers. Unreal Engine 5 has been released for early access this year — its capabilities were recently shown in the Matrix Awakens technodemo. In my opinion, these technologies will undoubtedly have an impact on development, because with their help, even a small team with limited resources can create amazing games.
What will be the stake in the development of the company in 2022?
Last year we sowed the seeds for a fundamentally new stage in the development of Saber Interactive, this year we watched the seedlings, and next year we will start harvesting. We have always been a company that can do almost the impossible in a technological sense, and we intend to keep this quality bar further.
Next year we have several big releases planned, including the release of Evil Dead, Dakar: Desert Rally and the release of World War Z on Stadia and next-generation consoles. Saber Interactive currently has dozens of projects in development, most of which have not yet been announced.
We will also actively develop the publishing direction. A Quiet Place, which I have already mentioned, is the first announced project being developed by an external team. There will be announcements about other projects next year, so stay tuned.