The first Moscow International Games Week took place from November 27 to 30 — an event that showed how the Russian interactive entertainment industry is developing and how its business connections are being built.
One of the key moments was the exhibition of 60 Russian developers in the Video Games and Animation Cluster. For companies, this was an opportunity not only to present their projects to a wide audience (more than 25 thousand people tested them), but also to discuss the prospects for cooperation with potential partners. The significance of the site is also emphasized by the fact that the event coincided with the opening of the first stage of the creative cluster in Skolkovo — another step towards the systematic development of the gaming industry as part of the creative economy.
The international scale of the event was reflected in the composition of the speakers of the business program: about 200 experts from more than 20 countries. Among them are heads of companies from China, India, the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia. This geographical coverage indicates a growing interest in Russian developments and opens up opportunities for joint projects.
The experience of organizing mass events is also noteworthy: a national record was set during the week — a cyber tournament with the participation of 4,600 players. In total, various competitions brought together about 116 thousand people across the country. This shows how e-sports can serve as a tool for attracting the target audience and forming partnerships.
The infrastructural component is also important: more than 330 urban venues and 730 computer clubs in various regions of Russia joined the program. Such a network creates the basis for the development of content distribution and the building of partnerships between developers, venues and other market participants.
The final figures — more than 150 thousand visitors in four days — show that industry events confirm their role as effective platforms for B2B interactions and the search for new market opportunities. For market participants, the Games Week was an opportunity to exchange experiences, discuss investment prospects and outline long-term working contacts in the field of game development, publishing and distribution.
