“Igroprom-2026”: A Brief Photo Review of the First Day.
Good afternoon, everyone! So, this is the fourth “Igroprom”—and it is changing venues for the third time! How could I not be worried: a new location means new rules and a new venue—what if it turns out worse than before?! Well then, let’s take a look together, and you can decide whether “Igroprom 2026” is better than its predecessors. Let’s begin!
The previous venue was almost in the center of Moscow (Volgogradsky Prospekt metro station), whereas now getting there is rather inconvenient (at least for me), with many transfers. But is that really an obstacle for a gamer? The complex looks luxurious, but the exhibition area is not compact—it is very long and narrow.
To my surprise, nobody asked those attending the “Business Day” for tickets: show the contents of your bag or backpack, and if there is nothing prohibited, you can enter. However, a small queue formed for press badges, obstructing passage for the other visitors.
Of course, there were plenty of vendors; I did not even bother photographing all their stands.
There was a small board-game area, which was almost empty on the first day.
“Igromania” offered visitors the first issue of the magazine—the one from last year. (When I asked, “Did the issue sell that badly?” the answer was: “We had to print more!”)
These friendly people persistently urged visitors to buy their books: a new, very high-quality translation! However, most of the books on offer are already in my library, and the “new translation” turned out to have a very unsuitable price. In addition, I discovered another feature that would have stopped me from buying some of the books even at an affordable price; I will discuss it in more detail later, in a separate article.
As at “Igroprom 2025,” there was a recording studio where visitors could try their hand at voicing characters. I stayed there for a long time: first, my daughter voiced three different heroines, and second, I enjoyed watching the sound engineers at work. (I always find it interesting to watch professionals who are in love with their profession; these two certainly were.)
Right nearby, visitors could take part in races featuring heavy vehicles. I declined because I cannot drive using a keyboard, but my daughter took part and even won a couple of races.
The creators made this game in just three weeks: a blacksmith’s apprentice mines ore, smelts it, and forges various items to sell; the process is accompanied by minigames.
I spent a long time with this game, talking to its creator, because I had already seen it four years ago. It is not easy to make a strategy game about the events of summer 1941 on your own! However, a year ago Dmitry Agapov found an investor and was able to devote himself fully to the game. A beta version is due out soon, and I hope to tell you more about what “Banner of Victory” is like.
Besides getting acquainted with games, I had important goals that day: attending the lectures “Modeling War” and “Historical and Patriotic Games.”
Alexander Tolkach explained how, in his opinion, young people could best be introduced to patriotic games. (According to him, fewer than 10% of young people have personal computers, so games should be made for smartphones—after all, they are always with you. I disagree with this point of view.)
Vlad Los spoke about the finer points of creating “Kuindzhi, 93,” which takes place during military operations (you know where—the idiotic system blocks post publication!).
But the most important event for me was the presentation by Vitaly Shutov, creative director of the “Playing Cats” studio; I will try to tell you more about it in a separate article.
Mikhail Dolgoborodov reported that the game “Reconnaissance: 1944” is close to release (I wrote about it two years ago).
However, let us return to the games. I described “The Crane’s Dream” in an article about the CRI; now my daughter got to try it. Some changes had taken place in the demo version since then: for example, the first boss had learned to block the hero’s revolver fire, so we had to slash it with a saber. The guards summoned by the monster were extremely annoying, but after many attempts, we finally managed to defeat it.
We spent the longest time at “Strings of Fate”: Polina played while I pestered one of the game’s creators with questions.
I learned that it is a party-based game designed for five heroes, who will inevitably join the main character regardless of whether he wants them to or not. (In other words, solo play is not предусмотрено; unless you “sacrifice” the companions or kill them yourself.) According to the creator, the game is highly variable: you can build a bridge, cast a spell and run across the river on the water, or jump over it. Everyone can learn to do everything: mine ore, craft items, brew potions, and so on. Dangerous monsters do not pursue the party forever; you can run away from them. The heroes cannot be seen while moving around the area—only their faces are visible at the bottom of the screen; their appearance can be inspected when opening the backpack.
And most importantly for me: THERE IS NO THIEF in the game! There is no one to disarm traps (which do exist), pick locks (you have to look for keys), rifle pockets, or deliver terrifying backstabs from the shadows… How could you do this, developers? An RPG without a thief—how is that even possible?! Sigh…
While we were busy with all this, various interviews were taking place on the main stage, attracting rather little attention.
It was much more interesting to watch the anthropomorphic robot: it ran, jumped, and danced, all with considerable confidence.
The job board remained empty on the first day; its time had not yet come.
It is time for us to go home: it is late, and we have a long journey ahead. See you tomorrow!