The industry is undergoing a quest – Kommersant FM

Quests in Russia are experiencing a new wave of popularity – over the past year, the demand for such entertainment has increased by 30%, industry participants and market experts reported this to Kommersant FM. At the same time, the expenses of their organizers have increased: the rental of premises has become more expensive, and it has become more difficult to bring foreign equipment and decorations. What other challenges does this industry face? And how much does this business earn now? Anastasia Taslunova will tell you.

Quests in Russia began to gain popularity ten years ago. Customer preferences have remained almost unchanged since then – the most popular genres are still horror and detective films.

But many people change the format. The classic option, when participants need to solve all the puzzles in an hour, moving from one room to another, is not the only one for a long time. A new trend is virtual quests in reality using VR technologies. It was also possible to compete with ChatGPT or solve riddles created by artificial intelligence.

Performances with actors are really fading into the background, said the organizer and head of QuestReality Alexander Salikov: “Such quests cost 7-8 thousand rubles. for the team, and people are less and less willing to pay that kind of money. Therefore, now the story with the actors is narrowing a little. It could even be a scary quest with some elements of performance.

We have this version of “Silent Hell”. There is an additional actor involved, but we are now considering options on how to refuse him. Then it would be possible to reduce the cost a little, plus, now it’s quite difficult to find staff for such events.”

Meanwhile, it has become easier to organize themed quests based on films, games and books. Previously, foreign companies closely monitored that their trademarks were not used illegally. Nowadays, puzzles immersed in the universes of Harry Potter, Star Wars or Marvel comics are unlikely to become a reason for litigation with the copyright holder, representatives of the quest industry say. And market participants consider this a significant plus, but it does not outweigh the minuses.

One of the main problems is the difficulty in opening new locations. In order for the basement to turn into an attraction with the necessary equipment, the organizers of the quest now need to spend at least 2.5 million rubles, not including the cost of repairs, finishing and installation of decorations.

If you create a location from scratch, the amount increases by 20%. Moreover, the work takes at least a year, and the investment will pay off much longer, continues Alexander Salikov from QuestReality:

“Our company is creating two quests, and now it is very difficult to open them for several reasons. The first is that the owners of the premises raise the rent. Secondly, all components and electronics come from abroad, and prices have increased exponentially recently.

The third point is personnel. Over the past year, several good companies that implement quests have completely moved to Europe, America and Arab countries. There they are paid in foreign currency, which is much more profitable.”

Not the most popular quest gives revenue on average up to 300 thousand rubles. per month, and promoted – up to 1 million rubles. Additional income comes from master classes, outdoor events in lofts and private parties – this is up to 35% of the revenue from one quest.

At the same time, spending on promotion has increased noticeably, said Vladimir Zhiganov, managing partner of the Claustrophobia network: “The year-on-year growth is 17%, this is the minimum value. The main difficulties are that the Russian advertising market has not been completely rebuilt. No one has yet presented an alternative to Yandex in digital advertising.

The price for traffic across a number of channels and groups of advertisements increased almost fourfold.”

Despite all the difficulties faced by representatives of the industry, the market in Russia continues to develop rapidly, noted Alexandra Pukhova, editor-in-chief of the Guild of Quests rating agency:

“The market is showing positive dynamics – growth of about 20-30% this year compared to last year. As for the audience, it is expanding. Teenagers are increasingly booking such entertainment; more and more quests are opening in the “10+”, “13+”, “14+”, “16+” format. That is, special versions are organized for younger audiences.”

As market players note, expanding networks is only profitable in Moscow and cities with a population of over a million. They are in no hurry to follow relocants to other countries, and those who had already opened sites there left due to problems with payments and transfers.

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Elena Tyuleneva