We continue to summarize the results of 2019 together with the managers of gaming companies and market experts. Next up is an interview with Elizaveta Zharkova, head of business Development at VKontakte Games.
How was 2019 for the company?
In general, the year has been busy for VKontakte: the team has grown (we have more than 800 people — these are specialists from the St. Petersburg and Moscow offices and remote employees), new directions and goals have appeared. Moreover, we have formed our internal values and determined the focus for the next few years.
It was also a great year for the gaming platform. The team has also become bigger. Now we can implement ideas much faster. We have already successfully held the third conference for VK High Score game developers, and also supported the HTML5 project competition.
Now we continue to actively develop the HTML5 direction. We recently launched advertising monetization and added games to new VK sections.
But most of all, I am proud of our unique launches – we gamified the game catalog: a ghost flew through different sections on Halloween, we introduced the wheel of fortune on Black Friday, and for the New Year we will add the opportunity to give friends unique products from games directly in the catalog interface.
What events in the regional and global gaming industry do you consider central in the past year?
Apple Arcade launch. The subscription business model is gaining more and more popularity among gaming services and developers. Of course, this should lead to the creation of new interesting and beautiful projects, whose focus will primarily be on quality, not earnings.
It’s nice to watch the success of Playrix. This year they have surpassed themselves. The team rose to the top of the most earning mobile gaming companies in the world, became an example of building a business for many other studios, and also once again showed what strong and talented specialists are in Russia and the CIS countries.
Of the important events, I would also like to note the long-awaited announcement of new consoles. An interesting 2020 is coming.
What are the main trends in the market today?
Recently, more and more large companies are looking towards cloud gaming. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and many other well-known companies have already announced their plans for the development of cloud technologies. I am sure that in the future, players will no longer depend on powerful hardware and the availability of consoles. The format of video consumption has already changed. The games will be as follows.
Interest in HTML5 technologies also continues to grow. Firstly, new ecosystems and platforms are emerging, including gaming. Secondly, such sites have great viral potential and give access to a new active audience. And finally, technological capabilities are constantly being improved. The quality of HTML5 games has grown significantly this year. That is why next year we will again hold several activities to support HTML5 developers.
I would also like to note how the domestic game dev has matured in terms of M&A. Founders and owners of companies saw the obvious benefits of cooperation with strong partners. Moreover, more information has appeared about this.
Which game releases were the most important this year? Plus, which games did you spend the most time on in 2019 as a gamer?
In 2019, there were really a lot of cool games: Apex Legends, Borderlands 3, Metro Exodus, Control, Jedi: Fallen Order and a bunch of other interesting things — enough for many cozy evenings in the company of a controller or mouse.
The main release of the year, of course, is Death Stranding. I’m sure everyone will mark it. You can treat the game as you like: some consider it overrated, someone on the contrary calls it the main game of the generation. But it should be noted that the release of the project has become the most hype and loud in recent times.
At the beginning of the same year, Metro Exodus was released, which was eagerly awaited by the gaming community. The game is really amazing and at the time of release was one of the most discussed in 2019.
The thief of my heart, time and money is Archero. In general, I rarely cry in mobile games, because I know what it leads to. But then I couldn’t help myself. This game miraculously managed to combine the mechanics of hyper-casual projects and action-RPG, it’s hard to break away. Minus: from love to removal, as it turned out, is not a very big step.
I would also like to mention The Outer Worlds — not such a loud title as Death Stranding, but worthy of attention. Amazing immersion, quests that are really interesting to perform, the presence of moral dilemmas and well-developed companions with whom you like to interact. A worthy heir to New Vegas, but about space.
Separately, I will highlight the release of Dota Auto Chess. In the first half of the outgoing year, the game and its clones made a noise. It’s very interesting to see if this story will have a sequel next year.