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 Pavel Tokarev, the founder of the Inlingo game localization company.
How did 2021 go for the company?
In 2021, Inlingo’s turnover increased by 20% compared to last year, and new directions appeared. We conducted market research, studied competitors’ offers and launched three new services: art, narrative design and functional testing (FQA). While we are running technical processes, there are already orders — including from current customers. I am personally very grateful to them for such trust.
We continue to share the expertise of the studio and industry professionals. We talk about the details of working on specific projects and release interviews about various aspects of game creation: from game design and work on the plot to localization and marketing.
One of my favorite cases is a recent text about the Fortune City financial tracker. Also, the second case with MYTONA about localization of Seekers Notes and Ravenhill games turned out to be quite good. An interview with Peter Adamchik, the composer of CD Project RED, was also successful. After him, I even filled up my techno playlist with his tracks for Cyberpunk 2077.
What event or trend of 2021 do you consider central within your niche?
In my opinion, the main trend of 2021 is the inflow of investments. There is a shortage of development companies, as well as outsourcing areas. There are not enough hands that can help in game development.
Also in 2021, we observed increased control over the gaming industry in China, so now we are taking an even more responsible approach to localization and creation of art for this market. The requirements for outsourcers have increased — any detail can affect the performance of the game.
In the past year, there have been big changes in the mobile market related to the release of iOS 14. Now to get access to the IDFA, you need to request permission from the user. Some experts say that the turnover of iOS developers has fallen by 20%, others are more optimistic and claim that the CPI will simply become higher, analytics will be more expensive, and advertising is less accurate.
I think we will come to the conclusion that retaining players for the mobile market will become an even more important task. The value of in-game content will increase.
What will be the stake in the development of the company in 2022?
The significant growth of M&A programs continues — a huge number of publishers are being retrained into groups of companies. The teams are united, the volume of production is growing, which means there is a need for external contractors — it is impossible to recruit only full-time performers for new projects. Outsourcing for game development is our growth point for the near future.
There is a hypothesis that some of the projects in which money is being actively invested now may not fire. Then there will be a lot of free hands on the market, and this will lead to a decrease in salaries. Personally, I don’t believe it, because the dynamics of the development of the gaming market is very high. A failed project is instantly replaced by another and attracts even larger sums, and the freed specialists are quickly intercepted by other teams.
My opinion is that the market will only increase, and with it the shortage of personnel and the amount in offers will grow. The key task for the company’s development in the current conditions is to attract and retain experts in their direction. Teams with strong HR, as well as a training unit, will break into the market leaders. In Inlingo, for these purposes, we have launched an internal university: we train personnel from scratch to the position of June, middle and senior. The process is not easy, but it’s worth it.