Mariela Tzvetanova is chief marketing officer/chief business development officer at Imperia Online, one of the biggest game production companies in SEE, part of Stillfront Group. She has more than 10 years of experience in business development and marketing globally, and holds an MBA from Autonomous University of Barcelona.
As part of Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #1, Tzvetanova will be giving a talk on the 10 must-know tips for free-to-play game distribution.
Ahead of the event, we caught up with Tzvetanova to find out more about her role at Imperia Online and how she thinks the industry will change over the next 12 months.
PocketGamer.biz: Tell us a bit about Imperia Online JSC.
Imperia Online JSC is one of the biggest game production companies in Southeastern Europe, part of Stillfront Group, and popular with its 25 games.
The studio has over 45 million users worldwide and a team of 80+ professionals. The company's flagship title is Imperia Online - a medieval MMO strategy game, available on mobile, browsers, social networks and Steam.
What does your role entail?
I lead games successful presence in portals, platforms, social networks, messengers and telco apps.
Why did you want to work in the games industry?
Because there is something quite cool about game companies and at the same time it is extremely challenging, requires lots of skills as per of the entertainment industry.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?
Game development is a team sport, very dynamic one, with lots of deadlines and maybe even overtime, so it is serious work. So be passionate about it.
What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?
Consumers spend more hours on mobile devices in 2019 and half of the app users play mobile games, which is amazing and this trend won't stop growing.
What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?
Now with the COVID-19 situation, Steam has increased in popularity, VR might grow, cloud gaming and subscription services will expand.
How has the games industry changed since you first started?
There is more competition for jobs, there are more opportunities for education in this field, new platforms for distribution, more indies every day, lots of acquisitions, the industry is growing.
Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?
PG Connects’ speaker dinners - great networking events.
