2019 is coming to an end. Time for our annual publication series “Results of the Year“. In it, we ask the heads of gaming companies and market experts how the last 12 months have passed for them. This time the column starts with an interview with Dmitry Terekhin, the founder of Nekki. He told, among other things, which games the company is preparing for release.
Dmitry TerekhinHow was 2019 for the company?
In 2019, we reworked the company’s strategy and laid the foundation for future projects. We started developing two games: a new version of Shadow Fight, which we called Arena, and an unannounced big game.
Shadow Fight Arena will be built around real PvP. Instead of pumping one character, the player will now have access to many heroes who differ not only in appearance, but also in a unique fighting style and abilities. The combat mechanics will not change much, but it will be possible to take not one, but three fighters at once into battle: when one dies, the next one comes out instead of him. We are planning to release Shadow Fight Arena in 2020, and, in addition to mobile platforms, the game will be released on PC and consoles.
As for the second game, it is also a PvP fighting game, but already a team one: up to 6 players will be able to fight simultaneously in a 3D location. The setting is futuristic, close to cyberpunk. The mechanics in the game will be gun fu, that is, there will be both guns and swords in the game. Animation is our forte — in this game it will become even more spectacular thanks to the cinematic camera.
The project is initially planned as a cross-platform — for mobile devices, consoles and PCs. We have dedicated this year to pre-production and prototyping, and in 2020 we plan to make an official announcement and start expanding the production team. The project is very ambitious and technologically advanced, so we will need the best specialists. In Moscow, our development studio 
Banzai Games is recruiting people, but we are also considering remote employees.
What events in the regional and global gaming industry do you consider central in the past year?
For me personally, the announcement and release of Google Stadia is a significant event.
I have been waiting for cloud gaming for a long time and I hope that this attempt will be crowned with success. Even if not immediately, but I think in a few years the line between console and mobile games will almost be erased (either thanks to the cloud, or due to the growth of the power of devices).
Another important event is the release of Apple Arcade. The subscription model is gaining momentum, and I hope that the subscription ecosystem will allow developers to create quality products without focusing on frituplay. This will enrich the market and create more diversity.
What are the main trends in the market today?
The main trend for us is PvP. Single—player games are great, but given the growing competition, it will be increasingly difficult for such games to hold the attention of players for a long time. Technological shifts, such as the launch of 5G, will only reinforce this trend. Also now we see that many games try combat passes and sell cosmetics, for example, skins for characters. It will be interesting to observe the development of this model.
Another trend is the growing performance of devices, and therefore the quality of graphics in games, so I am waiting for the appearance of successful cross-platform projects. Creating such games is one of the main strategic goals of Nekki.
Which third-party game releases this year, in your opinion, were the most important? Which games did you spend the most time on in 2019 as a gamer?
I liked Archero from mobile, I’m very glad that games with good core mechanics are finally becoming popular.
I spent the most time this year at MTG Arena, they did an incredible job to shift such a complex card game into a convenient PC interface. It is no less convenient to play than a board game, and tournament game modes make it even more interesting. It is also a very rare example of a game that today may not depend on platforms and attract an audience directly to itself.