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 Maxim Petrov, Chief Operating Officer of ZeptoLab.
How did 2021 go for the company?
For ZeptoLab, 2021 was a very cheerful and eventful year. We continued to release fresh games, develop existing ones and were able to almost double (+80%) in total profit.
During the year, we paid a lot of attention to the development of our Bullet Echo multiplayer shooter. We managed to release several important updates, primarily aimed at the community and core audience.
Another thing we are very proud of is the launch of a 3D remaster of the original Cut the Rope on the Apple Arcade platform. The game was very warmly received by fans of the series. Six months after the release, Cut the Rope Remastered had several million active users, and it is still one of the most popular titles on the new Apple platform.
We also don’t forget about CATS: Crash Arena Turbo Stars. Despite the fact that the game turned four years old in April, in 2021 we managed to grow it in operation by one and a half times due to live-ops, new content and very tight work with the community.
We also experimented with new projects. In early December, together with Hipster Whale, the creators of Crossy Road, launched a new crazy arcade game Downhill Smash. In it, players roll zombies down the mountainside and destroy the environment with a giant boulder.
What event or trend of 2021 do you consider central within your niche?
There were many important events on the market this year, but one of the most significant was the transition to a new era of privacy and mobile marketing with the release of iOS 14.5. I think for many it was the main challenge of the year because of how much approaches to data analysis have changed. This trend will certainly continue in the future, and restrictions will affect other platforms and channels. In fact, now you need to learn how to do mobile marketing in a different way.
This is a big challenge, but we see additional opportunities for ourselves. We have always tried to make innovative games with fresh mechanics, partly due to the fact that users actively share such projects. Formally, all our games are viral by design — they were conceived viral. This allows you to reach a large audience not only with the help of standard performance marketing channels. We will continue to move in this direction in the coming year.
Also in 2021, the trend for remote work continued. We are not in a hurry to return people to the office on a mandatory basis and use a hybrid format of visits, when employees can come to the office at will. At the same time, a significant part of people continue to work from home. I must say that a year and a half of work in this format exceeded our expectations.
As for other popular phenomena such as the metaverse and NFT, of course, we are following them and thinking in this direction, but so far in a calm mode.
What will be the stake in the development of the company in 2022?
There are many plans. We will continue both to develop current projects (Bullet Echo, CATS, Downhill Smash) and to develop new ones.
We place a big bet on the further development of ZeptoLab Green — games and products with Am-Nyam. The main focus is growth in two key verticals: games and animation. According to games, we see the future in licensing, when talented studios develop their projects with Am Nyam in genres interesting to them. Next year we intend to launch a number of such projects. As for animation, we are going to launch a new series with Om-Nom and develop the already existing Om Nom Stories.
And very soon we will have the most important announcement. At the beginning of 2022, we plan to release a new game that we really believe in and have high hopes for. The game has excellent metrics in the softphone, and we hope that a wide audience will like it too, so stay tuned!