On this episode of Story Mode with Sanlo, Olya speaks with Ilya Gutov, CEO of Meridian Play, about the key strategies, best practices, and common pitfalls for developers looking to bring their games to China and other markets in Asia. They touch on a wide range of topics, including:

• Ilya’s journey from broader tech and manufacturing into gaming and how his time at MY.GAMES and MGVC prepared him for his work at Meridian Play.

• The challenges around finding accurate data for mobile games in China.

• The detailed market research process that Meridian Play uses when looking to bring a mobile game to China.

• The popularity of specific mobile games in China (4X strategy, shooters, MMOs, and SLGs).

• The PC game landscape in China and the popularity of Steam.

• The challenges you face when bringing a new mobile game to China, including regulations, high expectations from Chinese players, fragmented Android app store landscape (300+ app stores), and inability to use a soft launch strategy.

• The appeal of the Chinese game market including the huge volume of players, deep monetization opportunities, and mobile-first culture.

• The casual mobile game market in China.

• The operational process and timeline required to bring your game to China and the best types of Chinese publishers to work with.

• The importance of having a clear plan for monetization optimization and game changes required to meet Chinese regulatory guidelines, before signing a deal to publish.

• The importance of developing relationships with your partners in China and Ilya’s recommendation to always meet in person before signing a publishing deal.

About Ilya

As the head of Meridian Play, Ilya helps developers and publishers expand their games into new markets like China. He brings over a decade of experience navigating the gaming markets in China and APAC. He started his career at Tinno Mobile Corp., and went on to lead APAC Business Development for 4+ years at MY.GAMES & MY.GAMES Venture Capital.