October 2007. I get an invitation to join a major international group — Russobit-M. Founded in 1999 as part of the “Russobit” Concern, and by 2008 it was already a powerful holding, Bestway group, together with GFI and Play Ten Interactive. Serious level, right from the start.
In 2.5 years, I grew from a PR manager to… I don’t even know what to call my position. On paper — Marketing Specialist. In reality, I was combining the roles of a marketer and a full-fledged project manager. The split was roughly 70/30: 70% marketing, 30% managing the development of new games and software. In the end, I became that person who was in the loop on everything: from promotion to product features.
What did I learn? Things they don’t teach in university:
How to go on business trips without wasting a single day, manage to explore a new place, and write a trip report so well that the accounting department almost didn’t nitpick.
How to negotiate at a level where your arguments determine whether a game lands on the shelves of the biggest retailers or not.
How to organize participation in Igromir — Russia’s largest computer games exhibition. I’m proud that our booths were among the most vibrant, interactive, and… visited. That was marketing in 4D: visuals, gameplay, emotions, hype.
And I handled projects that still give me chills:
“Neighbours from Hell” — a hit the whole country knew.
“Sam & Max: Season One” — a cult classic point-and-click.
“Precursors”, “Xenus 2: White Gold,” “Tropico 3” — the blockbusters of their time.
And the cherry on top: the “Mashenka” series of children’s games! Yes, that very educational and entertaining series with a main heroine who… somewhat resembled me. And her name is Masha. I still suspect the developers were inspired for a reason. Coincidence? I think not.
These were seven years of incredible energy, quick decisions, and that very feeling when your work becomes part of the cultural code for millions of players. Russobit-M didn’t just give me a line on my resume — it gave me carte blanche to manage the entire product cycle. And I used that carte blanche to the full 100%.