Elena Grigoryan on the struggles and success of My.Games | Pocket Gamer.biz

My.Games has had an interesting few years, after consistently being one of the most successful game companies in Russia and Europe, the Ukraine conflict threw it and many other companies into disarray. However, My.Games gained a new lease on life when original owners, Russian social-media giant VK, sold the company to new owners in 2022 which marked a period of significant restructuring and a new course for the company.

My.Games always had a strong footing in the European market, with employees and studios all across the continent. This has allowed the company to divest entirely from any Russian operations and focus on a bright new future with an international; focus. The move has paid off, with the company noting key milestones for their games such as Hustle Castle and Rush Royale in 2023.

We got the chance to chat with CSO of My.Games, Elena Grigoryan about some of the difficulties that the company has faced, how they overcame them and what’s next for My.Games.

PocketGamer.biz: After divesting from the Russian market, My.Games has sought to expand into both Europe and the wider world. How has that been going for you?

Elena Grigoryan: We’ve been focused on international growth and creating products that players all around the world will love since day one. The change in ownership has only reinforced this strategy.

Most of our team work remotely, so it’s crucial for us to have the right infrastructure and resources in place for our team. We have two main offices, in Amsterdam and Limassol, Cyprus, and since the buyout we have opened co-working spaces in Turkey, Armenia and Georgia.This year, we plan to open new offices and hubs in regions where we plan to boost our presence, such as the Middle East, where we see massive potential.

Our team loves the distributed office approach we adopted around the time of the pandemic. We’ve found the right setup that provides opportunities for our staff to grow, while creating fun places where employees can meet and collaborate. This has been a driver in attracting new talent from all over the world.

What’s the biggest challenge My.Games faced, and how did you overcome it?

During our restructuring, the most important thing was to create the infrastructure, processes and stability to ensure the transition was as seamless as possible for both our players and our employees. Considering that more than 90% of our employees work remotely, it was a tall order to make sure they didn’t face any interruptions in their daily work. It involved a lot of work and effort on the backend – most of which went unseen – and I think our whole team did an amazing job.

Does My.Games have any big plans in the near-future?

I’m excited to share that we have some ambitious plans in the works. We have a rich development pipeline with several projects to be launched this year. Some of them are brand new IPs, and some related to our existing franchises such as War Robots: Frontiers, a PC and console third-person multiplayer mech shooter that is an expansion of the original War Robots mobile game. The game was launched at the end of 2022 and runs on Unreal Engine 5, which allowed us to introduce new exciting features, and is an active development at the moment delivering regular updates with the full release on PC and consoles scheduled for later in 2023.

The other focus point for us is expanding our global presence, entering new markets, enabling players access quality entertaining content and supporting talented game developers across the globe. We have formed multiple partnerships with gaming associations in Europe in this respect to create more opportunities for local developers and we will also launch the third season of the Game Drive program in partnership with key industry leaders to continue supporting talented teams.

What trends are you most excited to see in the mobile game industry in 2023?

The last couple years were quite challenging for the mobile game industry, and one thing we’ve learned at My.Games is how important it is to have a diversified portfolio. In order to stay competitive and offer users compelling content, it’s essential for gaming companies to provide a diverse range of games across multiple platforms, genres, and monetization models.

In 2023, gaming companies will be looking for ways to bring new products to market and attract new audiences to existing ones. The established UA mechanisms are no longer working as effectively as they used to, and everyone is looking for new opportunities – and creating a strong game brand will be one of them.

Cross-platform games will enable players across different platforms to play together more seamlessly. Companies that create a great cross-platform user experience will have a strong competitive advantage and greater reach.

As competition for user attention intensifies, game companies are facing new challenges such as changes in user acquisition strategies and decreased purchasing power among acquire players, all of which can have a significant impact on their bottom line. In order to navigate this landscape, it’s becoming increasingly important to make data-driven decisions that prioritise optimization in both marketing and operations. With the application of AI, game companies can leverage advanced algorithms to streamline creative content production and reduce costs, while still providing engaging experiences for their users. Additionally, centralization of services and unification of platform solutions can help reduce costs, streamline operations, and improve overall efficiency, providing further opportunities for companies to optimise their operations and improve profitability.