Vivat GabeN! ❤️
The main intrigue for me has been removed: Valve has ported Half-Life: Alyx to ARM. Now you can play it directly on Steam Frame, offline, without a gaming computer.
Blog
Publications
Marketplaces — the ‘ Old Russian Post’ of the Future 📦
Our series about AI gradually taking over the internet has a new episode — this time about online retail.
The brain of a fly is taught to play Beat Saber. Why? 🪰
Scientists have mapped the Drosophila nervous system - more than 166 thousand neurons and about 125 million connections. And enthusiasts have found a use for it: teaching a brain model to play Bitsaber.
The sign on the vibecoding coworking space: ENOUGH! 🤗
Attended VK Play Day - a meeting of developers with the VK Play and VK Tech teams. I recorded for you a fragment of a speech by the head of VK Play, Alexander Mikheev, in which he talks about how games will go beyond the boundaries of the site itself.
GoPro is done! 🪦
GoPro has signed a merger agreement with Starman Optical and plans to expand into equipment for AI data centres. A farewell to the action-camera legend — and a lesson in business strategy.
Vibe coding: a new source of dopamine 🤤
Meta has launched Pocket in the US, an app with an endless feed of interactive content that users create from prompts.
How to choose tax incentives and grants for game developers in Russia? 🤔
If your studio has been releasing games for several years and has steady revenue, then support measures may seem like something from the world of startups, grants and accelerators. But for an existing business, tax breaks often provide the greatest effect.
A ballet slasher gets an orchestral trailer! 🎹
WATT Studio has released an orchestral trailer for the action-adventure game TSAREVNA. Age of Tales, featuring Alexander Billion’s “The Tsarevna’s Theme” performed by the Opensound orchestra under Stanislav Malyshev.
Gaming Technology and the Creative Economy
Alexey Kalenchuk’s expertise in digital creative industries, game development, VR, and technology ecosystems.
Lenovo is winding down XR in the US. Another alarm bell? 😱
According to Skarred Ghost, Lenovo is shutting down its US XR division and changing course. Instead of corporate VR/AR solutions, the company is going to rely on consumer wearable devices with AI under the Motorola brand.
In brief
Alexey Kalenchuk
Technology project development across digital creative industries: from advertising, media, and video games to generative AI, computer graphics, and XR.
Alexey Kalenchuk works at the intersection of technology, capital, and industry markets. At the Skolkovo Foundation, he develops technology companies and initiatives across digital creative industries.
His focus includes launching pilots, evaluating technology solutions, identifying product hypotheses, attracting grants and investment, and using support measures, including tax incentives. His approach is technology-first: understand what actually works, where the solution has a strong technical core, and which market can give it scale.
Alexey is the author of Dive In, an expert blog about technology, media, games, XR, and AI. Dive In previously also existed as a podcast.
Clusters
- advertising, marketing, and AdTech
- media, content, and new communication formats
- video games and gamedev
- generative AI, LLMs, and AI tools
- generative graphics, CG, and virtual production
- technology entrepreneurship, investment, grants, and support measures
- corporate pilots, technology scouting, and tech due diligence
- XR: VR, AR, MR
- immersive media and interactive formats
Business challenges
- Tax incentives
- Corporate pilots and partnerships
- Technology and project assessment
- Preparing a business for sale or a strategic transaction
- Strategy development
- Fundraising
- Grants and government support
- Industry research