Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi, the Chairman of Room 8 Group, has told us about the evolution of the studio from a gamedev startup all the way to being a group of companies. We discussed their partnerships with other studios, the team's values and plans, and the way they operate in times of the pandemic.
Introduction
80.lv: Let's talk about the Studio and the team. How did you start? What were your first projects? What was the initial team like, and how many people are there now?
Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi: Room 8 Studio was founded in 2011 and began as a game developer with a team of 30 people. Our very first publishing contract was with Chilingo.
In three short years, we created several award-winning games. Such as Cyto's puzzle adventure, featured in the App Store as Best New Game in 68 countries, and selected by Starbucks and Apple for worldwide in-store promotion. Piano City was another game honored by the iOS App Store and listed as #5 in Best Games of the September collection, and reached #1 in the music game ranks in 126 countries.
As we continued to evolve, we began branching out to different opportunities. By 2013 we established an Art Division focusing on game art and animation, on top of the Games Division, which focuses on game development and co-development. One year later, we delivered our first co-developed titles with DeNA and G5. And shortly after, we started offering porting to consoles, video production, 3D services to AAA publishers and worked with licensed IPs: Family Guy, Power Rangers, Kubo, and the Two Strings, and Independence Day.
We are proud of how far we have come, from a team of 30 people to where we are today with over 700 teammates. Today, we offer full game development from scratch; level design, game economy, game porting, game art. We also lead game style development; art direction, creation of trailers, and cinematics.
Values of Cooperation
80.lv: Which big studios have you had the chance to work with? What was the most interesting and valuable experience that helped you grow professionally and in the market?
Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi: It's impossible to pick one. Every project has been a challenging and rewarding experience for the team, especially working alongside well-known franchises, such as Call of Duty, The Witcher, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Angry Birds, Hotel Transylvania, Gears POP, Monopoly, and more.
We are so proud to have worked with so many exceptional companies such as 505 Games, Ubisoft, Activision, Electronic Arts, CD Projekt RED, Rovio, Annapurna, Wargaming, DeNa, Remedy, Plarium, and many others.
Challenges
80.lv: Could you please speak about the most challenging moments that at the same time were turning points?
Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi: Our company began as a passion project and it resulted in a successful business. Without passion, one can not succeed in this industry, especially in this competitive market. We often say, "it's not just passion that helps us but a true obsession."
Of course, 2020 was uncharted waters and turned the entire industry upside down – having to switch to remote work in a matter of days. We were very fortunate to have worked alongside many AAA publishers, so our IT infrastructure met the requirements for remote work, and we switched over smoothly. At the same time, we had to update, change and introduce new business processes across all departments. I still can’t believe we pulled it off without any significant drawbacks.
This case illustrates our culture of co-creation with our partners and our team. We see challenges as a chance to grow and seek out new possibilities to create success.
Studio Development
80.lv: Which aspects of studio development are worth more investment and why? Is there any priority logic that you were sticking to?
Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi: People are one of the best investments since they drive culture. We try to cultivate a workplace that encourages passion, creativity, and growth. This might seem like a trivial thing, but people are the backbone of Room 8 Group. Building a team of like-minded individuals who work well together is quite complex; proper culture is key.
IT-Infrastructure is another big investment, not just financial but also time. It took us nearly a year to receive ISO certification even though we have been investing in infrastructure for the last five years.
Processes are another big one. In a company with over 700 teammates, it’s vital to have well throughout business processes. Given we act as extensions of our partners’ teams, investing in the business infrastructure is what makes us and our clients successful.
80.lv: How can you keep balance within teams and avoid burnout, especially during lockdowns and remote work?
Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi: Almost all planning and management activities mainly remained the same. Some in-person meetings turned into Google Meetups, which we can take from the comfort of our homes. We use a Miro board for brainstorming, which helps with the creative and collaborative aspects of in-person whiteboarding. Every brainstorming session, especially with the art teams, requires a visual reference, and we have the technology to make collaboration effortless.
Burnout is a fear for most creatives working from home, especially since our team thrives on cross-functional collaboration. We were pleasantly surprised to see the energy every person brought to the table, even from home, which solidifies our culture. This challenge has shown us that our culture transcends the office walls and keeps our team's spirits high even when working from home.
80.lv: How did next-gen consoles influence your approach to game development?
Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi: We were getting ready for the next-gen consoles way before the actual release, and working with the specifications proved to be the right thing to do. For example, the backward compatibility requirement for PS4 and PS5 did not take us by surprise. Of course, we are now double testing everything in a real environment, as we now have enough dev kits from all the platforms.
Future Plans
80.lv: What are your goals for the remainder of this year and the following year?
Sviatoslav Pohrebnoi:
- Keep improving. Keep improving the processes and quality. Keep close relationships with our clients to understand how to be better partners.
- Expanding to even more locations. In 2020 we expanded to Montreal and London. We are now actively working to increase our presence in Tokyo.
- We are launching new service lines and solutions. Currently, a trailer and UA video studio are actively growing within the Group.
- We are strengthening our M&A efforts. With 11 years of experience, we have accumulated expertise in every aspect of this business. We now understand how to merge teams to create a synergy where 1+1=3, however cliche that may sound.