Smoot (computer game)

Chronicle

2024: Game Release

On April 4, 2024, the official release of the computer game "Smoot," created based on the events of the "Time of Troubles," took place. It is available on the VK Play platform at a price of 2015 rubles.

Outside of VK Play, you cannot buy "Troubles," since the developers decided not to release the game in other digital stores or on consoles. The project is available only in Russian, as it is aimed primarily at the Russian audience. According to Kommersant, the total investment in Smut could amount to 1 billion rubles. The same amount was called by Vedomosti sources. This is the first Russian game of this level, funded by the state through the Institute for Internet Development (IRI).

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VK Play

"The Troubles" is a story about overcoming a civil war. On how to assemble a country on the verge of death. About people who painfully restore lost familiar landmarks in life. About the ability of former opponents to forget old grievances and strife, to agree and forgive each other for the sake of the survival of the power, the description of the game says.

The literary basis of the game was the 1829 novel "Yuri Miloslavsky, or Russians in 1612." According to the plot of the game, the young boyar Yuri Miloslavsky is nominated from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow together with the army of the Second Militia and is going to stop the civil war. According to the developers, the game provides an extensive system of tasks and dialogues with the ability to complete missions in different ways. It is noted that gamers will be able to influence the nature of some quests, changing the appearance of the main character. Also, the developers indicate authentic cold and firearms. For combat scenes, a system of artificial intelligence of non-player characters has been created, working according to individual and group logic. The game is based on the Unreal Engine 5 engine.^[1]

2023: Cyberia Nova will receive a total of 0.5 billion rubles to develop a game about the Time of Troubles

On February 10, 2023, it became known that in two years Cyberia Nova will receive from the state a total of about 0.5 billion rubles to develop a game about the Time of Troubles. About half of this amount, the Novosibirsk studio has already received in the form of a grant from the ANO "Institute for Internet Development" (IRI).

According to Vedomosti, IRI will continue to invest Cyberia Nova in 2023. The head of Cyberia Nova, Alexei Koptsev, told the publication that by the end of 2023 the company plans to finalize the game to the final version. The demo version has already been shown. IRI General Director Alexei Goreslavsky stressed that in case of popularity, IRI will continue to financially support the project after the release. In his opinion, later it would be logical to expand the universe of the game - for example, using a mobile version or a series of educational cartoons.

Russian developer of the game about the Time of Troubles will receive 0.5 billion rubles from the state

I do not exclude that in 2024 we will come to consolidate success. If the game is distributed by a million copies, people will begin to play it, then you will need to develop locations, add something new, "he said.

The source of the publication on the video game market claims that the total investment in Smut could amount to about 1 billion rubles. Alexey Goreslavsky explained that in this amount it is possible to estimate the total budget of the project, including not only the development funded by IRI, but also distribution.

Events in the game unfold in Russia during the Polish intervention. According to the plot, the Russian prince Yuri Miloslavsky, together with Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, will launch a war against the Polish invaders. The contract for the allocation of a new grant for the development of the Cyberia Nova project and IRI plan to sign by March 1, 2023.

Informants of Vedomosti report that they decided to release Smut through VK Play (service representatives did not confirm this).^[2]

2022: Allocation of 260 million rubles for the video game about the Time of Troubles

On May 23, 2022, it became known about the provision of a grant to the Novosibirsk studio Cyberia Limited in the amount of 260 million rubles for the development and release of a video game about the period of the Time of Troubles in Russia. The funds were allocated by the ANO "Institute for Internet Development" (IRI).

According to Kommersant, the terms of reference for the project indicate that the historical novel by Mikhail Zagoskin "Yuri Miloslavsky, or Russians in 1612," which was first published in 1829, should be taken as the basis for the plot. The game is scheduled for release in 2024.

260 million rubles were allocated from the Russian budget for a video game about the Time of Troubles

Cyberia Limited was inspired by the game Ghost of Tsushima, in the center of the plot of which is the guerrilla war of the Japanese samurai Jin Sakai with the Mongol invaders.

We have a similar motive - the struggle of a small number of patriots who were able to defeat the Polish army, - an employee of the studio told the newspaper.

According to the publication, IRI usually takes on from half to 70% of the necessary investments in projects, the total cost of developing and releasing a video game can be 370-520 million rubles. Cyberia Limited only reported that the allocated money "is enough for the development of an AA game" (in the gaming environment, the products of the middle segment are called).

According to Cyberia Limited's website and open source information, the studio has been operating since September 2015. Its specialists are engaged in the release of mobile game projects and perform outsourcing services.

The founder of the rawg.io portal, Haji Makhtiev, in a conversation with the publication in May 2022, suggested that in the near future grants and investments from the state and near-state structures will become the only source of funding for Russian game developers. According to him, the declared budget may be enough for the development of an AA game if "the development team makes a minimum number of errors."^[3]

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