A grant, an investor or a shawarma shop? Yes! 💸
How studios fund development: their own money, grants, mobile-game revenue and even a shawarma shop. Stories from Moscow Video Game Week and a case for more game investment funds.
Blog
Publications
$2,000 for indie game development is perfectly fine! 🤑
A small cheque can help an indie team go from an idea to its first sales. Why do we start funding discussions at tens of millions of rubles?
Gamify a cyborg 🦾
Motorica and the Skolkovo Foundation are running an online game jam to create a mobile game that helps people learn to control a bionic hand. Registration closes on 27 October 2026.
🙏 Bond in the cloud, at the push of a button
First impressions of Fog Play: three hours with 007 First Light, its attention to detail, and more than eight hours of cloud gaming over Wi‑Fi.
Winamp is coming back! 🎧
A new Winamp is promised for the first half of 2027, combining subscription streaming powered by Deezer with local files, radio and podcasts.
Steam Frame: plenty to play 🎮
Great on Frame now lists more than 130 VR and conventional games and apps. Is that enough to make Steam Frame a hit?
IGROPROM: my unfiltered impressions
Indie games, pitching, cosplay and candid conversations with developers about support, Steam wishlists and getting to market.
An AI Tamagotchi 🎁
Meta has unveiled Muse Charm, a pocket-sized home for its Muse AI agent. But do we really need another device to carry and charge?
Amazon won't let AI agents shop 🖕
Amazon has blocked Meta's Muse shopping agent from its marketplace. What does that mean for shopping through AI?
Meta VR Glasses: 100 grams and the same old question — why? 🤔
Meta's new VR glasses weigh about 100 grams, but the processor and battery sit in a separate wired unit. A look at the specs and the reasons to use them.
Speaker
Speaker and moderator
Talks and moderated discussions on gaming, digital creative industries, and technology. Conference record, organizer materials, and a downloadable PDF profile.
Professional profile
Expert CV
Career history, areas of expertise, programmes, education and letters of appreciation.
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. He is also an expert for the Media Technology Cluster of the Moscow Innovation Cluster Foundation (MIC).
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 Let's Dive In, an expert blog about technology, media, games, XR, and AI. Let's 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