Results of the CRI 2026

On June 26, the "Game Developers Conference" took place in Skolkovo. It was a sort of “reboot” of KRI, which ran in the 2000s at the “Cosmos” hotel. Unfortunately, I was not yet involved in the gaming industry back then, so I can't compare this event to past ones. Nevertheless, speaking about today’s festivals and exhibitions in general, the new KRI was held at a commendable level, albeit not as grand as last year’s “Moscow International Week of Video Games.”

The venue for the conference was the "Video Games and Animation Cluster" in Skolkovo. However, not the entire complex, just one of the atriums in the “Stratos” complex (this complex makes up half of the Cluster, while the other half is the “Amalthea” business center, connected by several passageways) and a few adjoining halls. The program included lectures, panel discussions, as well as game demonstrations from Russian studios.

Around 50 projects were demonstrated across various genres and stages of readiness. There were action games, horror games, and RPGs, many of which were already available in early access on Steam or had demo versions on different platforms. Some teams (such as the mobile game developer Matryoshka) even managed to recoup their development costs and start evolving as a business.

There were also projects that had been in development for quite some time and had already appeared at various festivals and exhibitions. Personally, I was already familiar with the RPGs “Patchwork World” and “Fate Strings,” the free trader simulator on a dirigible “Nefelia,” as well as projects from Antelus Games.

Among the newcomers, I would highlight the puzzle game Roach Post, the Vampire Survivors-like action game in Slavic style “Sadko,” as well as the futuristic racing arcade Race of the Nine Worlds. The latter, by the way, looks quite solid for an indie project, and its creators drew inspiration not only from racing in “Star Wars” and (in terms of mechanics) Need for Speed: The Run, but also from lesser-known things like the animated series “Oban: Star-Racers.” However, there was much to learn about other projects, whose developers were also present at the booths and were ready not only to talk about their sources of inspiration but even to give away some souvenirs related to their games.

Perhaps the only thing that could have marred the impression from the demonstrations was the lighting in the main hall. In the middle of the day, the sun significantly hindered gameplay by washing out the screens. However, besides the central hall, computers with games were also available in the demo zone—a separate room where subdued lighting was perfectly suited for immersing oneself in the atmosphere of various projects. There were also a few couches where one could relax.

As for the presentations, they took place in the “Main Hall” on the second floor (quite far from the atrium, but the path was clearly marked with signs), as well as in the “Lecture Hall” (which was directly opposite the demo zone) and the “Cyber Arena” (also near the demo zone, where several computers were set up for team tournaments, but they were not used during KRI).

I admit that I missed most of the program, spending my time primarily on familiarizing myself with the demo versions mentioned earlier. However, I did attend some—listening to indie developers talk about “guerrilla marketing,” reports on the current state of esports (which featured Mikhail Pimenov discussing the Geltek Cyber Team) and learning how the organizers envision “an honest dialogue with the government” (to be honest, I had a similar idea of that and, thus, didn’t learn anything new).

Overall, more than 90 developers, publishers, journalists, independent experts, and other representatives of the Russian gaming industry participated in the conference. Over 1350 people attended KRI. It may not be a huge number compared to larger festivals, but there were no crowds and terrible queues, allowing everyone to calmly explore all the venues and choose what to see and listen to from the entire offerings.

By the way, at noon (give or take), a strategic partnership agreement was signed at KRI between the Creative Industries Agency of Moscow and the company “IgroProm” (the same one that organizes the eponymous festival and KRI itself, with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and the “Donat.net” platform).

I would also like to thank the organizers for providing free Wi-Fi accessible to all visitors. Thanks to it, one could immediately upload photos to social media, follow the developers on social networks, or even try out a mobile project from those whose developers were in the hall.

In general, the Game Developers Conference was successful and beneficial for many of its participants. Thus, the productivity of activities at KRI, along with the signed agreement, instills hope that events to promote the gaming industry will continue to develop. We will be able to verify this already in early autumn, as the “IgroProm” festival is scheduled for September 18-20 this year. Also in the Video Games and Animation Cluster, by the way.