We continue to summarize the results of 2019 together with the managers of gaming companies and market experts. Next up is an interview with Anton Yudintsev, CEO of Gaijin Entertainment.
How was 2019 for the company?
The growth of our games continued, and the company grew with them.
We continued to work on new content and other improvements to our online games: War Thunder, Crossout and Star Conflict.
In our flagship War Thunder project, we have added two new nations (China and Sweden), hundreds of types of military equipment, a simulation of night vision devices and thermal imagers. The sound engine was rewritten, and the graphics engine began using ray tracing technology, including on consoles.
At the end of the year, the successful release of the online shooter Cuisine Royale on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One took place.
We have also been actively working on completely new projects for PC, consoles and mobile platforms, but we will be able to tell you more about this only in 2020.
What events in the regional and global gaming industry do you consider central in the past year?
Firstly, the strategy of promoting Apex Legends. The game came out suddenly, without warning, and the advertising budget was invested in top streamers. The result is an explosive growth in popularity on Twitch and YouTube, tens of millions of installations in the first few weeks.
Secondly, Game for Peace, a radically adapted version of PUBG Mobile for the Chinese market. There is not only blood and violent scenes in it, but even murders. Shot the enemy – he just gives you his things and cheerfully waves goodbye. Plus, patriotic content has been added, such as Chinese fighters accompanying players to the landing point. Well, and the name, of course. That is, in order to remove questions from the authorities, the publisher not only made cosmetic changes (and very significant!), but also abandoned a powerful brand, leaving only the gameplay intact – and still achieved tremendous success. It is rare to find full-fledged experiments about the influence of a brand on the success of a product.
What are the main trends in the market today?
Hardcore mobile games are an interesting new trend. We are used to the fact that games on mobile platforms are mostly midcore, casual and even hyper-casual. But the hardware of modern phones allows you to make a good quality picture, and hardcore gamers are ready to play mobile games comparable to their usual releases on PC and consoles. Examples of online games like PUBG Mobile and Fortnite show that such games are in demand.