“Games are losing audience attention to video shorts. To return to growth, the industry needs more innovation and greater efficiency. AI can help with both but only if we use it to build better products, not just cheaper production pipelines,” argues Sergey Orlovskiy of Helio Games.
Helio Games is a game development company which was established in Cyprus in 2017. With a workforce of 80, of which half are based on the island, and an annual revenue which reaches €10 million, their most successful game title is Westland Survival. Sergey Orlovskiy was named among the Top 20 most influential people in MMOs by Beckett Massive Online Gamer in 2009, and by DevGAMM as the most recognisable figure in the CIS game industry in 2015. He was included in the Russian Video Game Industry Hall of Fame in 2023. Before Helio Games, his previous company (Nival) received numerous awards and recognition at E3, Gamescom, KRI and in Apple and Google editorial selections.
In an interview with GOLD magazine, Orlovskiy expands on the key factors influencing the gaming industry and growth drivers.
How would you describe your company’s core business model and game development strategy?
Helio Games develops free-to-play, cross-platform survival RPGs, including Westland Survival. We are also working on a new educational title in a Wild West setting for PC and consoles.
What are the key factors currently influencing your company’s operations and strategic decision-making?
The main factors are rising marketing costs, overall market saturation and the opportunities created by AI.
What do you consider to be the most significant recent industry trends and growth drivers? Which of these do you expect to shape the sector over the coming years?
The games industry has not really been growing for the past four years after the huge COVID-era spike. At the same time, games are losing audience attention to video shorts. To return to growth, the industry needs more innovation and greater efficiency. AI can help with both, but only if we use it to build better products, not just cheaper production pipelines.
This interview first appeared in the June edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.
