CyberLight Game Studio is a small Ukrainian indie studio that created the cooperative online horror BIGFOOT, the 11th best-selling Ukrainian game according to Mezha, challenging such giants as 4A Games, GSC Game World, and Frogwares. How did they do it and who is behind the name CyberLight Game Studio?
CyberLight Game Studio was founded in 2017 in Kyiv by brothers Stanislav and Dmytro Zinchenko. The team’s only product, BIGFOOT, was released in Steam Early Access on January 31, 2017, and has not yet been released. We are going to talk about this game. Stanislav Zinchenko answers the questions of the “Border”.
Oleg Danylov: Good afternoon, Stanislav. In the article dedicated to the most popular games created in Ukraine, we have placed your game BIGFOOT at the 11th place based on the data from VG Insights, Gamalytic, and PlayTracker. According to these services, its sales range from 415 to 720 thousand copies, which is a lot for an indie project in Early Access. Which of these figures is closer to the truth?
Stanislav Zinchenko: Thank you for your interest in our game BIGFOOT! We are very pleased that it takes such an honorable place among Ukrainian projects.
At the moment, the number of copies sold is just over 700 thousand and I can say that the results are really exceeding our expectations and indicate the positive reception of the game by players. We appreciate the support of our community and look forward to continued success on release.
(After this update, BIGFOOT should move to the 10th place in the list of the most popular Ukrainian games, displacing Cossacks 3 from the Top 10!)
Oleg Danylov: You did not have time to answer our questions about sales in Ukraine and the impact of Ukrainian localization. So, if you don’t mind me asking, what percentage of BIGFOOT’s total sales are in Ukraine? Does the presence or absence of Ukrainian localization affect sales in Ukraine? BIGFOOT is no longer sold in Russia, but it still has Russian localization. Why?
Stanislav Zinchenko: Today, Ukraine accounts for approximately 2% of the total number of copies sold, while the revenue share is currently 1%. This is most likely due to the traditionally difficult economic situation in Ukraine, as well as the spread of piracy culture. We believe that Ukrainian localization is important for the development and popularization of the gaming market, so we plan to release all our projects with Ukrainian localization.
As for the Russian localization, it has been available since the game’s release in 2017, and we have no plans to remove it. This decision is due to the fact that many people have already purchased the game with the available localizations. It is also worth noting that the Russian language is spoken in many countries, such as Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Localization of large games can cost a lot of money, so developers need to be sure that their product will be purchased in a specific local market. Therefore, it is important to buy licensed copies and use the Ukrainian localization of the Steam interface, which will provide the statistics developers need.
Oleg Danylov: Now let’s go back to the beginning. How did CyberLight Game Studio and BIGFOOT come to be? Who are you, what is your education, and how did you get the desire to develop games?
Сtanislav Zinchenko: BIGFOOT is our first game, and we could not even imagine that it would become so successful. We started developing it while we were still at university, treating it more like a hobby.
My brother and I have master’s degrees in computer science and graduated from the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design. This gave us fundamental knowledge in the field of software engineering and made it much easier to learn Unreal Engine 4.
The first version of BIGFOOT was released in 2017 and immediately gained unexpected popularity. We were very surprised and suddenly realized that we were now responsible for BIGFOOT and had to turn it into a game we could be proud of.
I think we always knew that we would be game developers, because the idea of creating our own worlds and making them interesting for other people is extremely exciting.
Oleg Danylov: Why an asymmetrical shooter with horror elements? Why Bigfoot?
Stanislav Zinchenko: The choice of an asymmetrical shooter with horror elements was a natural one for us, as this genre evokes strong emotions and creates a tense atmosphere. The asymmetrical gameplay, where one side plays as a monster and the other as humans, adds dynamism and replayability to the game.
As for the choice of Bigfoot, this legend has always attracted us with its mystery and uncertainty. Bigfoot is the perfect character for this type of game because he symbolizes something unknown and dangerous that lives in the dark. In addition, this theme is not overused in the gaming industry, which allowed us to create a unique game world and offer players something new and exciting.
Oleg Danylov: How many other people work at CyberLight Game Studio besides the Zinchenko brothers? LinkedIn says there are 2-10 employees, how many of you are there?
Stanislav Zinchenko: We currently have 4 people in our team, but we often hire freelancers to perform short-term tasks. We also have plans to expand our core team, and we are actively looking for new specialists.
Oleg Danylov: On August 27, 2024, after almost 10 months of silence, you talked about the state of development and announced new features, does this mean that BIGFOOT will remain in Early Access for some time? BIGFOOT has good sales, very favorable reviews, but… hasn’t the game “overstayed its welcome” in the Early Access? 7 years is certainly not a record, but it’s already a lot. With online play down to 100-200 people a day, isn’t it time to release version 1.0 and move on to new projects?
Stanislav Zinchenko: We understand the concerns about BIGFOOT’s long stay in Early Access. Indeed, 7 years is a long time, and we appreciate the patience and support of our community. However, it is important for us to release the game in a state that will best meet our and your expectations.
Announcing new features and updates is part of our plan to develop the game. We strive to provide players with the best experience possible, and although the Early Access is longer than we originally planned, it gives us the opportunity to take into account player feedback and make the game better.
As for the release version, we are actively working to ensure that it meets our quality standards. We don’t want to rush the release, as this may affect the final product. At the same time, we are not forgetting about new projects and already have plans for the future, but first we want to finish BIGFOOT the way it deserves.
Oleg Danylov: BIGFOOT is a paid game with paid skins, if it’s not a secret, what percentage of players buy paid skins for weapons and characters. 10%? Less?
Stanislav Zinchenko: Currently, less than 5% of our players purchase paid skins, and we believe this is due to an inconvenient purchase system. Currently, access to skins is realized through the purchase of DLC, and not through the in-game store. We plan to fix this and make the purchase process more convenient for users.
Oleg Danylov: BIGFOOT uses the Unreal Engine 4 engine, do you plan to move to Unreal Engine 5? Have you thought about releasing it on consoles or a VR version?
Stanislav Zinchenko: We have already switched to Unreal Engine 5 and are very pleased with the results. Indeed, it has greatly improved the graphics of our game, but at the same time, it has posed new challenges, especially in terms of optimization. Nevertheless, we have made significant progress in this direction.
A release on consoles is something we have been planning for a long time, and we have taken many steps in this direction. I can confidently say that BIGFOOT will definitely be on consoles.
As for VR, the situation is more complicated in terms of optimization and management. We are not currently considering a VR port of the game, although it is possible in the future.
Oleg Danylov: Thank you for your answers, Stanislav. Good luck with your work on the game, and victory to all of us.
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