App2Top.ru the annual series of materials “Results of the Year” starts. In it, we interview top managers and experts of the gaming industry about how a year has passed for their business. The series opens with an interview with Ilya Eremeev, co—founder and general partner of The Games Fund (TGF).
How did 2021 go for the company?
Very stormy!
In April, we announced the launch. Then we were very worried. No one has launched anything like this before. The risks were enormous.
But everything turned out as well as possible. Even at the start, we attracted a number of large investors. We were supported by gaming companies and private investors from all over the world (from the USA, South Korea, Singapore, China, Europe and the CIS). At the same time, we managed to maintain complete independence. Thanks to this, today we offer neutral capital for gaming startups without any publishing obligations and options to buy back control.
In parallel with fundraising, we also conducted the investment process, having completed about a dozen transactions in less than 2021, exceeding our plan. We have announced some of the deals, and we are still preparing some for the announcement before the end of the year.
And all this has been achieved by a small team (we have only three people working for fulltime). In our opinion, flexibility and speed are what sets us apart from large corporations.
We are very pleased that the founders chose TGF, having offers from big international players. That’s what I really want to brag about.
What event or trend of 2021 do you consider central within your niche?
The biggest trend of 2021 for us is a sharp increase in attention to the gaming market among profile and non—core investors, as well as the infusion of a large amount of capital, resulting in a personnel shortage and a sharp increase in salaries.
Some consider this event negative. In my opinion, the intensification of competition is OK. Who was going to become a leader and make hits, kept the chances of success.
However, the current situation forced the old players to reconsider their priorities. Many of them are now trying to repeat the experience of corporate investments. Three years ago, this approach worked, today it is outdated, new concepts and formats have taken its place.
It will only get tougher from now on, but we are happy to be at the forefront of this movement!
What will be the stake in the development of the company in 2022?
Since we have completed fundraising, which took a lot of effort and attention, the focus of TGF in 2022 will be on making new deals and supporting portfolio companies.
The latter will launch their games (someone will have a softlonch, someone will have a full-fledged world release). We will help them develop and attract new investments.
We plan to make about 10 new deals, strengthen the team and focus on proactive scouting (colleagues from publishing, we will be happy to talk).
In addition, we will strengthen cooperation with international and local companies investing in gaming companies.
Yes, after a wonderful test party in Cyprus, we plan to hold more events for our founders, friends and investors!
In addition to the “Results” App2Top.ru this year holds App2Top.ru Awards. This is an award celebrating achievements in the Russian-speaking gaming industry for the current year. Most of the interview participants are members of the jury, which will select the winners of the award.