Orange cow teach children to count

The Soyuzmultfilm film studio and the video game developer KB Production have agreed to partner in the development of seven mobile games that will integrate the characters of the film studio. To implement the project, the developer received a grant from the Internet Development Institute (IRI) in the amount of about 100 million rubles, in general, development can cost 140-200 million rubles. The animation studio was already planning a similar project with the gaming division of Sberbank, but the group closed it. In “KB Production” they say that the games will be free, and the project is needed to “save the team and the studio as a whole.”

A Kommersant source in the gaming industry market said that the game development studio KB Production received a grant of 100 million rubles from the IRI. for the development of ten mobile games: “The film studio Soyuzmultfilm will become a partner in several projects.” The interlocutor of Kommersant, who is familiar with the project, clarifies that the release of the games is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. According to him, the grant was approved last year, but the funds were allocated only in 2023, and agreements with the film studio were reached “recently”.

Vitaly Kozlov, founder and director of KB Production, explained that the company received a grant in the spring to develop ten developing mobile games, according to him, after that Soyuzmultfilm became a partner of the project: “These will be non-commercial games, without advertising. For us, this is an opportunity to keep the development team, save the studio.” Mr. Kozlov did not answer questions about the amount of the grant, as well as the total cost of developing video games.

Taking into account the fact that a grant from the IRI can be 50–70% of the total development cost, we can talk about 140–200 million rubles. IRI confirmed to Kommersant that the company, following the selection, received support for the creation of ten mobile games.

Soyuzmultfilm said that they were preparing seven educational mobile games for preschool children with KB Production: “They will be based on modern animated series of the film studio: Orange Cow, Prostokvashino, Well, you wait! Vacation, Umka “,” Raccoons. Mobile games will teach children the basics of counting, contribute to the development of erudition, and provide knowledge.” The development studio at the pitching stage suggested including recognizable characters in the games, the interlocutor of Kommersant explained: “One of the options was Cheburashka, but it was abandoned.”

This isn’t the studio’s first attempt at integrating its characters into video games. In May 2021, Interfax reported that Soyuzmultfilm would create a series of children’s mobile games based on animated series together with SberIgry. The games were supposed to be free for the first two years.

However, they were never developed: in June 2022, the bank closed the gaming division. The decision was made due to sanctions that have complicated the publication of games and their monetization in the AppStore and Google Play (see Kommersant dated June 8, 2022). “Part of the SberIgry team moved to KB Production,” says a Kommersant source close to the IRI. In November 2022, Soyuzmultfilm planned to develop the Water Formula game based on the cartoon of the same name, Forbes wrote. The animation studio Magic Factory is responsible for the project.

For Soyuzmultfilm, entering the gaming territory is a story about brand promotion, believes IRI CEO Alexei Goreslavsky. The studio has many recognizable brands that “require monetization in all possible environments,” the new project has a chance of success, says Zhan Prosyanov, editor-in-chief of Kino-Teatr.Ru, development director of CHILL.

After the rebranding of the studio in 2019, Soyuzmultfilm is “actively entering new markets,” explains a Kommersant source in the film industry: “For the studio, this is a chance to become a modern brand.” So, he explains, the company has already entered into partnerships with the Aroma Library (produced diffusers), Monochrome (produced a clothing collection), and started working on projects with Bubble Comics.

Nikita Korolev, Yulia Yurasova